mexico city literary tour

A Literary Tour of Roma and Condesa, Mexico City

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For any book lover, exploring the literary heritage of Mexico City is an absolute must. While it doesn’t have the literary reputation of, say, New York or Paris, it really should, given that it’s produced some of the best Mexican authors , including controversial writers like Valeria Luiselli , Octavio Paz and Jorge Ibargüengoitia , as well as nurtured the talents of many more – Elena Poniatowska , Jack Kerouac and Roberto Bolaño , to name but a few. As the capital of Mexico, it’s littered with beautiful bookstores, impressive libraries and lots of quirky, underrated and under-visited literary interest sights. And, because I’m a ruthless list maker and renowned philanthropist, I’m going to give you the most detailed rundown you’ve ever read into the literary world of Mexico City , starting with a literary tour of Roma and Condesa (plus a bit of the Zona Rosa, because I’m just that generous). Essential reading for book lover’s in Mexico City , this is your comprehensive walking tour round the literary highlights of these popular Mexico City neighbourhoods.

A LITERARY TOUR OF ROMA AND CONDESA, MEXICO CITY

Now, I’m not going to beat around the bush, researching this piece took me far longer than I ever expected, given that I’m 1) prone to getting lost even with a regimented route planned out on my iPhone notes, and 2) there is so much to see. Literally, I did not anticipate the amount of stop off points I would have to hit in the two-hour window I had between my Catalan class and having to go to work in the afternoon. But, I’ve worked myself to the bone to plan the perfect route through the literary highlights of Roma-Condesa (and a bit of Juárez) so you don’t have to.

The best place to start your literary tour of Mexico City neighbourhoods Roma and Condesa is at the Cuauhtémoc station of the metro (which is on the conveniently central pink line). From there you can make your way to the first destination on my guide – Aeromoto ( Venecia 23, Juárez ).

Aeromoto. Still working on that book guide blog post, I swear! #aeromoto #mexico #visitmexico #mexicocity #cdmx #northernlauren #bookstore #books A post shared by Lauren | Northern Lauren (@northernlauren__) on Apr 14, 2017 at 10:24am PDT

I’ll be totally honest, it wasn’t my cup of tea in a lot of ways, but in other ways this quirky, tucked away little lending library on the fringes of the Zona Rosa was exactly to my taste. I mean, for one, it’s stuffed with books which is an instant win in my eyes and it’s also suitably decked out in hipster fashion – bare walls, rag-tag postcards and posters everywhere, masking tape labels marking what you’ll find on that particular shelf. Plus, it’s the kind of place where you find two-year old New Zealand fanzines entitled Incredibly Hot Sex With Hideous People .

If you’re an art lover or just a fan of anything quirky, then the niche appeal that this artsy hideaway, suitably off-the-beaten track destination has may be right up your street.

Related Post: A Meat Eater’s Guide to Vegan Mexico City  

Casa Bosques

Once you’ve rifled through Aeromoto’s shelves, make your way to Avenida Chapultepec and head to the intersection of Calles Puebla and Córdoba, where you’ll find stop number two, Casa Bosques ( Córdoba 25, Roma Norte ). This bookstore is actually hidden away in the hipster haven of Córdoba 25 (which is also home to some of the neighbourhood’s best fashion boutiques). Anyway, you just ring the bell and someone will buzz you in. Again, it’s mostly filled with lesser-spotted artsy books which are a touch overpriced for my liking, but it’s definitely aesthetically pleasing and the ideal place to browse and/or take photos.

Wiser Books & Coffee

Walk towards Plaza Rio de Janeiro and turn left on Durango until you hit Morelia. Turn right and keep going til you find Wiser Books & Coffee ( Morelia 76, Roma Norte ). Although this place was closed when I went a-researching, I still recommend it because 1) books and 2) coffee. I mean, you can’t really go wrong.

After you leave Wiser Books & Coffee, continue your literary tour of Roma and Condesa by turning left until reaching Colima and making sure you give yourself five minutes to soak up the fragrant flower shops that line this street. If you’re into music, pop into Revancha Record Store ( Colima 110, Roma Norte ) too.

Casa del Poeta

Simply follow the stairs until you hit the top floor (you’ll know you’re there when you see the super unsettling black glove sculpture) and that’s where you’ll find the tiny lending library. It’s not one of the best libraries in Mexico City, don’t get my wrong, but the staff were super friendly and it’s definitely a charming destination.

Cafebreria El Péndulo Roma

Once you’ve tired of the Casa Del Poeta, turn right when you leave and walk down Obregón (I recommend walking in the tree-lined central reservation) until you spot the legendary Cafebrería El Péndulo Roma ( Álvaro Obregón 86, Roma Norte ). Of all the El Péndulo bookstore branches in the city, this was the first I ever visited and I’m still convinced it’s actually the best one, and easily one of the best bookshops in Mexico City. Polanco’s version is pretty but this one has my heart after I enjoyed my first agua fresca and chat of a lifetime on the balcony, with a gal who would later become one of my best mates.

Plaza Luis Cabrera

After El Péndulo, keep going to Calle Orizaba, at which point you need to turn left towards Plaza Luis Cabrera , one of the best places to read in Mexico City.

This is another literary highlight that I accidentally found and it was perhaps one of my favourite discoveries. Aside from being quite a quaint little park with some photography exhibitions and fountains, at the bottom end there’s also a bench designed to look like the iconic elephant-swallowed-by-snake imagery of The Little Prince . I don’t know if it’s a temporary installation, but I couldn’t not mention it.

Librería URBE

Once you leave the Plaza behind, or have finished exploring the drinking and dining options that run the length of Calle Orizaba, you want to turn left onto San Luis Potosí where you’ll find Librería URBE almost immediately.

Fruta Editorial

This is one of my favourite places in Roma because, while it verges towards the pretentious, the coffee is great and the place is tiny, so it’s awesome to go and read a book. Fruta Editorial ( San Luis Potosí 180, Roma Norte ) also sell fresh fruit juices and even though Google says it’s permanently closed, that is not the case.

Plus, they sell tea with suitably quirky slogans printed on the packaging, and anyone that knows me knows I can’t resist a good slogan.

Under The Volcano

Now it’s time to move into Condesa and pay a visit to what many consider the best English language bookshop in Mexico City and perhaps the best bookstore in Condesa – Under The Volcano books ( Celaya 25, Hipódromo ). Located in the American Legion building, the beautifully tiled arch doorway leads you into a gloomy passageway. Go upstairs and you’ll find a tucked away room that this small used bookstore calls home.

Finishing up research for an upcoming piece at Under the Volcano books today. This English language bookstore in Mexico City is named for the famed novel by British Malcolm Lowry of the same name. Check the link in my bio for more about mexican based literature ??#northernlauren #mexico #mexicocity #cdmx #condesa #underthevolcano #underthevolcanobooks #bookstores #librerias #doorsofinstagram A post shared by Lauren | Northern Lauren (@northernlauren__) on Apr 20, 2017 at 3:55pm PDT

While I’m not really in the market for English language books myself, if you are then this is undoubtedly the place to go. There was a squishy looking sofa, mood lighting and shelf upon shelf of top quality titles that really did cover all genres and tastes.

Once you’ve made your purchase, go read it in the nearby Plaza Popocatépetl .

Librería Rosario Castellanos

The final stop on the Roma-Condesa literary book tour is the slightly more out of the way Librería Rosario Castellanos ( Tamaulipas 202, Hipódromo ), which is down near Metro Patriotismo. To get there though, you can enjoy a very pleasant walk through the charming Parque México (which incidentally has a small book and magazine, street-side lending library in the centre).

