Ciudad de Mexico- CDMX

Even after researching a city through an unending list of travel blogs, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.- I’m so glad that it can still surprise me- both in its beauty and size. The largest city in North America (sixth largest in the World) not only lives up to its hype, for me, it exceeds it. So, if you have been thinking about visiting Mexico city- you absolutely should. And here are some reasons why:

• Bosque de Chapultepec: How did I not know about this immense urban park- just over double the size of Central Park in New York! It is absolutely beautiful. Spread across 1,695 acres in the middle of the city; it has trees upon trees, sculptures, art, street vendors, museums, castle on top of a hill with spectacular views of the city and probably so much more that we didn’t even get to explore. You can practically spend a whole day here. And if you happen to go on a Sunday morning, you will witness the thriving athletic culture of Mexico city in full swing with hundreds of bikers, runners, walkers spread across the many pathways within the park.

• Beautiful Neighborhoods: We explored three big neighborhoods- Polanco (this is where we stayed), Roma Norte and Condesa. All three have so much character to them- you can see it in their architecture and the general vibe. While Polanco has these huge historical houses, Roma Norte has a smaller, cozier but colorful landscape to it. Condesa is known for its ‘Art Deco Ring’, which is basically a circle street (Amstredam street) that you can cover by walking on this green belt pathway- canopied by trees- in the middle of the street. On both sides of this pathway are quirky boutiques, cafes and old buildings.

• Restaurants/Food: The restaurant scene in any of the aforementioned neighborhoods is eclectic and vibey- aside from traditional Mexican food with all its flavors and glory, we had Spanish/Mexican, Indian/Mexican, Italian/Mexican fusion food and loved it all. Polanquito- a small neighborhood within Polanco- is practically a foodie destination. The beautiful restaurants here, some of which are actually these huge old houses turned into restaurants are so unique, each room with its own different décor and ambience. Pujol and Parole are some highly recommended restaurants but honestly I don’t think you can go wrong with any restaurant in this area. Relatively smaller restaurants in Roma Norte and Condesa are equally delicious. We loved Madre Café in Roma Norte for breakfast and Oja de Agua in Condesa. Even as a vegetarian, I was able to find great options almost everywhere I went but the highlight of the trip were the Guava rolls and Cardamom rolls from Panderia Rossetta and of course Churros from El Moro- which by the way taste nothing like churros we get here in California- they are light, airy and way more delicious than your regular Costco churros 🙂

• Cafebrerias: Bookshops with cafes in them- quite possibly my favorite part of the city; especially the ones that have live music, art gallery, full serving restaurants in them. The book culture is still alive and thriving in Mexico city and the book nerd in me absolutely loved running (quite literally) into these cafebrerias every few blocks.

• Art/Museums: According to some estimates, Mexico city has 173 museums- it is one of the cities with the most museums in the World! We went to Frida Kahlo museum (I reserved tickets a month ahead, they tend to book out fast) in her Casa Azul- which was an emotional experience, seeing how well this huge house is preserved with Frida’s things still intact in many rooms. It houses 21 of her original works and plenty of photos of her childhood and later years with her husband Diego Rivera. The beautiful Palacio de Bella Artes is another one we explored but due to time constraints, we didn’t make it to the renowned Anthropology Museum or Soumaya (modern art museum) that were on my list. The beauty of Mexico city’s art is not limited to the museums though, you can see it at every street corner or in the little neighborhood parks- there are sculptures, murals almost everywhere you look.

There’s so much more in Mexico city that we didn’t get to explore- clearly, we underestimated the size of this sprawling city. You need at least a week if not more to even begin to scratch the surface; whatever we did scratch, we loved. This city- with its warm hospitality, food, colors, architecture, books/cafes, street vendors, art- has my heart. Oh and in case you are wondering- there’s little to no pollution in the city (it’s actually quite green), no unsheltered individuals, no crime or threat in the neighborhoods we visited and enough police presence to make you feel safe. So, go ahead book that flight 🙂