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 Travel & Outdoors | February 2007 
36 Hours: Mexico City
 Gisela Williams - NYTimes
| | Diego Rivera’s murals inside the Palacio Nacional. (Janet Jarman - NYTimes) |
Mexico City seems to do no wrong lately, at least when it comes to its cultural exports. The city's indie filmmakers have exploded onto the international stage this year. Alejandro González Iñarritu's “Babel” won the Golden Globe's Best Picture award and received seven Academy Award nominations. Alfonso Cuarón's “Children of Men” is a critical blockbuster. And Guillermo del Toro's “Pan's Labyrinth” got six Oscar nods, including one for best foreign-language film. The art scene has also arrived. Curators have been snapping up Mexico City artwork in places like Basel; now they will descend on the city this April for Mexico Arte Contemporáneo, its fledging contemporary art fair. The city's notorious pollution and traffic shouldn't scare off travelers anymore. After all, something needs to fuel all that creative juice.
Friday
3 p.m.
1) GOING FOR NACO
In Mexican slang, “naco” means tacky or trashy. But these days, being naco can be supremely cool, with extra points given for a mullet and Mr. T chains. Luckily, getting naco is as easy as heading to NaCo Miscelánea (126-B Yautepec, Condesa; 52-55-5286-1343), a cheeky streetwear shop, and picking up a couple of T-shirts (200 pesos each, or about $18 at 11.20 pesos to the dollar). The most popular slogans include “One Güey” and “I ? DF” (short for Distrito Federal, the sprawling independent city-state that encompasses Mexico City). With one of these shirts integrated into your Mexico City uniform, you're as naco cool as any streetwise local.
4 p.m.
2) TACO TASTE-OFF
Forget trying to wrap your head around the D.F.'s size and population. Instead, find comfort in the small things, like the taco stands. Three favorites — El Tizoncito (362 Campeche, 52-55-5286-5374), El Califa (22 Altata, 55-52-5271-6285) and El Farolito (19 Altata, 52-55-5273-7297) — happen to be near each other in the trendy, walkable neighborhood of Condesa. So order a refreshing agua de horchata (a cinnamon-flavored rice drink) and the popular taco al pastor (filled with spiced slivered pork) at each of them and decide the champion for yourself.
8:30 p.m.
3) MEN IN MASKS
Throw yourself into the wonderful absurdity that is lucha libre. Imagine an Aztec-version of WrestleMania (or Jack Black in “Nacho Libre”) and you'll get the basic idea of this hugely popular sport, which originated in Mexico City in the 1930s. Half the fun is figuring out the rules among all the catcalls, flashing lights, Latin rock anthems and superhero-like masks. The city's top lucha libre site is Arena México (189 Calle Dr. Lavista, Col. Doctores; 52-55-5588-0385). Tickets start at 40 pesos, but spring for a ringside seat (up to 210 pesos). Matches last about two hours, although an hour is more than enough time to get your fill. Taxis are rare in this area, so ask your hotel to arrange a pickup.
10 p.m.
4) COMIDA LOCA
It doesn't get much more tacky-fabulous than La Bipolar (155 Malitzin, Condesa; 52-55-5484-8230), an enjoyable and flashy new cantina partly owned by the Mexican heartthrob Diego Luna (“Y Tu Mamá También”). Walls are fashioned from plastic crates, and tables are made of wooden butcher blocks; your NaCo T-shirt will blend right in. On the menu, you'll find tasty Mexican classics with a modern twist, like marlin tostaditas and tofu burritos. (Dishes are 40 to 85 pesos).
Midnight
5) COCKTAILS AND KITSCH
For more kitschy good times, head to Malverde (Amsterdam at Teotihuacán, Condesa; 52-5584-0486), named after Jesús Malverde, venerated as the Robin Hood of Mexico. Decorated with a wild collage of lucha libre masks, Virgin of Guadalupe prints and even a lip-synching deerhead, the small club draws a happy-go-lucky crowd with an eccentric soundtrack of salsa, Mexican pop and música norteña.
Saturday
Noon
6) TIME TRAVEL AT ZóCALO
The famous National Museum of Anthropology (www.mna.inah.gob.mx) should not be missed, but it's equally important to wander through the Zócalo, the city's main square, formally known as the Plaza de la Constitución. One of the largest public squares in the world, the Zócalo is a time capsule of Mexican history. Last fall, near the square's northeast corner, archaeologists made one of the country's most important finds: an enormous stone monolith depicting Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain. To check up on the dig, head to the ruins of the Templo Mayor, the main temple of the powerful Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, now a museum (www.conaculta.gob.mx/templomayor). For the conquistador era, head to the 17th-century Metropolitan Cathedral, which marks the spot where Hernan Cortés erected the city's first Catholic church. End at Diego Rivera's murals on the 17th-century Palacio Nacional, where you might glimpse the newly minted president, Felipe Calderón.
1:30 p.m.
