Mexico City operates at a scale and energy that can initially obscure how much of it is slow, domestic, and refined. The Condesa and Roma Norte neighbourhoods are tree-lined streets of 1920s–40s Art Deco apartment buildings, café terraces, and independent bookshops operating at a pace that has nothing to do with the 21 million surrounding them. Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul is in Coyoacán — a colonial neighbourhood that behaves like a village. The food here is not a discovery; it is a practice. The markets, the street stands, the neighbourhood restaurants operating three lunch services — these require a different kind of patience than the monuments.
Colonial courtyards, volcanic stone, and one of the world's great food cultures.
The Centro Histórico is built on Aztec foundations — the Templo Mayor ruins are directly beneath the Metropolitan Cathedral. The Art Deco apartment blocks of Condesa were built on a drained lake bed, which gives the neighbourhood its unusual curvilinear street plan. Luis Barragán's houses in Pedregal use volcanic lava stone as a building material in a way that is completely specific to this city.
The city runs late. Lunch is the main meal, taken at two in the afternoon and lasting two hours. Dinner starts at nine. The mornings in Condesa and Roma are quiet until the coffee bars open at eight.
October through April is the dry season and the easiest time to visit. The rainy season from June to September brings afternoon downpours that clear quickly and leave the city cooler. Altitude — 2,240 metres — means the sun is strong and the evenings can be unexpectedly cold.
Condesa: The tree-lined neighbourhood built on a drained lake. The Art Deco apartment blocks along Ámsterdam and Alfonso Reyes are the best domestic architecture in the city. Parque México is at the centre.
Roma Norte: Adjacent to Condesa but slightly rougher-edged — more galleries, fewer restaurants. The independent bookshops on Álvaro Obregón are among the best in the city. The neighbourhood is best at the hour after lunch when the street life resumes.
Coyoacán: A colonial village absorbed by the city but still operating at its own pace. The Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo Museum) and Diego Rivera's studio are both here. The Sunday market at Jardín Centenario is worth arriving early for.
Centro Histórico: The Zócalo is the central square — one of the largest in the world. The Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palacio Nacional (with Rivera's murals), and the Palacio de Bellas Artes are all within walking distance. Best visited on a weekday morning.