6 Best Sights in Roma, Mexico City

Set within a typical-looking Roma house with an early 20th-century stone facade, Galería OMR has been a leader in the city's contemporary arts scene since it opened in 1983. It contains dramatic, light-filled exhibit spaces on two levels as well as an art library, a bougainvillea-filled courtyard, and a roof-deck with grand views of the neighborhood. The gallery also has a strong presence in international art fairs and art magazines.

In Doctores just a block from Roma and Avenida Álvaro Obregón, this historic textile factory has been transformed into a collaborative art and design space that serves as both showcase and incubator. From the street you'd hardly know it was here—you need to knock on the door to gain entry. But the public is welcome to drop in, order a well-crafted latte from the cool café (which is also an inviting spot to work on your laptop), check out the bookstore specializing in titles about design, and explore the building's unique architecture. Many of the galleries and studios inside sell their works to the public, but Laguna also hosts a wide range of cultural activities, including dance classes, art workshops, design expos, and various lectures. Above all else it offers visitors a terrific opportunity to interact with the city's constantly evolving creative scene.

Perhaps the most picturesque—and oft-photographed—of Roma's several public squares, this large rectangular plaza was laid out as part of the neighborhood's formal development into an upper-class residential district in 1903. Near the neighborhood's northern border and the more frenetic Gloria de los Insurgentes traffic circle, the Plaza attracts dog walkers, joggers, shoppers, and passersby of all stripes. The fountain, anchored by a bronze replica of Michelangelo's David, is the square's social focal point, and you'll find a handful of inviting cafés and restaurants on its different sides, including Pigeon, Marmota, Sartoria, and Buna. Ornately detailed early 20th-century mansions fringe the plaza, the most famous being the redbrick Casa de las Brujas (Gouse of the Witches), so named for its soaring conical turret's resemblance to a witch's hat.

Before real estate developers established most of Roma as a fashionable residential neighborhood in the early 1900s, this small quadrant of narrow lanes thrived as an off-the-beaten-path village for centuries. Originally occupying one of the many small, low islands of massive Lake Texcoco, the area was inhabited by Mexica (aka Aztecs) well before the arrival of Spaniards. As the city and then Roma and neighboring Juárez and Doctores districts grew up around it, Romita retained a distinct—and decidedly more working-class—personality and independence. You can get some sense of what it might have looked like in the mid-20th century by watching Luis Buñuel's heart-wrenching 1950 film, Los Olvidados, which was filmed here. Romita's name is said to derive from its resemblance during the mid-1700s to a neighborhood in Rome, Italy, that was similarly rife at the time with large trees. To get a feel for the neighborhood, walk along one of its narrow lanes to Plaza Romita, a tranquil tree-shaded courtyard with park benches and a central fountain that's flanked on its eastern side by the small, 1530s Rectoria San Francisco Javier Church. The neighborhood's liveliest street, Real de Romita, has a few shops and cafés, including La Perla de la Roma, Veganísimo Loncheria, and Vocablo Café y Poesía; down another lane you'll find the headquarters of the acclaimed craft bewery, Cru Cru.

This prestigious gallery represents acclaimed artists like Emilio Rangel, known for his playful and sometimes erotic depictions of pop cultural icons like Miss Piggy and Elvis; Javier Marín—whose massive sculptures, such as Cabeza Vainilla (Vanilla Head) have been installed in a number of prominent spaces around the world; and about a dozen other diverse talents. The gallery itself occupies an imposing mansion whose interior has been given a striking, light-filled contemporary redesign. It's recommended that guests get in touch to make an appointment before visiting.