7) DANCING SKELETONS
The fall holiday Day of the Dead (celebrated in November only) comes alive at the Museo de Arte Popular (11 Revillagigedo, Centro Histórico; 52-55-5510-2201; www.map.org.mx), a museum showcasing the country's finest folk art and handicrafts. Opened last March, the museum also has a large gift shop with high-quality Mexican crafts, including delicate silver filigreed earrings and embroidered tunics.
3 p.m.
8) MEXICAN SANDWICH
Tortas are to Mexicans what panini are to Italians: a really good sandwich. The cult favorite is La Texcocana (87 Avenida Independencia; 52-55-5521-7871), next door to the museum. The tiny standing-only torteria has been around since 1936. Try the popular bacalao (cod) or carnitas (barbequed pork) tortas, served with fresh avocado and chili (20 to 22 pesos).
4 p.m.
9) CRAFTS SHOPPING
Although the Museo de Arte Popular's gift shop is a good find, it's also expensive. Walk a few blocks to the popular crafts market, Centro Artesanal la Ciudadela (Balderas y Plaza de la Ciudadela, 1 and 5; www.laciudadela.com.mx). Do a recon first; more than 300 vendors sell everything from Mayan embroidered textiles to silver jewelry from Taxco. For museum-quality alebrijes (painted wooden animals from Oaxaca), hand-painted tin toys and amate (tree bark) paintings, make an appointment at Victor Artes Populares Mexicanos (8 and 10 Avenida Madero, Suite 305; 52-55-55-12- 12-63), a hard-to-find gallery above a perfumery.
9:30 p.m.
10) FIESTA AT THE CONDESA
With its popular rooftop bar, an exclusive disco and movie theater in the basement, and a cute chocolate Labrador helping out front, the Condesa DF Hotel is as renowned for its night life as for its stylish rooms. The buzzing restaurant, housed in an all-white courtyard with a wall of cascading greenery, is an ideal spot for people-watching, especially during dinner (which starts around 9:30 p.m. in Mexico City). The food's not bad either. A Lebanese-born chef, Sonia el-Nawal, runs the kitchen, sending out chic comfort foods like snapper Veracruz with saffron couscous, and green risotto with fava beans, basil and zucchini blossoms. Don't skip dessert; Ms. el-Nawal used to be a pastry chef in New York City. Her silky chamomile panna cotta is divine. Afterward, wander upstairs to the terrace for a nightcap, or make a break for the dance club downstairs.
Sunday
10 a.m.
11) PRE-COLUMBIAN STAIR MASTERS
No one really knows why Teotihuacan fell; between A.D. 150 and 450, it was the center of a sophisticated and powerful civilization that dominated Mesoamerica. They had it all: indoor plumbing, astronomers and, judging from the pyramids, brilliant engineers. See for yourself. Climb the seemingly endless, sweat-inducing stairs to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, about an hour's drive from the city. The view is profound, as is the contrast to modern-day Mexico City.
Noon
12) TEQUILA REFRESHER
Reward your climb with a shot of exquisite tequila at Techinanco at the back of another pyramid, the Pyramid of the Moon (52-59-49-58-23-06), a laid-back restaurant with an impressive bar. There's lunch, too. Try the mole de Huitlacoche, a sauce made with corn fungus, served over chicken (about 77 pesos). Order another shot of tequila and be grateful you don't have to drink what the Aztecs got their buzz from: pulque, a sour drink made from fermented maguey plant juice.
2 p.m.
13) SWEAT IT OUT
Continue your exploration of pre-Hispanic Mexico at the W Hotel's sleek modern spa (252 Campos Eliseos, Polanco; 52-55-9-138-1800; www.whotels.com/mexicocity). In its center is a Temazcal, a traditional Indian sweat lodge. If you call ahead, the staff will arrange a Temazcal session with a local shaman who will chant, pray and guide you through the 90-minute experience.
The Basics
Continental Airlines (www.continental.com) and AeroMexico (www.aeromexico.com) fly to Mexico City from New York, starting at $512. To get to the city center, avoid hailing a cab. Instead, buy a ticket inside the airport for a licensed taxi; trips should cost 150 to 250 pesos, about $13 to $22 at 11.20 pesos to the dollar. Better yet, ask your hotel to arrange for a pickup.
The much-anticipated Hippodrome Hotel (188 Avenida Mexico, , 52-55-1454-4599; www.stashhotels.com) opened in Condesa this month. In a renovated 1931 Art Deco building overlooking Parque México, the Hippodrome has 16 beautifully appointed rooms, ranging from $230 to $970 a night.
Condesa DF (Avenida Veracruz, 102; 52-55-5241-2600; www.condesadf.com) is the hotel of choice for visiting celebrities, like the director Alejandro González Iñarritu and Bono of U2. Opened two years ago in a 1920s neo-Classical building, the boutique hotel has 40 rooms and a luxe-bohemian décor that suggests a cross between Mexico and Palm Springs. Doubles from $175.
For fantastic views of the Zócalo, reserve one of the 457 rooms at the Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel (70 Avenida Juárez, 52-55-5130-5300; www.starwoodhotels.com), a modern high-rise near Alameda Central. Doubles from $130. |
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