This is admittedly the only spot I haven’t been to on this guide, so I can’t give you my first-hand experience. However, the status of Rosario Castellanos and her literary work makes this entry one that can’t just be forgotten, and the fact that this is allegedly Latin America’s largest bookstore makes it must-visit material.

Librería Rosario Castellanos is now a well-oiled machine that has both Spanish and English language titles, and is regularly classed as one of the best bookstores in Mexico City. Plus, the building itself is a Charles Lee designed Art Deco masterpiece of the Condesa neighbourhood.

Related Post:  A Beginner’s Guide to Using the Mexico City Metro

Bonus Sights

If this gargantuan literary tour of Roma and Condesa just wasn’t quite enough for you, then here are some bonus points of literary interest in Mexico City that might be right up your street. I didn’t include them in the main guide simply because they’re of far more niche interest and, there’s nothing tangible there to explore.

For example, Orizaba 210 is the spot where Jack Kerouac allegedly wrote to of his greatest pieces based in the Mexican capital, Mexico City Blues and Tristessa, whereas Monterrey 122 was the place William Burroughs accidentally shot dead his wife Joan Vollmer. You really can’t make this shit up. While there’s nothing to see, it would still make for pretty good anecdote material to say you stopped by both of these addresses.

Where To Eat

As you can see on the map below, I’ve added in a few points of interest for when you inevitably get hungry on this epic walking tour of Roma and Condesa’s literary heritage.

A donde tú quieras ? la mejor respuesta a 'donde cenamos?' Jajaja #northernlauren #visitmexico #mexicocity #romadf #cdmx #streetscene #bloguera #travel A post shared by Lauren | Northern Lauren (@northernlauren__) on Apr 6, 2017 at 12:08pm PDT

For lunch, I recommend La Bicindad ( Yucatán 93, Roma Norte ), where I had some honestly amazing chilaquiles (and I’m quite the chilaquil aficionado) topped with an oddly delicious cranberry sauce.

If you’d rather check out one of the city’s many gourmet markets, then Mercado Roma ( Querétaro 225, Roma Norte ) is in spitting distance from most of these literary sights. You can find everything from obscure spices, Butcher and Son burgers and Turkish coffee here, so it’s ideal if you have no idea what you’re in the mood for.

For ice cream, there’s nowhere better in Roma than Helado Obscuro ( Orizaba 203, Roma Norte ), which makes some intriguingly named alcoholic flavours. My personal favourite is the Dark Vader (vodka, chocolate and more chocolate), which honestly made me a bit tipsy. I think it was a psychological thing though.

Before you start the tour, you have to get tamales from the stand on the corner of Marsella and Dinamarca in Juárez though. They are hands down the best tamales in Mexico City.

Where To Drink

If you’d rather just have a beer, craft beer favourite Graciela is located on Orizaba, just down from Plaza Luis Cabrera ( Orizaba 163, Roma Norte ) and there’s also La Chicha bar on that same street ( Orizaba 171, Roma Norte ), which I recommend simply on the basis of the glimpse I got of the artwork on the interior walls.

If you’d rather have a coffee, I go all the time to Café DO12 Cerezas in Juárez ( Marsella 52, Juárez ), and considering that it’s right near the first stop on the guide, you could easily grab a latte pick me up there before starting the tour. Alternatively, plenty of the bookstores listed have built in cafes, so you’ll never be short on caffeine laden options for the duration of this mammoth tour.

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19 comments.

Wow this is really cool! I love Mexico City and this will definitely be an afternoon guide on my next visit. What a moment stumbling upon the tribute to the Little Prince! Love that.

I know right! It was so cool to spot it 🙂

Lovely post! I would be saving it on my bucket list :). Keep up with the images, they are enticing to a reader

This is such a great list, Lauren! Mexico City is one of my top places to visit and this will come in handy. Thank you for sharing!

Wow!!! This goes in my bucket list now and I totally love how you wrote this post and especially the map in the end. I would definitely save this when I am in Mexico City

I just absolutely love the blue gates from the Under the Volcano books, that picture is amazing!!! Lovely pictures and great post, it’s now added to my ever growing travel bucket list! Thanks for sharing 🙂

This was perfect to read! I love books and Mexico City so I can’t wait to try this tour. I would definitely like to visit the Under the Volcano bookstore. And I’ve studied French my whole life so I’d really want to see the Little Prince bench!

This is an excellent list of local bookstores in Mexico City! The chilaquiles look delicious too. 🙂 I really want to visit Mexico City someday. When I do, I will check out your recommendations!

I love all these places, such a cute little bookstore. Also liking the new design, it’s really clean and easy on the eye 🙂 May I ask you what website/app you use for creating the map?

It’s just Google My Maps 🙂 You create the app, make it public and then you can use an HTML embed code to add it to the site!

MEHICOOOOOO! Looks so beautiful and never been more accessible living in Canada. Everyone seems to be going there and I see why. Love it. Thanks for sharing Lauren.

I love love love Mexico City! I’ll have to check some of these places out next time I’m there!

Very pretty, I love the information provided.

[…] had woken me up. They had not. But anyway, we both took Ubers to the meet up point outside of Metro Chilpancingo and I, in typically British fashion, somehow managed to arrive twenty minutes early and ended up […]

[…] new areas. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – there’s more to the capital than Roma and the historic […]

[…] you’re looking for where to eat in Roma, Mexico City for a fairly reasonable price and with a robustly reliable menu, then Butcher & Sons might just […]

[…] Related Posts: A Literary Tour of Roma and Condesa, Mexico City […]

[…] for example, all the cool art galleries in Roma and San Rafael. Nope, not been to them yet. I’ve never spent a day exploring the Bosque de […]

[…] reasons I decided to continue learning Catalan while in Mexico are twofold; I wanted to make friends, and thought joining a club or class of some kind would be the […]

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A Book Lover’s Guide to Mexico City

Leah Rachel von Essen

Leah Rachel von Essen reviews genre-bending fiction for Booklist , and writes regularly as a senior contributor at Book Riot. Her blog While Reading and Walking has over 10,000 dedicated followers over several social media outlets, including Instagram . She writes passionately about books in translation, chronic illness and bias in healthcare, queer books, twisty SFF, and magical realism and folklore. She was one of a select few bookstagrammers named to NewCity’s Chicago Lit50 in 2022. She is an avid traveler, a passionate fan of women’s basketball and soccer, and a lifelong learner. Twitter: @reading_while

View All posts by Leah Rachel von Essen

Mexico City was a book lover’s dream, full of open-air bookstores, magical libraries, and fantastic places to read. I visited the city late this past January, and while I of course hit all of the classic tourist destinations—climbing la Pirámide del Sol at Teotihuacán; marveling at Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s home in Coyoacán; and standing starstruck in front of the murals at the Palacio de Bellas Artes—I also, naturally, spent a lot of time finding the best places for literary tourism in Mexico City.

The most beautiful bookstores in Mexico City, the libraries that blew me away, the hidden places to read that made me feel the most at peace. Here are my recommendations for anyone visiting Mexico City who plans to go home with a pile of books, or who just appreciates some great bookish places when they travel. To someone who, like me, spent their time pre-trip figuring out the best books to read when visiting Mexico City.

From one book lover to another, here is a guide to Mexico City’s best bookish places.

