You Planned for a Week in Paris But Wound Up in Mexico City for the Weekend
You planned for a week in Paris, but something went wrong. Instead of a transatlantic vacation you have a weekend getaway in Mexico City. If you’re looking out your hotel window at the Ángel de la Independencia but wish it were the Eiffel Tower, I have some recommendations for you.
I know, looking for a taste of Paris in Mexico City seems absurd at face value. But hear me out. If you’re craving a little Gallic flavor, but couldn’t make the trip, this is where to go in Mexico City.
The Bread
You already know Rosetta. Everyone knows Rosetta, and it is good. But if you’re looking for a great baguette or canelé, visit Ficelle, at Tamaulipas 39 in Condesa. Julien de Bellaigue and his partner Eric Lenoir opened it in 2016 and I promise, it’s one of the best baguettes I’ve found in the city.
The Boulevard
Walk Reforma Avenue. Maximilian had it laid out in the 1860s as the Paseo de la Emperatriz. It was modeled on the great boulevards of Europe, the Champs-Élysées among them. The original stretch ran between the Centro Histórico and Chapultepec Castle, where he lived. Porfirio Díaz, who came later, lined it with monuments, the Ángel de la Independencia among them. It’s wide, tree-lined, and built for walking and occasionally resting on one of the shaded benches.
The Journals
In Paris, the object of the moment is a Louise Carmen journal. Nathalie Valmary founded the brand in 2016. The leather is vegetable-tanned, and you choose your own combination of cover, paper and charms. They have two Paris workshops, one in the Passage du Grand Cerf and one at 51 Galerie Vivienne. The journals have gone viral on TikTok, and according to CNBC, 60 percent of the brand’s online orders now come from the United States.
I walked by their location at Galerie Vivienne on my recent trip to Paris, but they were closed as it was a Monday.
Instead of mourning the missed opportunity, I visited Cyan México (@cyan_mexico), at Colima 184 in Roma Norte. I chose a size B6 as the A5 just seemed a bit large for me, and opted for chocolate brown leather with red accents. You assemble the journal yourself at a work table in the shop. I spent about an hour there, but could have taken longer so plan accordingly if you like to take your time. Book your appointment before you go if you know you want to take one of their journals home. Prices start at 1,690 pesos and they’re open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 to 6. The added benefit? Getting replacement inserts will be easier from Roma Norte than from the second arrondissement.
The Flea Markets
Paris has Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. We have La Lagunilla, every Sunday from 9 to 3, a few blocks from Garibaldi. Dress down. There’s a lot of good stuff, mixed in with a lot of junk, but the pure spectacle of it is worth a visit.
For the covered version and a more curated selection of antiques, visit Plaza del Ángel in Zona Rosa, at Londres 161. This covered market houses dozens of permanent dealers under one roof, Monday to Saturday, 10 to 7. On Saturdays a tianguis sets up outside. Highlights include colonial furniture, sacred art, and vintage watches.
The Art
If you really had your heart set on contemplating the Gates of Hell at the Musée d’Orsay or the Rodin Museum, plan a visit to the Museo Soumaya in Plaza Carso. Admission is free, and it’s open every day from 10:30 to 6:30. The building’s design stands out, but the collection is the reason to go. The museum is billed as holding the largest collection of Rodin outside France, including The Thinker and The Gates of Hell. There are Impressionist paintings as well, including Monet, Renoir and Degas. As a bonus, the Soumaya holds the only works by Van Gogh in Mexico.
Dinner
Everyone knows Mexico City has amazing food, but you’re probably only thinking about tacos. Contrary to what you might expect, or look for if you’re here for a visit, Mexico City has several great French restaurants that are either outposts of famous French restaurants, or institutions in their own right that have been around for years.
Au Pied de Cochon opened in Paris in 1947, in the Les Halles market district, and originally stayed open 24 hours to feed the market workers. The Mexico City branch opened in 2000, on the ground floor of the Presidente InterContinental, at Campos Elíseos 218 in Polanco. The interior is Art Nouveau, in wood and marble and it’s open 24 hours, every day of the week.
L’Entrecôte, at Emilio Castelar 121 near Parque Lincoln, is the Polanco branch of the Le Relais de Venise group, which began in Paris. At the Paris original the menu is one dish, steak frites. Here it is the same, though I have to admit, I like the salad dressing at the Mexico outpost better!
Les Moustaches is in a Porfirian-era mansion at Río Sena 88, in Colonia Cuauhtémoc. It is a white-tablecloth french restaurant that has been open for about fifty years. There is live music and a refined atmosphere. Dinner is served Friday and Saturday, but they close early other days. On one particularly memorable visit, we ordered beef Wellington to celebrate a visit from my mom.
