An Insider's Guide To México City

Climate

• Very pleasant temperatures, up to 25 Celsius during the day (we visited in November). Chilly in the evenings and mornings. The city has an amazing light. The streets are filled with the most beautiful soft glow.

Altitude

• 2250m (7500 ft), you can feel it, very dry.

Transportation

• Don't take taxis, only Ubers, which are very well-priced.

Currency

• Pesos. You can pay almost everything by card, but it's still useful to have a few pesos in your pocket. 100 pesos = $5.

Safety

• Felt very safe in the center of the city.

We stayed at Condesa DF, a boutique hotel situated in Condesa, with lots of restaurants, coffee places, and stores within easy walking distance and the best rooftop in town. The hotel features a modern design by Parisian designer India Mahdavi.

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For breakfast you have to try Panadería Rosetta the sister restaurant of Rosetta, which we will try for dinner later.

Another breakfast & lunch spot is Lardo with some of the best pastries in town.

After breakfast, stroll through one of the many parks, the Bosque de Chapultepec is one of the largest parks in the world. Located on top of Chapultepec Hill is the Chapultepec Castle, offering spectacular views of the city.

The castle became the official residence of Emperor Maximilian I and his consort Empress Carlota during the Second Mexican Empire (1864 - 67). In 1882, President Manuel Gonzales declared it the official residence of the President. With few exceptions, all succeeding presidents lived there until 1939, when President Lazaro Cardenas turned it into a museum.

Before lunch stop by Juliette's gallery & showroom Chic By Accident in the Roma district. It's part shop, part gallery, part meeting place for the international design set if you can get an appointment.

Around the corner you'll find Casa Bosques A unique selection of hard to find art, culture and design books.

No Mexico City trip is complete without lunch at Contramar. You have probably heard it many times and it's listed in every good guide, but it's one of these classics that can't be missed. Sit at the counter, trust your waiter (in our case Jaime) and try the Mezcal Margarita con Mandarina. The classics are classic for a reason. It's an institution and the quality doesn't fade. Not open for dinner, closes at 8pm. Their signature dessert is the Strawberry meringue and they have probably the best fig tart we ever tried. If you can’t get into Contramar, try Azul Condesa Their sopa de Tortilla is fantastic, and so are their fresh made tortillas, hot off the press.

The city feels very alive at night. Here are two dinner options:

Rosetta, seasonal dishes blend Italian and Mexican flavors, and the house-made pastas are standouts, set in a beautiful Colonia Roma town house.

Another place we loved is Máximo Bistrot, reserve far in advance.

You can book this trip with our Concierge, fill out the form and one of our specialists will be in touch.

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