View this post on Instagram Mexico City Bookstore Visit #6: Porrúa in Chapultepec. It's about to be ludicrously cold in Chicago, and I have a pile of books and ARCs to read all of which I want to read first, and I have a long essay to revise, and my apartment is a total mess, so my plan for tonight is to go home and drink a lot of wine and pretend I'm still in Mexico where it was 70 degrees, there were trees growing through bookstores, and I could go sit on a bookstore porch beside a lake and write postcards and pretend I had no real obligations. ✨ #mexicocitybookstores #beautifulbookstores #porrúa #chapultepec #chapultepecpark #bookishtravel #literarytravel #obligations #anxiety #booksandwine #booksandcoffee A post shared by Leah Rachel von Essen (@whilereadingandwalking) on Jan 28, 2019 at 2:09pm PST

Porrúa Chapultepec

A bookstore with a tree inside of it. You heard me right—in Chapultepec Park, right across the street from the National Museum of Anthropology, is a branch of Porrúa where a tree grows through the building, and the back of the bookstore is open to the air, a lovely porch beside the lake where you can read to your heart’s content.

Centro Cultural Elena Garro

Named after Elena Garro, writer and poet, this gorgeous bookstore in Coyoacán is full of light, with a gorgeous brick balcony, shelves and shelves of wonderful books, and a substantive collection on gender theory. I also found the people there kind and very helpful.

View this post on Instagram googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(inside2);}); Mexico City Bookstore Visit #5: Centro Cultural Elena Garro in Coyoacán was beautiful. Full of light, and the people who worked there were extremely helpful. I fell in love with its brick balcony especially, and its extensive gender studies shelf. ✨ #calledonceles #mexicocity #mexicocitybookstores #literarytravel #bookishtravel #oldbooks #usedbooks #bookstores #beautifulbookstores #bookstoresoftheworld A post shared by Leah Rachel von Essen (@whilereadingandwalking) on Jan 28, 2019 at 12:59pm PST

Under the Volcano Books

Seeking libros en inglés ? It might be a good idea to seek out this English-language bookstore. I didn’t make it over there, but I’ve read many wonderful things about this bookstore in the beautiful neighborhood of Condesa.

Librería Rosario Castellanos

View this post on Instagram Mexico City Bookstore Visit #1: Libreria Rosario Castellanos was beautiful. I browsed, ran my fingers over their fantasy shelves, contemplated buying Neil Gaiman's STARDUST in Spanish, and rested for a bit in the café. Rosario Castellanos is a Mexican author and poet whose work has influenced Mexican feminist theory, and I plan to try and buy a book of hers in translation sometime this week. ✨ #libreriarosariocastellanos #mexicocity #mexicocitybookstores #literarytravel #bookishtravel #neilgaiman #stardust #bookstores #beautifulbookstores #bookstoresoftheworld A post shared by Leah Rachel von Essen (@whilereadingandwalking) on Jan 21, 2019 at 7:24pm PST

Rosario Castellanos was a brilliant poet and writer who influenced Mexican feminist theory, and this gorgeous art-deco-inspired bookstore was named for her. This gigantic bookstore is located within the Centro Cultural Bella Época, and you can sit and read for hours in the natural light.

If there was one bookstore on this list where I wanted to spend more time, it was this one. This Condesa bookstore has a pendulum hanging from the 2nd floor ceiling, drawing sand patterns on a metal disc. It has a great selection—I purchased  The Labyrinth of Solitude   by Octavio Paz there in English—as well as a beautiful café with a balcony on the upper floors. A really wonderful, colorful place.

View this post on Instagram Mexico City Bookstore Visit #2: I wish I would have spent more time at El Péndulo in Roma—and I might go back if I have the chance. It was lovely, a pendulum hanging from the ceiling and making sand patterns; a second floor with a café that opens out onto a balcony. I picked out Octavio Paz's THE LABYRINTH OF SOLITUDE as my first book purchase of the trip. ✨ #elpéndulo #cafebreriaelpénduloroma #romacmx #cmx #mexicocity #bookishtravel #literarytravel #octaviopaz #thelabyrinthofsolitude #mexicocitybookstores #bookstores #beautifulbookstores #bookstoresoftheworld A post shared by Leah Rachel von Essen (@whilereadingandwalking) on Jan 23, 2019 at 1:50pm PST

Bookish Places

Audiorama in chapultepec park.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtEPgCVHr15/

This place is literally my dream come true. Tucked away through a small gate near one of the Mexican cypress trees planted by Nezahualcóyotl, the poet king, hundreds of years ago, is a small cove. Surrounded by trees and flowers, all in shade, the castle peeking out from overhead, this is a clearing of rounded, comfortable benches, with speakers playing classical music, a rule of enforced silence, and a table of books you can borrow if you want. I journaled there as someone napped on a nearby bench; incense wafted from a small shrine in the cave to my right. It was intensely peaceful, and I wanted to stay there for hours. It is a  perfect  place to read.

Calle Donceles

From the Zócalo, walk past the Templo Mayor. You’ll see a branch of Porrúa; turn left and walk up Calle Donceles, a street dedicated to used bookstores. So many used bookstores, stretching far back, high shelves of cheap books, mostly in Spanish, but in English as well, stretching into the backs of these wonderful quiet shops. You’ll have plenty of stores to choose from; a book lover or collector could spend hours trying to find treasures in the book stacks.

biblioteca de méxico

My biggest bookish regret from my trip to Mexico City is not making it to this library that a friend recommended. Painted in a vivid red, on the inside are rooms centered around the personal libraries of authors such as Antonio Castro Leal, Jaime García Terrés, Ali Chumacero and Carlos Monsiváis—each room has its own design, feel, and seeks to preserve the life and letters of each author. Located off the Balderas Metro stop, this is a must-see for book lovers visiting Mexico City—don’t be like me! Go see it!

Biblioteca Vasconcelos

Eight floors. Natural light streaming in. Metal girders and walkways holding everything so it appears the shelves are floating above your head. A whale skeleton hangs in the hall. This is the gorgeous and unbelievable Biblioteca Vasconcelos.

View this post on Instagram The Biblioteca Vasconcelos was one of the best bookish locations I've ever visited. The floating-like shelves, the huge light-filled halls, the garden and balconies to go read in. Absolutely incredible. I wish I could have read there for hours. I wish it was nearby and I could go there every day. ✨ #bibliotecavasconcelos #coollibraries #beautifullibraries #beautifullibrary #library #libraries #amazinglibraries #bookishtravel #literarytourism #literarytravel #bookshelves #beautifulbookshelves #mexicocity #solotravel #solotraveller A post shared by Leah Rachel von Essen (@whilereadingandwalking) on Jan 27, 2019 at 1:05pm PST

If book lovers go to one place in Mexico City, it should be this library. I fell in love instantly with its wooden shelves, its greenish walkways, its high ceiling. There are balconies on the upper floors where you can read; fresh air flows in through the doors. There’s a connected garden full of flowers and lush greenery where you can go and read. I browsed, explored, and took in the sights. It’s the library I never knew I needed: gorgeous, modern, strange, magnificent.

Where else should book lovers go while in Mexico City? Let me know in the comments.

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Our Top 11 Book Recommendations Featuring Mexico City

Northern England Writer

It’s no surprise that an appealing yet conflicting metropolis like Mexico City finds itself the subject of any number of poems, novels and pieces of non-fiction. While in this guide we’ve predominantly focused on fictitious literary efforts (with few exceptions), the possibilities are endless if you want to read about the Mexican capital. Here are the top 11 recommended texts featuring Mexico City, by both native and foreign authors.

