A Design Lover's Guide to Mexico City

Mexico City has been on my list to visit for several years and it exceeded my high expectations.

Image: Octavia Casa lobby

Below is a travel guide for a design-focused 3 days in the city. I listed everything out that we did in chronological order and the flow was perfect for us! My husband and I traveled with another couple and it was a great adults trip (all the kids stayed home with grandparents).

Left: Luis Barragan Casa Pedregal, Middle & Right: Octavia Casa Hotel

The highlight was exploring all the Luis Barragan architecture (he has my heart with design!) and the food scene was top-notch.

Below is our itinerary.

Day 1 (half-day on Friday):

• Land at noon and check into Octavia Casa Hotel in Condesa

• Luis Barragan tour of his personal home in the Colonia Ampliación Daniel Garza neighborhood (make reservations at least a month in advance as spots are limited)

• Appetizers in the Four Seasons Courtyard

• Drinks on top floor of The Ritz (the views are mesmerizing)

Day 2 (full-day on Saturday):

• Breakfast at Colony Blend Station (15 minute walk from the hotel) - I ordered the Super Green Toast and Oat Milk Matcha and it was delicious

• Luis Barragan Casa Pedregal tour (reservations are made via email: visitas@casapedregal.com and book in advance as their tours are small and fill up quickly)

• Light lunch and homemade juices at Tetetlan next door to Casa Pedregal. Tetelan is also a Barragan design and on the next trip, I want to come here for dinner.

• Oaxacan pottery shopping in the Tetetlan basement

• Walking around Polanco - don’t miss a visit to Xinu Perfumes in this neighborhood

• Dinner at Pujol in Polanco - their menu is omakase-style and we chose the table option versus the bar option. Request a table by the window to best enjoy in the garden. After we finished dinner, we moved to the courtyard to hang out a bit longer. This restaurant is an investment of a price and I think worth it for the incredible experience. Plan for an almost 3 hour meal.

Day 3 (full-day on Sunday):

• Breakfast at Malcriado -get the oat milk latte and Shakshuka

• Walking tour of the city center in Centro - we used the tour company Mexico A Pie and the highlight was seeing 4 eras of life/architecture within just a few blocks: the Aztecs, Spanish, Art Deco, and modern day eras

• Visit Centro Museums (note: many museums are free on Sundays)- we only had time for one and went to Museo Nacional de Arte

• Walking around Juarez to window shop at boutiques

• Dinner at Masala and Maiz in the Juarez neighborhood- it’s a fusion of Indian and Mexican food. They believe that food can be used as a powerful tool for environmental & social justice. We got the “chef’s choice” and they bought out 8 small dishes for the four of us to share.

Day 4 (travel day home on Monday):

• Flights home

Left: Pujol | Middle: Luis Barragan Casa Pedregal House | Right: Museo Nacional de Arte

Fun neighborhoods to explore:

• Polanco - luxury shops, restaurants and apartments. All the best restaurants usually start out elsewhere in the city (we heard in Juarez) and then once they are established they move to the prime Polanco real estate. Shopping includes both international brands and small boutiques.

• Condesa - feels like a quiet community and is where our hotel was located

• Roma - wish we spent more time exploring Roma. It’s known for its architecture, culture, dining/nightlife scene

• Centro - very busy part of town filled with historic architecture

• Juarez - a young and up and coming area with cool restaurant and independent boutiques

• Pedegral - mostly large estates with impressive homes sitting behind unassuming fronts. Barragan Pedegral house and Tetetlan are located here

Image: Luis Barragan’s personal home - it is $50 USD per camera that you bring into the space. I chose my iPhone as my camera for the tour so I could do photo + video, but wish I had also brought in my Sony mirrorless camera.

Notes:

• Ubers are easy and quick, usually around $10-25 USD per ride to get around the city

• The lobby of Octavia Hotel is a mood in the evenings- after we were done in the city, we would hang out in the lobby for a bit before bed. They have snacks and wine that can be purchased every evening.

• Our trip was in January and it was the perfect climate and escape from the polar vortex that had taken over Colorado. Highs were in the 70s with lows in the 40s at night. It rained for a few hours one day when we were inside a museum, but couldn’t have asked for better weather for January.

• Reservations are not just recommended, they are necessary! We booked both Barragan visits, Pujol, Four Seasons courtyard, and Masala and Maiz over a month in advance (and if we hadn’t, we would not have been able to visit any of them). We thought we could get Frida Kahlo tickets at the door, but they were sold out on our trip.

Left: Casa Octavia lobby | Middle: Luis Barragan Casa Pedregal House | Right: Museo Nacional de Arte