CITY

HOURS IN...

Trying to see Mexico City in 48 hours is a bit like being handed the complete works of Shakespeare and being told you have 10 minutes to flick through it: you might stumble across some good bits but it’s really just a tantalising glimpse at something you have no hope of fully comprehending. You can, nevertheless, have a great time, with the world’s fifth biggest city (population 22 million) a cultural and culinary hotspot to rival any in the world.

The most famous tourist attraction is the Blue House where the artist Frida Kahlo lived for most of her life. Located in the Colonia del Carmen area, the house became a haunt for some of the most important artists of the 20th century. Much of it remains as it was when Kahlo died there in 1957, including the bed where she spent her final moments.

It’s a stunning building, part museum, part art gallery, populated by works by Kahlo herself and many of those who passed through. Give yourself enough time to relax in the expansive gardens and check out the new exhibition of Kahlo’s distinctive dresses.

If architecture is your thing, a trip to one of the houses designed by Luis Barragán is a must. His properties, which pioneered fusing architecture and nature, are recognised as some of the most important examples of their kind in the world.

The most famous is Luis Barragán House in the Miguel Hidalgo district but it sells out quick; I managed to get a ticket for an intimate tour of the nearby Casa Pedregal, a stunning home built over volcanic rocks whose organic shapes are incorporated into the walls and garden. It’s a wonderful, meditative experience, quite unlike anything I've seen before. The area around Casa Pedregal is also worth checking out, including the restaurant-cum-cafecum-record shop next door.

I stayed at the Andaz Mexico City, a stylish, modern hotel that opened earlier this year. The buzzy Cabuya Rooftop restaurant is worth a visit – it has a glass-sided swimming pool if you’re feeling brave – but if you fancy something a little more low-key there are great bars and taquerias in the surrounding neighbourhood of La Condesa, which boasts colonial architecture and an air of nonchalant cool reminiscent of Shoreditch circa 2010.

£ Rates at Andaz Mexico City Condesa start from £350 per night, andazmexicocitycondesa.com