Down the rabbit hole by juan pablo villalobos.

Juan Pablo Villalobos’ debut novel is slight but excellent, providing a new perspective – that of a child – on the drug wars that have, are and probably will continue to, ravage Mexico. We’re guided by seven-year-old Tochtli ( Nahuatl for ‘rabbit’), the son of Yolcaut (Nahuatl for ‘rattlesnake’). Yolcaut is a leading figure in the belly of the drug underworld, who exposes his son to all the goings on of his ‘business’ life; as a result, Tochtli is frighteningly informed. Villalobos’ trademark dark humour throughout makes Down The Rabbit Hole a fascinating and enjoyable read.

Nada, nadie. Las voces del temblor by Elena Poniatowska

One of the only non-fiction entries on this list comes from the incomparable journalist and writer Elena Poniatowska , with her social history of the devastating 1985 earthquake that flattened many parts of Mexico City . Translating to ‘Nobody, nothing. The voices of the earthquake’, Nada, nadie. Las voces del temblor is exceptionally well researched and written, making it (like much of Poniatowska’s work) essential reading. We are privy to the voices of the injured, the bereaved and the scared, as they recount the aftermath of one of Mexico’s most tragic natural disasters.

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

A classic of Chilean literature , The Savage Detectives is actually set in Mexico City and expertly weaves its tale through the streets of this vast capital. Based in 1975, it follows a 17-year-old poet as he gets immersed in the world of a strange literary movement, all the while navigating the streets of Mexico City. Widely considered to be one of Roberto Bolaño’s greatest achievements, The Savage Detectives is nothing short of essential reading for anyone interested in Latin American literature as a whole.

Tristessa by Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac is considered by some as the best writer of the Beat generation, while to others he’s merely an overhyped alcoholic. Either way, he’s undeniably a literary icon . Despite being infinitely better known for On The Road, he was also the author of a novella based entirely in Mexico City; Tristessa. Set predominantly in the historic centre and La Roma, Tristessa follows his turbulent relationship with a Mexican prostitute. Despite her real name being Esperanza (hope), he nicknames her Tristessa (an Anglicization of tristeza, or sadness).

Hotel DF by Guillermo Fadanelli

Literally set in a Mexico City hotel – there is actually a Hotel DF in the capital to this day – our narrator Frank ( Fadanelli’s alter-ego) tells us of both the visitors and locals that pass through its doors. Each story gives a fresh perspective on the megalopolis of Mexico City through the eyes of those that have just arrived, making it an interesting read for both those who have been before and those who have yet to stop by.

Las batallas en el desierto by José Emilio Pacheco

One of Mexico’s greatest authors and poets, José Emilio Pacheco , is the brains behind Las batallas en el desierto. This is perhaps the perfect novella to start with if you want a decent introduction to his work and style, given that it is short and that its plot is excellent. It deals with the story of a young boy’s platonic love for an older woman, all the while evoking the streets of Mexico City and the social and political context of 1940s Mexico in general. It was also the inspiration for one of Café Tacuba’s most popular songs, ‘Las batallas’.

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Instrucciones para vivir en México by Jorge Ibargüengoitia

Instrucciones para vivir en México brings together a selection of Jorge Ibargüengoitia’s journalistic efforts from the years 1969-1976. The second non-fiction entry, this text penetrates to the heart of daily life in Mexico City, while giving the reader a genuine insight into the lives of the capital’s inhabitants and the incomparable bureaucracy for which this country is infamous. You’ll come away perhaps perturbed, but also better informed and entertained due to Ibargüengoitia’s distinct, darkly humorous approach.

La Perdida by Jessica Abel

La Perdida is a comic book series turned graphic novel by American writer and artist Jessica Abel, who moved to Mexico City in 1998 for two years. Originally published between 2001 and 2005, it was compiled into a single text in 2006. Notable for its heavy focus on dialogue (the speech bubbles often dominate the panels), Abel also incorporated in some Spanish punctuation and vocabulary. The story itself centres on Carla, a Chicana who moves to Mexico City to get better acquainted with her own heritage.

Amor propio by Gonzalo Celorio

The first novel by the writer who was the former director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica , Amor propio is a colloquially written and intelligent novel seemingly about three different characters. In reality, they are all the same person but at various stages of their life – Moncho is the child, Ramón the teen and Aguilar the adult, and all of them are trapped in the same system. Ultimately a text about the 1968 student protests, which were to have a devastating end for some during the Tlatelolco massacre, it’s a true coming-of-age novel .

Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli

Valeria Luiselli has long been described as a rising star of the contemporary Mexican writing scene , however we think it’s fair to say she’s now happily established as one of the best authors of this generation. Her debut novel Faces in the Crowd (Spanish: Los ingrávidos ) depicts an unhappy narrator who embarks on the novel writing process, before being sucked into the world of the Gilberto Owen (a lesser known Harlem Renaissance author). Don’t expect a satisfying resolution in this masterful text.

El miedo a los animales by Enrique Serna

A detective novel by Enrique Serna , El miedo a los animales brutally depicts the corruption and narco-culture that pervades day to day life in Mexico City, especially after dark. Published over 20 years ago, many of the characters were based on actual public figures and while many wrote off the text as nothing more than bitter when first published, it grew in popularity. While this text is set in Mexico City, its references constantly hark back to Los Angeles .

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Mexico City Muse

• September 14, 2022
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• 6 minute read

By Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera

While literary tourism in cities like Paris and London can be enlightening, many of the rounds have been done already. But there’s a charm to doing the legwork yourself in Mexico, finding the addresses for cafés, plazas, and flats that inspired authors. Mapping these out and then experiencing them yourself can be exciting, no matter the current state of the places. But if where we are sets the terms of what we write, I’d like to think an author’s words have some distant kinship to those locations.

     The bourgeois and the petit-bourgeois live from party to party. They have one every      weekend. The proletariat doesn’t have parties. Only regular funerals. That’s going to      change. The exploited are going to have a big party. Memory and guillotines .

Gabriel García Márquez (Gabo): Córdoba 48, Mansión de Drácula. Metro: Cuauhtémoc                                                                                                                                            A spring day in 2014, standing in my kitchen in Mayagüez with five-month-old son Santiago asleep in my arms, a text message from Leilani García Turull told me Gabo was dead. Two years earlier, in an upstairs bedroom on Calle Miguel de Santiago 2-67 in Cuenca, Ecuador, a newscast blaring from the next room said Carlos Fuentes had died in México City. Those two icons of twentieth century literature, architects (or detonators?) of the Latin American “Boom,” met for the first time at the Mansión de Drácula in Colonia Roma in the spring of 1961.

This Mexico visit is the culmination of several similar journeys. Not long after moving to Spain in 1999, I rang the doorbell at Gabo’s flat in Barcelona on Avinguda de la República Argentina 168, apt. 4-2. In 2016, my son Santiago touched the buzzer at Fuentes’s apartment in London, 9 Barkston Gardens. (I asked for Aureliano in 1999 and Artemio in 2016; neither was in.) I would like to think sitting across the street from where these writers met has some magical residue, that which pilgrims seek on their travels. Who knows if it does, or if my sons will remember our time here. But learning about a city through its literature provides textures to travel that we can experience later, rereading the books.

Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera is 2022 Obama Fellow at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies and professor of Humanities at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. His fourth book, Decolonizing American Spanish , will be published this fall by University of Pittsburgh Press.

