PARQUE MÉXICO

Despite the growing popularity of the Condesa among young Mexicans and foreigners as a place to live and hang out, there’s not a whole lot for most visitors to do apart from eating out at one of the (generally pricey) restaurants. But if you feel like seeing something besides colonial churches and museums, you might consider walking around Parque México and surrounding streets for a couple of hours, or relaxing on a bench with a book or your journal in the park.

  The large, oval-shaped park, built on the site of a horsetrack, is filled with remarkably lush, almost tropical vegetation, and it is a wonderful oasis of clean air in the midst of the city. If you’re a runner, you might consider joining the many locals who get their daily exercise jogging, in-line skating, or just walking their dogs around the park. The camellón-filled central pedestrian walkway along Avenida Amsterdam, which forms a larger oval around the park one block away, is also a good place to run.

  While the hype of the Condesa as the most pristine art deco neighborhood outside of Miami’s South Beach is overblown, there are several elegant deco/functionalist apartment houses facing Parque México. Near the north end of the park, right next to the Suburbia department store at the corner of Sonora, is Edificio Basurto, named in honor of its architect (José Basurto), who was also one of the developers of the Condesa. For a brief time after its construction in the 1920s, this was the tallest building in Mexico City. It’s hard to appreciate the architecture from the outside, but the circular atrium and apartments have clean, crisp lines.

  Parque México is divided by two streets, Michoacán (in the middle) and Sonora (at the north end). Follow Michoacán four blocks to the west, across Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, and you’ll find yourself in the middle of the Condesa restaurant and café zone. Following Sonora west from Parque México will take you across Nuevo León to Parque España, a second, smaller park; it’s not as nice as Parque México, because it’s stranded next to a major avenue. Beyond Parque España is the stately Avenida Veracruz, which is still a bit run down in places but is quickly being gentrified.