Mexico City Now the New Hip Destination Phillippe Diederich - VOXXI
go to original May 6, 2013

Mexico City Video Secretaria de Turismo (directorTV)

Miami Beach? Forget about it. If you’re looking for a hip destination with killer restaurants, creative hotels, clubs and interesting people, head south of the border because Mexico City is becoming the place to be for a true hip vacation.

Not that Mexico wasn’t hip before. Once upon a time in the fifties Acapulco was the hip and exotic destination for the jet-set crowd. And Mexico City has always had its own edge, but its hipness was few and far between, and most of the hip joints in town were only imitations of hip places elsewhere. But now, Mexico City, the place that was once synonymous with pollution and crime, is rivaling American and European cities with its own unique trendiness.

Places to say: Check out the hip Condesa df Hotel in the overly hip Condesa neighborhood. If you’re into modern design and want to chill at an ultra cool rooftop bar, this is the place for you.

If you’re looking for something more traditional, but cool, check into the DOWNTOWN Mexico hotel in, you guessed it, downtown, or Centro Historico. This cool hotel blends colonial architecture with an industrial edge, and it’s right smack in center of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Food for thought: Sure, back in the day everyone knew about some choice restaurants in San Angel and La Zona Rosa. But nothing compares to Pujol in the fancy Polanco neighborhood. It is by far the best restaurant in Mexico, and some consider it one of the best in the world. Also in Polanco is Biko and Izote and a host of other eateries. Other options elsewhere in town are Romita in Colonia Roma, which has an awesome setting, or try Rojo in Colonia Condesa.

Bar and clubs: hip clubs come and go with the trends; here today gone tomorrow. In the 90?s there were places like Bar Milan, Bar Mata, and Pervert, a snooty club in the center of town. Now there is M.N. Roy, in Colonia Roma, a club that’s so hip, a recent GQ article said that if you’re not on the list the door person won’t let you in. Period. Also in Colonia Roma, Bengala is another hip place to hang. It’s half club half bar and has live jazz on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And if famous people and models is what you want, check out La Bipolar, also known as La B or La Bipo, in the Coyoacan neighborhood. It’s a cool kitschy restaurant with a club upstairs. And it’s owned by Mexican actor, Diego Luna.

For after the late-night, after the club tacos, head to El Tizoncito in Condesa. It’s a must.

Parks and the arts: Take a morning stroll in Parque Chapultepec and then stop in and visit the Museo Rufino Tamayo for a dose of modern art. Then head out to Coyoacán to see the Museo Frida Kahlo. But if you really want to be hip, wander the streets of the Centro Historico. In the evening check out a lucha libre match at the Arena Coliseo, and finish your night around the corner at Plaza Garibaldi for some live Mariachi music and good old fashioned Mexican food at the Salon Tenampa.

Mexico City is all grown up. It has solved its pollution problem in less than a decade. And according to news reports, crime in the city way down. As a matter of fact, some say it is the safest city in the country, but that is mostly in relation to drug crime.

One thing is for sure, Mexico City is a great destination for those who enjoy chilling in hip places, and whose definition of cool is not tied to an advertisement.

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