Alameda Central

First built in the 16th century as a patch of public green space at the western edge of the capital, the Alameda has long been a place where the city and its residents could show off. First it was wealthy residents in the late 18th century who came here to perform their elaborately choreographed courtships, then the dictator Porfirio Díaz chose this as the site for his grand belle epoque monument to the arts, the Palacio Bellas Artes. Later, it was gay men in the 1960s who came for late-night rendezvous under cover of the decaying historic center’s anonymous darkness.

Long overshadowed by the Torre Latina and the Palacio Bellas Artes, two of Mexico City’s most iconic landmarks, the Alameda was renovated in 2012 and has once again become a lively center of public life in the city, as well as a flash point for conflicts over gentrification in the city's historic barrios populares.

Immediately surrounding the plaza you'll find a discordant mix of restaurant chains and local institutions hanging on to their foothold in the neighborhood with impressive ferocity even as real estate developers attempt to push them out (be sure to patronize the latter and skip the former). South of the Alameda, the fancy facades along Avenida Juárez give way to fluorescent-light minimalls filled with lighting stores, some of the city's best food and craft markets, and a small Chinatown. To the north, the Colonia Guerrero remains somewhat dicey at night, but it's nevertheless one of the city’s more interesting central neighborhoods with a few sights worth checking out.