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Read Your Way Through Mexico City

Juan Villoro, who spent over two decades perfecting one book about Mexico City, recommends reading on the city he loves. “Mexico is too complex,” a visitor said. “It needs to be read.”

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By Juan Villoro

Read Your Way Around the World is a series exploring the globe through books.

Álvaro Pombo, a Spanish author, came to Mexico City in 2004. He’d written a novel that took place during the religious revolts of early 20th century Mexico, and wanted to know what the country he’d studied in books was like, he said.

So he installed himself in a hotel in the city center and went for a walk. He saw the murals of the Palacio Nacional, the Aztec dancers outside the cathedral, the ruins of the Templo Mayor and the skulls alluding to human sacrifice. Later, he toured a street market filled with a baroque assortment of fruit, animals and Chinese goods. He bought a nail clipper that immediately fell apart in his hands, breathed air charged with chiles and spice, saw people who looked like they’d walked out of a Frida Kahlo painting, heard a trumpet blare and finally decided to return to his hotel.

Overwhelmed, he picked up the phone and called me.

“Mexico is too complex to understand with the naked eye,” he said. “It needs to be read.”

What classics help explain Mexico City?

Let’s start with the 16th century. Already an old man, the former soldier Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain” in an attempt to reap with his pen the rewards that had eluded him with the sword. As a narrator, he lacks the necessary vocabulary to describe this unknown civilization, opting for a perspective of bewilderment. He shows that it’s possible to describe with passion even what we don’t fully understand.

In the 17th century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was the pre-eminent author of the Spanish language. Her “Selected Works” reveal a poet with interests in astronomy, theology, gastronomy, dreams, urban life and gender inequality: “Foolish men who accuse women without reason,” she writes in one poem. Sor Juana entered the convent of the Hieronymite nuns because it was the only way she could exercise her intellectual vocation. Even so, she was censored and forced into silence in her later years. Describing a flood in the capital, she wrote that the water covering Mexico City’s streets was, in reality, a baptism. Her poetry is a comparable deluge.

In the 20th century, our culture took up an extreme sport: defining what it means to be Mexican. A standout example is “The Labyrinth of Solitude,” by Octavio Paz. Published in 1950, Paz’s essay endures for its imaginative associations and musical prose, though it is contentious : Some anthropologists and historians consider his definition of Mexicanness to be Manichaean and contrived. The same can be said of “Where the Air Is Clear,” Carlos Fuentes’s 1958 novel that features Mexico City as its protagonist. When the book was written, the capital had around five million inhabitants and could still sit for a portrait as a whole. Today, you would need a conference of authors to fully capture the metropolitan area’s 20 to 23 million residents — our margin of error alone is the size of a European city. Although Fuentes’s chorus of colloquial voices has aged, the book remains a foundational work on the Mexican capital.

What did authors who came to visit have to say?

Jack Kerouac once wrote a letter to his friend William S. Burroughs asking if it was dangerous to travel to Mexico. Burroughs, who was living in the country at the time, answered roundly, “Don’t worry: Mexicans only kill their friends.”

Many foreigners have benefited from Mexico City’s peculiar hospitality, where hell is mixed with heaven. Close to the capital, in Cuernavaca, Malcolm Lowry encountered the delusions that allowed him to write his powerful saga of the mind, “ Under the Volcano . ” D.H. Lawrence bore witness to the moment that Aztec idols were disinterred like emissaries from a different time. Lawrence’s Mexican novel, “The Plumed Serpent,” can’t match his short stories or “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” but it nonetheless offers an impressive record of the ways in which an ancient past still influences the present.

In “ The Savage Detectives ,” the Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño , who had deep roots in Mexico City, suggests that there is no more poetic act than that of life itself, but finding enlightenment requires you to live in a new way. Bolaño’s poets are secret investigators of experience: savage detectives, indeed.

Describing Mexico to the rhythm of a highway has always been a literary temptation. When former President Donald J. Trump declared that Mexicans were a threat to the United States, the American writer Paul Theroux — the dean of travel writing — decided to meet his alleged enemy. Having spent a lifetime boarding trains around the globe, Theroux crisscrossed Mexico by car until he reached the Zapatistas in Chiapas. The result, “ On the Plain of Snakes ,” is a brilliant travelogue.

What books capture current Mexico?

Fernanda Melchor ’s “ Hurricane Season ” deals with the violence that has devastated Mexico, leaving us with a death toll akin to that of a civil war. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a journalist. Melchor shows that the most terrible news can only be delivered in a novel.

Valeria Luiselli reconstructs the microcosm of a working-class neighborhood in “ The Story of My Teeth .” Originally written to accompany an exhibit in an urban art gallery, the novel traces the map of a deteriorated suburb and reinvents it through its imaginary inhabitants.

In the second half of the 20th century, Carlos Monsiváis operated as a nonstop chronicler, a one-man press agency covering all the layers of reality. “Mexican Postcards” is a collection of his best work. One of his obsessions was trying to understand the irresistible magnetism of Mexico City; its pollution and danger do little to prevent people from being drawn to a place so full of energy. A Monsiváis aphorism sums up the passion of belonging to this urban labyrinth: “The worst nightmare is the one that excludes us.”

It was in that spirit that I wrote “ Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico .” The product of 25 years of writing, the book attempts to recreate a city that, despite its apparent dehumanization, remains a cherished place in which to live. On the last page I write, “You belong to the place where you pick up the trash.” It’s easy to be proud of a city’s palaces and glories: The true test of belonging is being willing to deal with its waste.

It is no accident that the truest face of a chilango — an inhabitant of Mexico City — appears in the wake of disaster. After the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017 , Mexico City residents became a rescue team, proving that the rubble and ruins were ours. In “Nothing, Nobody,” Elena Poniatowska collects the testimonies of those who lived through the 1985 quake. She brings the same rigor to “Massacre in Mexico,” which features voices of survivors of the Oct. 2, 1968, tragedy , when police officers and the military opened fire on unarmed students in Tlatelolco Plaza. In both books, Poniatowska reaffirms that heroism in Mexico is a fact of daily life.

This city can feel like an extension of the body for those who live here. Are there books that reflect that?

In 1977, Fernando del Paso wrote an encyclopedic novel that takes place in the center of the capital, called “Palinuro of Mexico,” which follows a medical student during the student movement of 1968. As he learns anatomy, he also discovers connections with the other body that surrounds him: Mexico City itself.

This organic appropriation of the urban landscape was more recently explored in “ The Body Where I Was Born ,” by Guadalupe Nettel. Her protagonist lives in the Olympic Village, a housing complex built for athletes to use during the 1968 Olympics that was later transformed into a compound for exiled Chileans and Argentines. The narrator feels alienated from her own body, and identifies an unsettling correlation between her unstable identity and the neighborhood of misfits.

In “ The Mutations, ” Jorge Comensal adds humor to this literary trend. His main character is a lawyer who loses the power to speak because of tongue cancer. A parrot becomes his confidante, leaving the man who once litigated in court silenced by his body and reliant on another species to express himself.

What bookstores should I visit?

In the south of the city, the immense Librería Gandhi, which just celebrated a half-century since its opening, has served as a substitute university for multiple generations. In the city center, Donceles Street is full of old bookstores where luck and curiosity can lead to miraculous discoveries.

Translated by Benjamin Russell.

