I expected to find moments of enervating chaos and sometimes choking smog.
Mexico City, it seems, can turn a different face to each and every one of its inhabitants.
That’s because, in the past five centuries, Mexico City has become a master of transformation.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes, one of the most iconic buildings in the Centro.Credit: Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
Within weeks, the city had bounced back from that, too.
But many more myself included wouldn’t live anywhere else.
No one trip is enough to unlock the city’s many wonders.
From left: Scallop ceviche at Don Vergas, in the Mercado San Juan; a building in the Centro Histórico, where young chefs and gallerists are bringing new energy to Mexico City’s oldest neighborhood.Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
Until the late 1800s, the CentrowasMexico City.
After the 1985 earthquake, the Centro was all but abandoned.
It remained an important place of protest and celebration, but it was not a place you lingered.
From left: A lounge area at Ignacia Guest House, which inhabits a converted town house in the style-centric neighborhood of Roma; the neighborhood of Condesa, near the Parque México.Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
“How many crab tostadas?”
Valle shouted over the music.
Hands shot up: 15 orders.
From left: Chicken with mashed potatoes and tortillas with octopus at Salón Ríos, in Colonia Cuauhtémoc; the Angel of Independence, on Paseo de la Reforma in Juarez.Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
I asked how many people he would cook for today.
“About 400,” he said.
I asked how he coped.
Chefs Saqib Keval and Norma Listman of Masala y Maíz restaurant, in San Miguel Chapultepec.Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
“I don’t!”
he laughed, then turned back to the crowd, shouting: “How many scallops?”
Edgy art galleries have appeared in former office buildings.
A temporary exhibit by the artist TO at Museo Experimental El Eco, in San Rafael.Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock
Activists stage regular protests in the Zocalo.
Nowhere in this immense, stratified city is more democratic or beautiful.
Rulfo set two of his most important books in a fictional town in the small coastal state of Colima.
None of these designers had a brick-and-mortar shop.
However, it was hard to imagine anywhere more elegant on that chilly evening.
Mezcal flowed freely as fairy lights twinkled along with the neon sign for a cheap hotel across the street.
“Eventually, these artists will go back home and plant those seeds.”
Santa Maria and San Rafael have always been low-key repositories for Mexican design.
Yet despite all these monuments, both neighborhoods remain typical middle-class barrios.
Santa Maria’s neighborhood tamale shop, Cintli, is my favorite in all of Mexico City.
From their development in the early 20th century onward, these areas have expressed Mexico’s global ambitions.
Ryo Kan is just one of the Japanese-inspired businesses to open along Cuauhtemoc’s subdued, tree-lined streets.
Here, huevos rancheros come with South Indianuttapamflatbreads instead of tortillas.
San Miguel was not an obvious choice for this kind of restaurant.
It’s also notable for its proximity to several essential design institutions, including the influential galleryKurimanzutto.
Pick one ofthe city’s top-rated hotelsas your base, and spend your days exploring the others.
Comfortable year-round temperatures make it a great city for walking.
Uber is also a good option here.
Hotels
TheDowntown Mexico, set in a 17th-century palace, has an elegant rooftop bar and pool.
Dip into a historic cantina likeLa Opera, orLa Faenato break up a day of sightseeing.
For dinner, stop at the beloved mezcal barBosforo, then try the chic, nameless restaurant next door.
For contemporary art, don’t missCasa Wabiand theMuseo Experimental el Eco,a masterpiece of mid-century Mexican design.
Ryo Kanbrings Japanese tranquility to the city’s business district.
TheNational Museum of Anthropologyhas an extraordinary collection of Mesoamerican artifacts.
Book well in advance for a tour ofCasa Luis Barragan, the former home of the Pritzker-winning architect.
Nearby,Casa Gilardi, the last house Barragan built before his death, also offers tours by appointment.
