Polanco, Mexico City

Roma-Condesa has the best accessible restaurant scene and most vibrant neighborhood life in CDMX. Polanco has something radically different: the only two restaurants in the country with two Michelin stars.

Polanco is:

• More formal — restaurants have dress codes
• More expensive — the gastronomic experience is an investment
• More international — many people speak English, globally oriented
• Less "neighborhood-like" — more businessmen, diplomats, luxury tourism

Pujol — Mexico's most famous restaurant and top 10 worldwide according to The World's 50 Best. Chef Enrique Olvera. Reserve 2-3 months ahead. Tasting menu ~$3,000 MXN.

Quintonil — Chef Jorge Vallejo, also two Michelin stars. Contemporary Mexican cuisine with local ingredients. More accessible in price than Pujol. Reserve 4-6 weeks ahead.

For something less formal: Mercado Presidente Masaryk (luxury food court), Nicos (classic Mexican family cooking), or restaurants at Antara Mall.

Museo Soumaya — Founded by Carlos Slim, always free entry. Collection of 66,000 pieces: Rodin, Dalí, colonial coins, Mexican art. The aluminum building designed by Fernando Romero is photogenic in itself. Open daily 10:30am-6:30pm.

Museo Jumex — Contemporary art, private collection of the Azcárraga family. Temporary exhibitions by international artists. Entry ~$80 MXN. Café Jumex is excellent. Closed Mondays.

Presidente Masaryk is Mexico's equivalent of Paris's Champs-Élysées or New York's Fifth Avenue. Luxury boutiques (Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Cartier), high-end restaurants and five-star hotels.

For walking: the Masaryk stretch between Arquímedes and Temístocles is the most lively. On Sundays the bike lane fills with families.

Parque Lincoln half a block away is the neighborhood's green lung with food trucks, sculptures and the best people-watching in Polanco.

Metro: Line 7 (Pink), Polanco or Auditorio stations. About 30 minutes from downtown.

Metrobús: Line 7, several stations along Ejército Nacional.

Ecobici: Many stations in the neighborhood — ideal for moving between Soumaya, Masaryk and Parque Lincoln.

Uber/Taxi: From Roma Norte ~$70 MXN, from Historic Center ~$120 MXN.