Edits

25/25

Mexico City

Distrito Federal, the thriving capital, couldn’t be more different from the Mexico regularly appearing on the evening news abroad. The city of 20 million or so (it depends on who’s counting) remains largely free of the violence that has engulfed too many other towns and cities. And with public transportation expanding, air pollution decreasing, the police force modernising and a parade of new restaurants, shops, galleries and even a museum, it’s only getting more fun for visitors.
 

Printable version

We've made a version for you to print out and take with you. Simply download and print.

Download PDF


presented_rolex

Essentials

01

Ask around for the best nearby open-air markets and taco stands. Street food is the way of life in el DF.

02 Keep small bills handy. Shopkeepers don’t like giving change for more than a 50- or 100-peso note.
03 Lunch, beginning at 14.00 or 15.00 and often lasting hours, is the main meal of the day, and many restaurants are closed for dinner.
04 Expect quiet on Sunday, which is family day.
05 Express kidnappings (secuestros expres), in which your taxi driver robs you, do happen, so don’t hail a cab on the street; call a service or find a stand (un sitio).

Hotels

Independent and easy
Hotel Brick
Orizaba 95, Col. Roma Norte
+52 55 5525 1100
hoteldistritocapital.com

Dependable
Hotel Presidente Intercontinental
218 Campos Eliseos, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5327 7700
intercontinental.com/
mexicocity

Premium
The Four Seasons
500 Paseo de la Reforma, Col. Juárez
+ 52 55 5230 1818
fourseasons.com

Dining
Fast breakfast
Frutos Prohibidos y Otros Placeres
244-B Amsterdam, Col. Condesa
+ 52 55 5264 5808
frutosprohibidos.com

Business breakfast
Lobby Restaurant at Hotel Habita
201 Presidente Masaryk, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5282 3100
hotelhabita.com

Mid-morning coffee
Café Punta del Cielo
Any branch is good
puntadelcielo.com.mx

Working lunch with colleagues
Contramar
200 Durango (just off Fuente de Cibeles)
Col. Roma
+ 52 55 5514 9217
contramar.com/mx

Need-to-impress-clients lunch
El Cardenal
215 Avenida de las Palmas, Col. Lomas de Chapultepec
+ 52 55 2623 0401

Lunch on your own
Primos
168 Michoacán,
Col. Condesa
+ 52 55 5256 0950

Afternoon tea/drink
Senses
189 Campos Eliseos, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5980 1578
senses.com.mx

Dinner on your own
Bros
226 Lope de Vega, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5250 1325

Dinner with colleagues
Los Danzantes
12 Plaza Jardín Centenario,
Col. Coyoacán
+ 52 55 5554 1213
losdanzantes.com

Private dinner
Lampuga
Ometusco 1 (corner of Nuevo Leon), Col. Hipódromo Condesa
+ 52 55 5286 6942

Big dinner with partner/clients
Biko
407 Presidente Masaryk, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5282 2064

Drink after dinner
La Terraza at Hotel Condesa DF
102 Avenida Veracruz, Col. Condesa
+ 52 55 5241 2600
condesadf.com

On the tiles
VIP room at Pasaje America
7 Cinco de Mayo, Col. Centro
+ 52 55 5521 4375

Reading

Bookshop 
Librería Rosario Castellanos
202 Tamaulipas,
Col. Condesa
+ 52 55 5276 7110


Thank yous

Top-quality crafts from the Museo de Arte Popular shop
11 Revillagigedo,
Col. Centro
+ 52 55 5510 2201
map.df.gob.mx


Shopping

Something you can't get anywhere else
Design from the Galería Mexicana de Diseño
13 Anatole France, Col. Polanco
+ 52 55 5280 3709
galeriamexicana.com.mx

Something for the kids
Mexican toys from Jugaré
84 Alfonso Reyes, Col. Hipodromo Condesa
+ 52 55 5211 7280
jugare.com.mx

Something for someone you love
Erotic prints and antiques from Sexe by Accident
49 Alvaro Obregon, Col. Roma
+ 52 55 5511 1312
chicbyaccident.com

Two-hour tour

01 Murals and architecture at the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Alameda, Col. Centro
+ 52 55 5512 2593

02 Zocalo and cathedral
Col. Centro

03 University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC) and Ciudad Universitaria
3000 Insurgentes Sur, Ciudad Universitaria
+ 52 55 5622 6972


Limousine/car

Omega
 + 52 55 5714 1919


Transport

Metro
Cheap and efficient.  A one-way trip costs 2 pesos ($0.18/€0.13).

Metrobus
A bus rapid transit system that runs along Avenida de Los Insurgentes. Access is with a pre-paid smart card.

Taxi
Plentiful and cheap. Don’t hail them from the street as secuestro express (express kidnappings) do take place.

Servitaxi
+ 52 55 5516 6020


Fitness

Good gym
Qi
317 Amsterdam,
Col. Condesa
 + 52 55 5574 5095
qi.com.mx

Running route
Viveros de Coyoacán
El Sope, a 2km running track in the huge Bosque de Chapultepec (in the second section of Chapultepec Park near
the Lago Mayor).