Juan Villoro’s Mexico City Reading List

“The True History of the Conquest of New Spain,” Bernal Díaz del Castillo

“Selected Works,” Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

“The Labyrinth of Solitude,” Octavio Paz

“Where the Air Is Clear,” Carlos Fuentes

“Under the Volcano,” Malcolm Lowry

“The Plumed Serpent,” D.H. Lawrence

“The Savage Detectives,” Roberto Bolaño

“On the Plain of Snakes,” Paul Theroux

“Hurricane Season,” Fernanda Melchor

“The Story of My Teeth,” Valeria Luiselli

“Mexican Postcards,” Carlos Monsiváis

“Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico,” Juan Villoro

“Nothing, Nobody” and “Massacre in Mexico,” Elena Poniatowska

“Palinuro of Mexico,” Fernando del Paso

“The Body Where I Was Born,” Guadalupe Nettel

“The Mutations,” Jorge Comensal

Juan Villoro ’s award-winning writing crosses genres and includes “ The Reef ,” a dystopian novel about tourism that is being adapted for television, and “ The Wild Book ,” about a book that refuses to be read, which has been translated into more than 10 languages and is being adapted into a movie by the actor and director Gael García Bernal.

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A Luxury Mexico City Itinerary: 11 Best Places to Visit

Mexico City is a fascinating destination that should be on everyone’s travel list. This luxury Mexico City itinerary will show you the best of what the Mexican capital has to offer! From ancient ruins to trendy neighborhoods, there is something for everyone in Mexico City.

Luxury Mexico City Itinerary

Any Mexico luxury tour should include the capital. Mexico City is home to an incredible array of cultural and historical treasures, not to mention some of the best restaurants and shopping in Latin America. It’s also the largest city in Mexico. For many years, famous artists have made it their home and their legacy lives on in some spectacular museums.

But with so much to see and do, how do you create the perfect luxury Mexico City itinerary? This guide will take you on a journey through some of the city’s most famous landmarks and neighborhoods.

From the stunning Templo Mayor ruins to the vibrant streets of La Condesa, there’s something for everyone in this amazing metropolis. Together with Xochimilco, the historic center of Mexico City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

So grab your sunhat and get ready to explore one of the world’s most fascinating cities! Here are the best places to visit in Mexico City:

Palacio de Bellas Artes

Inaugurated in 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes is one of the most iconic buildings in Mexico City. This art deco masterpiece is home to the National Museum of Architecture , as well as a theater that hosts regular opera and ballet performances.

Visitors can admire the building’s ornate exterior or admire the murals inside that were created by famous Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Jose Clemente Orozco and Roberto Montenegro. The Palacio de Bellas Artes is a must-see for anyone visiting Mexico City.

Chapultepec Park

Located in the heart of the city, Chapultepec Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world. Also known as the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest), it is twice the size of Central Park in New York City. With 1,695 acres of land, the park is home to a variety of attractions, including museums, monuments, and gardens.

Visitors can also enjoy boat rides on the park’s lake, or walk to the top of Chapultepec Hill for sweeping views of Mexico City. There are several museums located within the park, including the Museo Nacional de Historia , within Chapultepec Castle.

National Museum of Anthropology

Be sure to include a visit to the National Museum of Anthropology. This world-renowned museum is home to an incredible collection of pre-Columbian art and artifacts.

Visitors can see ancient pottery, jewelry, and stone carvings, as well as learn about the history and culture of the people who created them. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about the country’s rich history and culture through interactive exhibits and lectures.

The museum also has a beautiful garden with a sculptures and fountains. The National Museum of Anthropology is a must-see for anyone interested in the history and culture of Mexico. We took a guided tour arranged by our hotel, the InterContinental Presidente Mexico City.

Also known as La Roma, this chic neighborhood is home to some of the city’s best shopping, dining, and nightlife. Start your day with a walking tour of Avenida Alvaro Obregon, window-shop at the designer boutiques, grab a coffee at one of the trendy cafes, and people-watch to your heart’s content.

For lunch, head to Migrante for beautifully presented Mexican cuisine or Contramar for fresh seafood overlooking the gardens of Alameda Central. In the evening, enjoy cocktails and live music at J&B Metrosideros, or dance the night away at Foro Alicia.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for something a little more low-key, you can explore one of the many parks or museums in Roma Norte.

Frida Kahlo Museum

No luxury Mexico City itinerary would be complete without a visit to the Frida Kahlo Museum. Located in La Casa Azul , or Blue House, where Kahlo was born, raised, and died, the museum offers a glimpse into Mexican culture and history.

With its gorgeous blue facade and lush gardens, it’s easy to see why Kahlo chose this location as her refuge from the busy city. Inside, you’ll find an intimate look at her life, with personal photographs and belongings on display.

The museum also features a selection of her most famous paintings, including self-portraits and works inspired by her Mexican heritage. The garden is a perfect place for photos.

One of the city’s most stylish districts is La Condesa, an upscale neighborhood known for its art deco architecture, trendy restaurants, and boutique shops. Visitors to La Condesa can start their day with a stroll through one of the neighborhood’s many parks, followed by some shopping or a leisurely lunch. Parque España is popular with dog walkers and runners.

In the evening, there are plenty of options for fine dining, live music, and dancing. Whether you’re looking for a day of luxury or a night on the town, La Condesa is sure to have something to suit your needs. It’s well worth taking a walking tour of the area so that you don’t miss all the hidden gems.

Luis Barragán House and Studio

Designed by Mexican architect Luis Barragán, Casa Estudio Luis Barragán is considered one of his most important works. This UNESCO World Heritage Centre is one of the most important examples of 20th century Mexican architecture, and it offers a fascinating glimpse into the life and work of its legendary namesake.

Visitors can explore the various rooms of the house, which have been left exactly as Barragán left them, and view his personal belongings and art collection. The studio is impressive, with high ceilings and an abundance of natural light. It contains many of his original drawings and sketches, as well as furniture and objects that he designed himself.

You can’t take photos in the house but it is possible in the garden opposite the property. A private tour of Luis Barragán House and Studio is a truly unique experience that fans of modern architecture should not miss.

This historic neighborhood has it all: world-class dining, chic shops, and breathtaking architecture. Start your day with a leisurely stroll through the shade-dappled streets, admiring the elegant mansions and pretty courtyards.

When you’ve worked up an appetite, treat yourself to a gourmet meal at San Angel Inn , one of San Angel’s top restaurants. There are several beautiful courtyards if you’d like to eat outside. Try a margarita, it’s a specialty of the house!

In the afternoon, browse the wares at local boutique shops or art galleries. On Saturdays, the area transforms into an indoor and outdoor craft market and art gallery, El Bazar Sábado .

San Angel is filled with beautiful historic buildings, tree-lined streets and a relaxed atmosphere.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo House Studio Museum

Also located in the upmarket San Ángel neighbourhood, Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo was once home to the famous artist couple. Designed by Mexican architect and painter Juan O’Gorman, the houses are inspired by the functionalism style of architecture. However, they are decorated in vibrant colors and feature rows of cacti.

Visitors can see Diego Rivera’s papier-mâché creations together with his drawing table and paint brushes. This is the perfect place to learn more about Rivera and his impact on Mexican art.

You can also see several Diego Rivera murals at the Secretaría de Educación Pública in the center of Mexico City. Another must-see for fans of the artist is the Museo Mural Diego Rivera , which houses one of his most iconic works. Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central, or Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Alameda, features hundreds of characters from Mexican history.

