Textile and Color Inspiration - A Visit to Mexico City

At the beginning of January we made our fist visit to Mexico City. I'd heard great things but let me tell you, this experience exceeded all of my expectations! The history, the colors, the textiles and crafts, the people and the food - all of it was fantastic. (And bonus, if you're traveling from the US no jet lag!) Because I saw and experienced so much inspiration, (including fabric and crafts) I wanted to share it here with all of you.

This is not my first time writing about my travel experiences. I've been lucky to have some cool trips abroad (I'll link to more of them at the end of this post). But this was my first time visiting a Latin American capital city. Our experience was so great, I want to visit more!

It's taken me forever to sort through thoughts and 100's of photos to boil this down. I'm going to share abreviated versions of everything, but definitely check out YouTube and other official travel sites for more detailed recommendations.

The City Center

The heart of Mexico City’s center, known as the Zócalo, is a massive plaza surrounded by historic colonial buildings and the Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the largest and oldest cathedrals in the Americas. Across the square is the National Palace, home of the current President.

Also nearby is the Templo Mayor Museum built around the remains of an Aztec temple. (Current Mexico City is built right on top of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.) Inside the musuem has artifacts on display around the excavated foundations of the original Aztec temples. It's incredible seeing how the city’s current vibrant life is intertwined with the ruins in the same city blocks.

From the Zócalo, narrow cobblestone streets lead to bustling markets, artisan shops, and cozy cafés, while pedestrian avenues like Madero Street are lined with shopping and restaurants. The area is constantly alive with the vibrant rhythms of street performers, traditional dancers, and local vendors selling everything from handcrafted goods to delicious street food.

We took a guided walking tour of the city center (highly recommend). We saw and learned about so many hidden gems we would have missed. Probably my favorite is the The Casa de los Azulejos, or House of Tiles - a striking building in Mexico City’s historic center, famous for its facade covered in blue-and-white tiles.

It’s one of the city’s most photographed landmarks, blending colonial architecture with unique decorative style. Originally built as a private residence for a wealthy family, it’s now home to Sanborns department store complete with popular restaurant. (It's also a great place to use the restroom when you need one.) The interior has beautifully preserved achitecture and design details too. It reminded me of the big department stores in London like Selfridges or Liberty, but on a smaller scale.

Museums

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is one of Mexico City’s most iconic buildings in the city center, next to the Alameda Central park. This fine-art museum has a beautiful Beaux-Arts style exterior built in the 1890's but not finished until the the 1930's in Art Deco style and houses famous Diego Rivera murals from that era.

My personal favorite museum in the city center is the Museo de Arte Popular (MAP) in Mexico City. It's a vibrant celebration of traditional Mexican folk art and crafts and showcases an incredible range of handmade pieces, from intricate textiles and ceramics to colorful alebrijes and Day of the Dead decorations. Here are some examples:

The museum’s goal is to preserve and promote Mexico’s diverse artistic traditions and because it's not a huge museum, it's a great place to get a panoramic look at examples of multiple arts and craft styles and traditions in one easy-to-enjoy place.

There are many beautiful sewing and embroidery styles and examples. (Love the little detail of the man at the sewing machine.)

How beautiful are these embroidered dresses and womens' clothing items?

Outside of the city center is Chapultepec Park - a massive green oasis in the heart of Mexico City, offering everything from scenic trails and picnic areas to world-class museums. It's the "Central Park' of Mexico City, one of the largest urban parks in the Americas, and is home to the historic Chapultepec Castle, the National Museum of Anthropology. Both are must do's, in my opinion.

The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City is a world-class musem featuring the country’s incredible pre-Hispanic heritage. Inside, there are iconic artifacts like the Aztec Sun Stone and massive Olmec heads, along with exhibits about the history and culture of Mexico’s indigenous civilizations.

We absolutely loved it. The museum is huge and inspiring, but could be somewhat overwhelming. I totally recommend hiring an English-speaking guide to walk you through. (It is also chilly inside in the winter, so you may want to bring a sweater.)

Chapultepec Castle is a historic fortress perched on a hill, with sweeping views of the city below in all directions.

It originated as an imperial palace for Spansish and then Mexican royalty and later a presidential residence. It’s now a museum featuring artifacts, elegant rooms, and murals that trace Mexico’s political history since the Spanish invastion to the present and an excellent guide through the post-Spanish history of Mexico.

The gardens and views of the city are beautiful. There is a bit of an uphill walk/climb (it's really pretty) to the top of the hill to access the museum. Once again, I highly recommend an English-speaking guide. (I have the contact info of the fantasic guide that gave us a private tour. Email me if you want that contact information.)

Teotihuacan Pyramids

The Teotihuacan Pyramids are an awe-inspiring archaeological site just outside Mexico City, once the heart of a great Mesoamerican city that thrived around 1,500 years ago. The largest temples are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, both massive structures. We walkedalong the Avenue of the Dead, a long thoroughfare flanked by ancient temples and plazas, and our guide told us about the bustling city that once existed there, showing us lots of excavated details.

