3 Best Sights in Condesa, Mexico City

Condesa's other green lung, the 22-acre Parque México lies just southeast of its slightly smaller and slightly older sister, Parque España. Among its many enchanting features, you'll find a gracious duck pond, a large children's playground, fountains, a strikingly ornate art deco iron clocktower, and dozens of footpaths passing by emerald gardens, topiary shrubs, and towering specimen trees. The park was constructed in 1927 on the site of a former racetrack, which explains the circular road, Avenida México, looping its perimeter and the name of the colonia in which its officially located, Hipódromo (hippodrome) Condesa. The park is lined with handsome buildings, including some of the best examples of art deco in the city. Dozens of cafés, taquerias, and bars are within a couple of blocks of the park, making it a great spot to enjoy a casual bite to eat.

Like nearby Parque México, this slightly smaller but no less alluring 16½ acre urban oasis was laid out in the early 1920s by architect José Luis Cuevas, who was also responsible for planning much of the surrounding Hipódromo section of the Condesa neighborhood. It opened officially in September 1921, during the centennial celebrations of the Mexican War of Independence. A focal point of Parque España is the dramatic, modern sculpture and fountain installed in 1974 in honor of statesman and Mexican Revolutionary General Lázaro Cárdenas. It's a figurative depiction of the outstretched palm of then President Cárdenas, welcoming Republican refugees of the Spanish Civil to Mexico during the late 1930s. Both the statue and the park in general are popular places to sit with a book or watch locals strolling with their dogs. It's filled with flower beds, native shrubs, a small pond, and a playground.

This hilly green space on the border of San Miguel Chapultepec and Tacubaya includes a maze of tree- and shrub-lined pathways as well as one of the largest children's playgrounds close to Condesa. The central fountain, beside a pergola with a massive bougainvillea tree looming over it, is a lovely place to sip coffee, read a book, or chat with friends. Adjacent to the park's southeast corner, you'll find Museo Casa de Bola ( www.museoshaghenbeck.mx/museo-casa-de-la-bola), which is open by appointment only or during special events (it's a popular wedding venue). The magnificent 16th-century villa belonged to San José de Tacubaya, and its 13 ornately decorated rooms are filled with fine European (predominantly French) tapestries, finery, decorative objects, and furniture that dates over the past few centuries