Templo Mayor Museum

If you have time, make a day trip to Teotihuacan , one of the Mexican capital’s most iconic landmarks. This huge archaeological site is located 48 kilometers to the north east of Mexico City.

However, if you haven’t got enough time for this during your trip, then you can see still some impressive artefacts at the Templo Mayor Museum in the center of Mexico City. Built in the 14th century, the Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Aztec gods and played a central role in Aztec religious life.

The Templo Mayor was dedicated to the god of war, Huitzilopochtli and the god of rain, Tlaloc. It was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 but has since been excavated and reconstructed.

Today, the ruins of the ancient city of Tenochtitlan are a popular tourist attraction, and visitors can explore the site’s many chambers and learn about Aztec culture and history.

National Palace

The National Palace is located in the historic center of Mexico City and was built between 1563 and 1585. It served as the home of the Spanish viceroys until Mexican independence in 1821.

Today, the Palace is the official residence of the Mexican President, and used by the Mexican government for official events and receptions. It is also open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday.

You’ll need to bring your passport to gain admittance. Don’t miss the murals by Diego Rivera that depict centuries of Mexican history.

Where to Stay in Mexico City

For a truly luxury experience, stay at one of Mexico City’s top hotels, the InterContinental Presidente Mexico City , and enjoy all that this incredible city has to offer.

Located in the heart of Mexico City in the elegant Polanco district, the hotel is within walking distance of many of the city’s most popular attractions including Museo Soumaya and Museo Jumex.

This five-star hotel offers all the luxury and amenities you could want, including a spacious terrace and a relaxing spa. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.

The rooms and suites are spacious and beautifully appointed. We were fortunate to stay in the Master Suite Alberto Gironella , which boasts a see-through steam room and incredible views of Chapultepec Park.

The on-site restaurants offer a variety of international cuisines – we tried French food from Au Pied de Cochon, Italian risotto and tiramisu from Alfredo di Roma and Mexican specialties at Chapulin.

There are many works of art dotted around the hotel, and regularly changing exhibitions on the ground floor. Whether you’re in town for business or pleasure, InterContinental Presidente Mexico City is the perfect place to stay.

How to Get to Mexico City

The best way to reach Mexico City is by flying into Mexico City International Airport (MEX). MEX is served by many major airlines, including Aeromexico.

Aeromexico offers direct flights from London Heathrow (LHR) to Mexico City (MEX), making it easy to reach your destination. When booking your flight, be sure to select the Aeromexico Business Class option to enjoy a really comfortable and luxurious journey.

The airline offers fully reclining flat beds and a stylish Etro amenity kit. Plus, you’ll be served a delicious meal and will have access to a large personal screen for in-flight entertainment.

In Conclusion: Luxury Mexico City Itinerary

So, there you have it! Our luxury Mexico City itinerary features the very best things to do in Mexico City.

Whether you spend a weekend in Mexico City or a bit longer, you’re sure to have a great time. And if you’re looking for more Mexico travel tips, be sure to check out our other articles.

In the meantime, we hope this article has inspired you to put together your own unforgettable vacation in one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world.

Like this luxury Mexico city itinerary? Pin for later or share with friends.

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Suze and Paul are the founders of LuxuryColumnist, one of the leading luxury online magazines worldwide.

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These are the best cities for book lovers in the U.S.

From literary landmarks to indie bookstores, these cities are worth checking out for bookish adventures

Many travelers focus their adventures on specific interests like food, music or sports. Why not books? There’s something magical about exploring a city via its literary history, whether through the lives of famous authors or fictional stories set in that location. In honor of National Book Lovers Day on August 9, Explore.com has named the best cities for book lovers based on their literary offerings—from libraries and bookstores to literary landmarks and tours—to inspire bibliophiles to combine travel with their love of reading.

The number one city for bookworms might come as a surprise, but Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is an under-the-radar gem packed with independent bookstores like DogStar Books and Pocket Books, each offering unique, carefully curated selections. The city’s literary scene is further amplified by events like the annual Lititz Kid-Lit Festival, designed to spark young readers' imaginations and smaller literary events for readers and writers throughout the year.

New York City, of course, is a literary powerhouse and ranks number two for book lovers. From the iconic New York Public Library to Strand Books and the plethora of indie bookstores across the boroughs, NYC is a book lover's playground. The city’s 20 literary landmarks—from The Great Gatsby 's Plaza Hotel to Holden Caulfield's Central Park—provide endless book-centric (and budget-friendly) adventures. The city is also home to places like the White Horse Tavern and Chelsea Hotel, where literary giants like Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, Henry Miller, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac once gathered.

Another Pennsylvania city takes number three: Harrisburg. This small city has a big literary heart. The robust library system hosts a slew of events for readers throughout the year. The Midtown Scholar Bookstore, housed in a renovated 1920s cinema, is a bookworm’s dream with thousands of used, rare, signed, and new books. Plus, Harrisburg's ties to Civil War-era literature add a fascinating historical layer to any visit.

To compile the list, Explore.com looked at factors like the number of bookstores and libraries per 10,000 residents, the availability of literary tours and landmarks, number of independent bookstores and literary landmarks. The result is a list that highlights cities with plenty of books to browse plus destinations with unique literary experiences history for book-loving visitors to enjoy. Find the full report here .

The best U.S. cities for book lovers for 2024

1. Lancaster, PA 2.  New York, NY 3.   Harrisburg, PA 4.   Pensacola, FL 5.   Poughkeepsie, NY 6.   Portland, OR 7.   Pittsburgh, PA 8.   Birmingham, AL 9.   Cincinnati, OH 10.   St. Louis, MO

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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More From Forbes

Mexico city’s undiscovered gems: where to go and what to do now.

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Pushing beyond the ordinary, Club Tengo Hombre visits places most tourists don't take the time to ... [+] enjoy.

My social feeds are loaded with pictures of friends in Mexico City this summer. I’ve visited the city myself over the years but the FOMO is real. At least I have a new set of goals for my next visit. Based on what I’m seeing on Instagram and reading between the lines of online reviews, here’s what looks amazing in CDMX right now.

WHAT TO SEE & DO

An after-dark tour with Club Tengo Hombre immerses visitors into Mexico City's vibrant nightlife ... [+] scene.

Club Tengo Hombre calls itself the guided touring company “for people who travel to eat.” The company’s Mexico City food and market tours and after-dark excursions get hundreds of five-star reviews on TripAdvisor, with raves about the energetic and knowledgable guides (Alejandra and Daniela are the standouts) and next-level site visits. For example, rather than the usual antiseptic walk-around at Mercado Medellín in gentrifying Colonia Roma, CTH leads visitors through the sprawling La Merced market in a working-class part of Zona Centro. One recent reviewer says , Alejandra “knew the market intimately and provided us with highly useful guidance about navigating what would otherwise be a potentially overwhelming experience for a first time visitor.” Sounds like having a Mexico City friend with know-how and connections where you need them the most.

Our college-age son and his girlfriend were in Mexico City in July and loved their street food bike tour with a small company called Food Hood Tours . “Mexico City Off-The-Beaten-Path” had them pedaling through less touristy neighborhoods, including San Rafael and Santa Maria la Ribera, and with some adventurous food stops along the way, like one for the traditional drink known as Pulque. The CDMX immersion lasted more than five delicious hours.

The crowds line up early outside the Anthropology Museum in Chapultepec Park, and further south at the Museo Frida Kahlo. But next time I’m in town, I want to see the Folk Art Museum, aka Museo de Arte Popular , in historic Centro. With thousands of handicrafts and folk pieces from across Mexico, it’s a celebration of the creativity and artistry of the country’s indigenous cultures. The museum is famous for its annual parade of the colorful and spindly figures known as alebrijes, which I’d love to see.