If you’re looking for an option that is a bit more modern or a bit more posh, head to Havre 77 in the Colonia Juárez. From the same chef behind Maximo Bistro, they serve classic french fare in a converted Porfirian mansion. Their food is always good. One of my consistent favorites is the roasted chicken and the fries.
The Jazz Cellar
If your heart is set on hearing some live jazz in an atmospheric location, go to Zinco after dinner. It’s at Motolinía 20, at the corner of 5 de Mayo in the Centro, in the basement of the 1930s Art Deco Banco Mexicano building. Zinco has been here since the mid-2000s, with the feel of the old New York clubs of the Miles Davis era, which is also, more or less, what a good Paris jazz club feels like.
It’s open Wednesday to Saturday, and the music starts around 10. Reservations are recommended. Check their scheduled lineup before you go.
The Hat Shop
One of the most wonderful things about Paris is the abundance of unique shops, specialized in one thing they’ve been doing for decades, at least. For a similar experience in Mexico City, go to Tardán, on the Zócalo. It began in 1847 as a hat shop called El Castor. In 1870 a French-born businessman, Francisco Dallet, bought it. He later partnered with another Frenchman, Charles Tardán, who bought the business out with his brothers and renamed it for himself. Porfirio Díaz, Zapata, Madero and Pancho Villa all bought hats there, and you can too.
The Fragrance
A (French) friend once told me a Frenchman would never leave the house without perfume. Coco Chanel put it more sharply: a woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future. In my family, we didn’t wear fragrance, so it’s something that’s always stood out to me both in Europe and in Mexico.
For a unique, local fragrance, stop by Xinú, founded by designers Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena in 2016. The Marsella boutique is in Juárez, in a former car mechanic’s workshop, reached through a plain metal gate off the street. The scents are built on Mexican botanical ingredients.
Coqui Coqui is another Mexican brand that is worth knowing for its scents. Unfortunately, they are based in the Yucatán, so you won’t find any outpost in Mexico City. If you happen to find yourself in Mérida or Valladolid, stop in. The experience of visiting the shop is beautiful, both because of the curated shopping and unique scents, but also because they offer a small menu with tea, coffee and cookies that are served on the most lovely china. A visit to their dedicated hotel in Cobá has been on my list for ages.
The Café
For the sidewalk terrace experience, go to Maque, in Condesa, and order a coffee at one of their sidewalk tables. Accompany it with a concha, the most typical Mexican sweet bread. Maque is famous for their conchas. My husband’s firm ordered from them every Friday for years. They are full of butter, and what could be more French than that?
The Architecture You’re Not Expecting
People come to Mexico City braced for northern Mexican desert and are generally unprepared for how European the city feels. Start with Bellas Artes and the Palacio de Correos, both begun during the Porfiriato with direct European inspiration. Then go further back. Maximilian and Carlota, a Habsburg emperor and empress, lived at Chapultepec Castle during their brief reign in Mexico. Yes, the same Maximilian who planned Reforma Avenue.
Take a walk up to the castle, enjoy the view and visit some of the original rooms where famous figures in Mexican history lived and worked.
Take Home Something Uniquely Mexican
The Michelin Guide’s entry on local hotel Condesa DF mentions the neighborhood’s tree-lined avenues and Art Nouveau architecture make it resemble Paris more than the Centro Histórico. I’m not sure if I agree, so take the comparison and the premise of this post seriously for exactly as long as they’re useful, and then let it go, because the best way to end this weekend is with something that isn’t French at all.
Before you leave, look for some amazing Mexican design at Lazo, on Avenida Tamaulipas, or at Choza on Tenancingo. Then go to Escalina, at Jalapa 121 in Roma Norte, through a small door next to Proyecto República. You climb a steep, narrow staircase to reach the displays. Almost everything is made by Mexican and Latin American artisans and designers, from white clay tableware from Tzintzuntzan to wooden birds from Zipolite. My husband and I have a couple of big throw pillows we found there that add a pop of color and design to our living room.
You wanted Paris. You got a long weekend in a city that spent a hundred and fifty years absorbing a European sensibility and might have more in common with the City of Lights than you thought. But, it’s still Mexico and still distinctly Latin. So, get your fix for the Parisian sensibilities while you’re here, and then take home something that is distinctly Mexican.
Is the comparison a stretch? If you’ve been to both cities, did you find yourself nodding along or have I gone off the rails? I’d love to read your thoughts.