The pyramids are known for their symmetry, engineering precision, and connection to solar and lunar calendars and astronomy. I thought it was fascinating. These massive pyramids preceed the Aztec civilization by over a 1000 years. Its now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I recommend visiting the ruins on Monday when all of the musuems and sites in the city are closed. I also recommend an early-morning tour so you can beat the crowds (and the heat). We arrived right before they opened at 8:00 and got to see the hot air balloons that take-off before sunrise to offer birds-eye views over the ruins as the sun comes up. (We did not do this ourselves, but I loved seeing all of the balloons when we arrived!)

Near Teotihuacan we visited a small village where we saw a demonstration of how the Agave plant has been used for centuries for fiber used for weaving textiles, parchment-like-paper and even the sharp tips of the leaves used as sewing needles.

We also learned about how substances from nature such as flower petals and minerals, were used to create traditional methods of dying fiber.

Other Neighborhoods in Mexico City

We stayed in the Condesa neighborhood which we loved. Very safe, fun to explore and walk/bike through. We also loved resting our feet, eating churros, and people watching in Parque Mexico.

Known for its leafy streets, art deco buildings, and trendy cafés and restaurants, Condesa is a popular spot for strolling through lush parks, browsing boutique shops, and enjoying the area’s vibrant cultural and culinary scene (both restaurants and great street food!)

The Coyoacán Neighborhood is about a 30 minute car ride south of the city center. This historic neighborhood with cobblestone streets, colorful colonial homes, and a bohemian vibe is known for its tranquil plazas, bustling markets, and the famous Frida Kahlo House.

This museum also known as the Blue House, is the artist’s former home in Coyoacán where she was born and later lived with Diego Rivera. Today, it offers an intimate look at her life and work, displaying personal artifacts, iconic paintings, and a glimpse into her creative space. You have to book tickets online and I recommend booking in advance. (We were there over a holiday weekend and all tickets were sold out.) If you're not planning to go (or, like me, didn't get in) here is a virtual tour of her home.

Near Coyoacán is the San Angel neighborhood. Saturday afternoons it hosts the Bazaar del Sabado where local craftspeople showcase handmade jewelry, textiles, pottery, and paintings.

It’s a great place to find unique gifts, soak up the neighborhood’s historic charm, and enjoy traditional Mexican snacks and live music.

While the tradtional Markets throughout the city (including the Mercado de Coyoacán) are a must-do part of the Mexico City experience, the Bazar del Sábado in San Ángel focuses on artisan goods and art pieces in an upscale, boutique-like setting.

Markets

Mercados (or traditional markets) are scattered throughout the city offering a bustling market atmosphere with food, produce, and affordable everyday items. They're also a great place for finding traditional Mexican souvenirs.

Many of the Mercados are covered, but there are also outdoor markets on specific days. For example, the outdoor market in Condesa on Tuesdays is known as the “tianguis” (traditional open-air market) and sets up on Calle Campeche. It offers a variety of fresh produce, local snacks, street food, and household goods, making it a popular spot for neighborhood shopping and casual dining.

FOOD

The food. Oh my goodness, the food. I am a taco lover and I was in heaven. And there are so many good options!! Everything from traditional restaurants to street food.

We took a Taco Bike tour one day that went through Condesa, Roma, and San Miguel de Chapultepec. Highly recommend finding one! Most of the stops were street food and absolutely incredible. I was a little nervous about street food when we arrived but by the time we left, it was my favorite option. (The quesadilla below left was made from hand-ground blue corn!)

The Mercados offer lots of food options under one giant location (kind of like a food court) so they're a great place to sample a lot of different foods in one place.

I was worried about food safety at first, but ended up having no problems with any of it. That said, we only drank bottled water including buying 4L bottles for our AirBnb apartment.

Getting Around

By far the easiest way to get around was to use Uber. Worked flawlessly, drivers were great, inexpensive, and no having to exchange money/cash since all transactions are handled through the app.

It definitely helped that we had a fluent Spanish speaker with us. The inspiration for this trip came because our son worked as a volunteer for our church, learning Spanish and helping various communities of the hispanic population in Oregon. He loves those people, the language and the food, and wanted to visit real Mexico. Seeing him thoroughly enjoying speaking in Spanish, loving the people and the food was a highlight for me. (Also, if you ask him, he would probably say his other favorite part was going to a Luchador match, lol.)

So there you go! Mexico City (CDMX) in a nutshell! I can't sing its praises highly enough. If you go, let me know what you think! (And feel free to email me if you want more details, restaurant and tour guide recommendations.)

Have you ever been to Mexico City? If so, what are some of your favorite places and things to do? I'm already dying to go back!

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