A personal guide to the best Mexico City guidebooks — the Monocle travel guide, Art and Fiesta by Cristina Alonso, the Petit Atlas Hédoniste, and the locally published books you’ll only find once you’re there. What’s on my shelf after 17 years in the city.
A local’s guide to the best coffee chains in Mexico City — Tierra Garat, Cielito Querido, Sede Café, and Chiquitito. All better than Starbucks. Where to stop when you need a break from walking.
A personal guide to the Spanish restaurants in Mexico City worth knowing — El Centro Castellano in the Centro Histórico, El Chanclas in Polanco, Bulla, La Cocina del Bizco, and La Barra de Fran. The ones we frequent.
A personal guide to the hand gestures of Mexico City — yes, no, thank you, huevos, lleno, money, codo, and more. The small vocabulary that makes you feel considerably less foreign.
A personal guide to healthcare in Mexico City — the big private hospitals, pharmacy doctors for minor ailments, how to find a specialist, what things cost, and an honest note on the IMSS public system.
A local’s guide to Mexico City weather and what to pack — the rainy season reality, the temperate climate that surprises visitors from both directions, and how people actually dress here for work, lunch, markets, and nights out.
A personal guide to Mexican fashion designers worth knowing — Sandra Weil, Raquel Orozco, Cynthia Buttenklepper, Lorena Saravia, Yakampot, Olmos & Flores, and where to browse multi-brand stores in Polanco and Roma.
A complete guide to Section 1 of Chapultepec Park — the two sides of Reforma explained, the Anthropology Museum, Museo Tamayo with Odette café and gift shop, Sala Gastronómica restaurant inside the museum, Chapultepec Castle with step-by-step directions, the zoo, botanic garden, and the Sunday atmosphere that makes this one of the great urban parks in the world.
A personal guide to eating gluten-free and dairy-free in Mexico City — what works in traditional Mexican cuisine, how to handle the dairy overlay, where to go for dedicated GF bread (Pan Gabriel, multiple locations), a fully GF restaurant (La Otilia), and an honest note about current awareness levels.
A personal essay on Oaxaca, the difference between traditional and fusion food, and why visiting the market — and 15 Letras, and the comedores — before the aesthetic restaurants matters.