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WHERE TO EAT

Cocktails with a creative twist at Handshake Bar, a speakeasy in Colonia Reforma in Mexico City.

Pujol, Contramar, Quintonil, Rosetta, Lardo. Culinary nomads know about Mexico City’s dining classics. But lately I’m seeing some off-the-radar ideas. Handshake is a tiny speakeasy in Reforma with stunning cocktails that go a bit extra when it comes to prep and presentation. There’s a clarified piña colada as clear as a mountain stream, a martini with fresh local figs, and an old fashioned fashioned with butter mushroom. Dooriban is an elevated Korean kimchi spot in Colonia Roma, with a cult following for its kimchi bokkeumbap—bacon fried rice mixed together with fermented cabbage. The Korean fried chicken wings get lots of online love, too . Canton Mexicali is a late-night family-style spot that somehow mashes up Mexican and Chinese flavors in an old-school Chinese eatery in bustling Hipódromo. As Eater notes , don’t miss the carne Mexicali and chile shrimp, both house specialties.

WHERE TO STAY

At La Valise, a suite has an outdoor soaking tub and a bed open to the skies above Mexico City.

You could pick a grand luxury hotel — The Ritz-Carlton, The Four Seasons, The St. Regis and Sofitel all have palaces in the skies over CDMX. But I have my eye on the hidden retreats. Friends of mine recently stayed at Octavia Casa in Condesa, which they said was like a Mexican boutique hotel with Japanese Zen aesthetics—slat wood window framing, neutral grays on the walls and floors, crisp lines everywhere. Seven rooms total, so it’s never crowded. Not to mention a gorgeous evening cocktail hour by candlelight in the discreet small lobby.

Zen calm in the lobby of Octavia Casa in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.

In Colonia Roma, La Valise looks like Mexico City as interpreted by, say, Salvador Dali. Their Insta account shows extravagant daybeds in bold blues with cushions of gold, and standing tubs big enough to soak in with a bull. But this is what I really want to see one day: There’s a suite with an outdoor bath and a bed that’s also open to the heavens . Talk about a fantasy hotel room.

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Harris to embark on a seven-state campaign blitz with her VP pick

Vice President Kamala Harris will set out this week on a swing-state campaign blitz, giving her a far heavier travel schedule than her opponent, former President Donald Trump.

It will be a critical week for Harris, who is rushing to introduce herself to voters with just three months until Election Day. It will also be the first time she will appear with her yet-to-be-announced running mate.

Starting Tuesday, Harris will campaign across seven swing states over five days, one of the heaviest weeks of campaign-related travel in the general election.

Her team has vetted six contenders to be her running mate: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Walz, Shapiro and Kelly each met separately with Harris on Sunday, according to a source familiar with the meetings.

Harris is set to appear alongside her running mate for the first time Tuesday in Philadelphia , where the pair will kick off the cross-country tour.

Her travel swing is a stark contrast to the pace of Trump and President Joe Biden. Trump has delivered remarks in 10 states since the June 27 debate, while Biden traveled to campaign stops in eight states during the final 24 days of his candidacy. Harris’ travel this week will take her to seven states in less than a fourth of the time.

Harris will visit five states that she and Biden flipped blue in 2020: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona. She will also make stops in North Carolina, which Biden lost by a slim margin, and Nevada, where Democrats won narrowly.

The trip highlights the generational gap between Harris compared with Biden and Trump, Democratic allies said.

Biden’s candidacy was consistently plagued by voter concerns about his age, and his final weeks as the presumptive nominee were punctuated by a stream of congressional Democrats urging him to pass the torch to a new generation.

“Age really does matter” when it comes to a candidate’s ability to commit to long campaign trips, said Amanda Renteria, who was the national political director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Harris, 59, is a generation younger than Trump, 78, and Biden, 81.

In 2020, Biden was the oldest presidential winner in history. If elected, Trump would be the oldest sitting president by the end of his term.

“It is amazing what candidates can do when they’re traveling around, and you don’t know what time it is, and you don’t know what day it is, but everyone’s in it,” she said. “And you can only sustain that for so long. And when you’re at the age of Trump, I don’t know how you keep up with that.”

Trump is scheduled this week to hold a rally Friday and deliver remarks at a dinner in Montana, a state he won in 2020 with 56.9% of the vote. He is also scheduled to hold a fundraiser Saturday in Colorado, which Biden won by a similar margin in 2020. Neither state is considered to be a swing state.

Reached for comment, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung pointed to the overall difference in the number of Trump and Harris campaign trips.

"In this cycle, President Trump has by far visited more battleground states, held more rallies, held more fundraisers, done more interviews and engaged with local reporters," Cheung said of Trump, who launched his campaign more than a year and a half before Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"Kamala Harris can’t even give a simple media interview since she was anointed the Democrat nominee," he continued. Harris has not held a sit-down media interview since Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, though she has answered journalists' questions in media gaggles.

In the days after Biden's widely panned June debate in Georgia, his campaign was in damage control mode. Biden spoke at a North Carolina rally and traveled to fundraisers in New York, New Jersey and Virginia before he held a rally in Wisconsin.

His next campaign trips were to Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada, the last of which was cut short when he contracted Covid. Days later, he dropped out of the race.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Abhi Rahman said that if Biden had stayed in the race, "I'm sure that there would have been blitzes like this, as well."

But now "there's definitely a lot of desire to make sure that the vice president is defining herself and her VP before Republicans get a chance to," Rahman said. "So the timing of this definitely goes with that."

When Biden was the presumptive nominee, the Trump campaign aimed many of its attacks at his cognitive ability, leaning into voters' concerns about his age. But with Harris' being a generation younger than Trump, Republicans have had to pivot their approach.

"I think she's making a point of her relative youth and vitality," said Bill Galston, a Brookings Institution fellow and official in President Bill Clinton's administration. "It's a point that she doesn't have to talk about because she's just showing it."

Harris' campaign swing is also consistent with how candidates typically pick up the pace as the election draws closer, said Aleigha Cavalier, a Democratic strategist at the strategy and marketing agency Precision Strategies. But she said Harris' travel pace compared to Trump's and Biden's is "a real advantage."

"I think the fact that she's willing and able to do this many events in a small amount of time is something that can make a real difference, especially when we're less than a hundred days out" from the election, Cavalier said.

Traveling for campaign events can create more opportunities for local media coverage, accelerate fundraising and identify potential future volunteers, said Eric Jaye, a Democratic consultant at Storefront Political Media, a campaign consulting firm. But most important, candidates are activating thousands of "micro-influencers" at rallies, he said.

"They're all holding up their phones, and they're all publishers," he said, adding that when rallygoers post pictures of themselves with a candidate, "that will go out to their networks, which is an endorsement for their networks."

"If you can get 10,000 people to share that they trust Kamala Harris, that has an impact as a form of media and communication in and of itself," Jaye said. "So essentially these are conventions of micro-influencers."

Already, the Harris campaign has touted a groundswell of volunteer support, noting in a memo released Saturday that over the previous 12 days, volunteers had placed 2.3 million phone calls and knocked on 172,000 doors.

The seven-state tour “shows that she has a ton of energy,” Renteria said. “It shows that her campaign is ready to go and is thinking through things and able to execute well. So it’s super exciting.”

Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.