Mexico City, Done Right

Mexico City’s exuberance expresses itself in crazed traffic, the warm hugs of friends greeting each other on the street, and a startling juxtaposition of pre-Columbian, colonial, and contemporary architecture. What’s new in this old city is a burgeoning array of innovative restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries.

Though the capital has grown fivefold in the past 60 years, the core districts retain much of their character. The broad Paseo de la Reforma – Mexico’s Champs-Élysées – is booming, but the colonial plazas of the historic core and the suburb of San Angel still have a small-town quality. The neighborhoods of Polanco, Condesa, and San Miguel that flank the green expanse of Chapultepec Park have become as sophisticated as the best of the United States and Europe. Two destination restaurants in Polanco are Izote (Presidente Masaryk 513), where chef Patricia Quintana performs nightly miracles, and the minimalist Biko (Presidente Masaryk 407), where chef-owners Bruno Oteiza and Mikel Alonso create delicious tasting menus inspired by Alonso’s Basque mentor, Juan Mari Arzak. Must-see attractions in the park include the National Museum of Anthropology, which contains the world’s finest collection of pre-Columbian artifacts, and the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum.

The historic center is richly layered. Seven centuries of turbulent history are superimposed around the Zócalo, the vast central square that Spanish conquerors constructed atop the ruined temples of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Relics of those pyramids have been excavated to the north of the massive cathedral, and you can explore the archaeological site and museum of the Templo Mayor. Many of the colonial palaces and monasteries have been transformed into museums. It would take several visits to fully explore everything of note within a few blocks of the Zócalo and along the streets that lead to Alameda Park, half a mile to the west, but they can be sampled in a day.

The hulking Palacio Nacional on the east side of the Zócalo is the hub of government and a favorite locale for demonstrations. When the barricades come down, you should venture inside to view Diego Rivera’s panorama of the country’s history around the staircase and the main courtyard. Two blocks north is Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso (Justo Sierra 16), a handsome baroque school that now exhibits contemporary art alongside murals by Rivera and his contemporaries, David Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco.

At the southwest corner of the Zócalo, steps lead up to the art nouveau atrium of the Gran Hotel (16 de Septiembre 82), with its stained glass ceiling, stacked galleries, and an open-cage elevator at either end. Just north is Mumedi (Madero 74), a tiny gallery with patterned-brick-and-lava-stone walls that shows the best of contemporary Mexican design. A few doors east on the cross street is El Cardenal (Palma 23), a traditionally appointed restaurant serving such delicacies as chinicuiles (crisply fried worms), escamoles (ant eggs simmered in butter), and lamb barbacoa (wrapped in maguey leaves and slowly roasted). Two blocks north is Café de Tacuba (Tacuba 28), which serves coffee, pastries, and light fare in a picturepretty room with a live band.

Continuing west on Madero, the richly carved eighteenth-century Palacio de Iturbide was meticulously restored to serve as the Palacio de Cultura Banamex (Madero 17), which presents temporary exhibitions and arts events. Just beyond is the Casa de los Azulejos (Madero 4), which is named for the blue-and-white Puebla tiles that cover its facade. Now a branch of Sanborns, a popular restaurant chain, it preserves an Orozco mural over the staircase. A block north is La Opera (Cinco de Mayo 10), a tapas barthat’s full of atmosphere.

Cross the street to the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Avenida Juárez at Lázaro Cárdenas), a classic 1901 Beaux Arts theater and museum with a flamboyant white marble facade and gilded domes. The 1910 revolution delayed the interior’s completion, and the soaring atrium is a masterpiece of art deco metalwork, red marble, and murals. Here Rivera re-created his agitprop mural on the triumph of the workers, first painted for Rockefeller Center and later destroyed by the clients, who objected to the glorification of Marx and Lenin. On the east side of the street is another glorious Beaux Arts extravaganza by the same Italian architect: the Correo Mayor, which still functions as the main post office (Tacuba at Lázaro Cárdenas). Beyond the counters, a grand staircase leads up into a heaven of white columns and gilded capitals.

The Alameda offers a pleasant leafy stroll. On the west side is the Laboratorio Arte Alameda (Doctor Mora 7), where experimental art is exhibited in a seventeenth century monastery. Two blocks south is the Museo de Arte Popular (Revillagigedo 11), an art deco building that was once the central fire department headquarters and now displays colorful folk art with a strong emphasis on skulls, skeletons, and papier-mâché animals. The gift shop sells work by the best artisans, so you know that your purchases are authentic and will have lasting value.