After wrapping up a Puerto Vallarta tour, I traded the coastal humidity for the thin, sophisticated air of Mexico City. I was there for a three-week pet sit—a welcome reprieve from my normally nomadic life.

I’d sat for my friend Jason before, but this was a last-minute arrangement. He’d been whisked away for an artist-in-residence opportunity in San Miguel de Allende, leaving me the keys to his domestic museum. Jason is an artist, and his home reflects it; I spent an hour one afternoon just photographing his collection, half-convinced I was in a curated gallery rather than a residence.

His new apartment was a vast improvement. The previous one had been a first-floor bunker so devoid of sunlight it felt like living in an industrial sized refrigerator. Even when the outside world was a balmy 80°F, the interior remained at a temperature best suited for preserving hanging rows of meat. This new place, however, featured a glorious wall of windows. The first morning rays would cascade in, gently thawing my bones and taking the “bite” off the high-altitude morning chill. I left the windows open the entire three weeks, inviting the cool mountain air to circulate through the art.

The Neighborhood: San Miguel de Chapultepec

Jason lives in a neighborhood called San Miguel de Chapultepec. It lies just across a wide boulevard from Condesa, arguably Mexico City’s trendiest neighborhood. Historically, San Miguel was the quieter, more affordable sibling, but the secret is out. This year, I noticed significantly more people and a proliferation of new restaurants.

Its greatest draw is its proximity to Chapultapec, the crown jewel of Mexico City’s parks. On my first morning, I grabbed an Ecobici (the city’s ubiquitous bike-share) and lost myself under the shade of the park’s mature trees. I even stumbled upon the Audiorama, a “secret” sound garden tucked behind a fountain where classical music plays to a circle of readers on colorful benches.

Half-Day Escapes: A Guide to the City’s Layers

Having a stationary base allowed me to wander into corners of the city that a first time visitor might skip in favor of the more traditional tourist attractions. If you find yourself in the capital, these were some of my favorite half-day excursions:

Luis Barragán House A UNESCO World Heritage site and a masterclass in light and color. It’s right in the neighborhood, but book weeks in advance—it’s as hard to get into as Frida’s Blue House.

Chapultepec Park Sections 2 & 4 While Section 1 has the classic fountains and museums, Section 2 is more natural and breezy with two lakes and waterside restaurants. Section 4 is the new frontier; it is still being developed, but already features the Cineteca Nacional Chapultepec, a state-of-the-art cinematic forest retreat where viewers can watch independent and classic films in modern indoor theaters or under the stars at an open-air forum. Mexico’s Cablebus 3 conveniently drops you in the middle of the park, after taking you on an aerial journey that offers a bird’s-eye view of all 4 sections of the park.

Lomas Chapultapec Established in the 1920s as a “Garden City,” Mexico City’s quintessential “old money” neighborhood is characterized by wide, winding boulevards, lush tree canopies, and some of the most impressive mansions in the country. The dining scene here reflects that status, blending high-concept architecture with trendy street side cafes.

Parque La Mexicana Located in the high-altitude business district of Santa Fe, this brand-new park feels less like Mexico and more like a mountainous version of Singapore. It features a lake and skyscrapers lining the cliff edges, with a nearby modern underground shopping center tucked beneath the greenery.

The Polanco Art Scene: Soumaya vs. Jumex Polanco, the Beverly Hills of Mexico, is tree-lined prestige, free museums, and leashed pedigree. In previous years, I’d visited the anvil-shaped disco ball, Soumaya Museum, but this year I headed across the street to the art installation in the Jumex building. It purports to be one of the largest private contemporary art collections in Latin America, however it features art so “modern” that they placed the museum in the basement of the building, perhaps for fear of offending its much more sophisticated neighbor.

Los Dinamos For a change of scenery, Los Dinamos National Park is just 30 minutes from Mexico City, offering stunning vistas of snow-capped mountains and hiking trails that follow an active river along a series of cascades. Though you look down at the smog below, suspend your belief for a moment to pretend it’s just a morning mist blanketing the city.

Toluca Train I also took a ride on the new El Insurgente passenger train through the mountains west of the city; the joint project between Spain, Italy, and Mexico is an impressive feat of engineering that whisks you through pine studded mountains while offering stunning views of the city below. It transformed the 2.5 hour automobile commute between Toluca and Mexico City to just one hour!

Mexican Pastry Culture

Between excursions, I frequented the neighborhood bakeries in my never ending search for the perfect croissant. I’ll be honest: I have never been a fan of Mexican pastries. While the French may have introduced the techniques, the Mexican versions are often heavier and denser—less “fluffy cloud” and more “sturdy carb brick.” I suspect this is a utilitarian choice, designed to keep one full until the traditional 2:00 PM lunchtime or perhaps to be used as a tire wedge to keep taco trucks from rolling down the hill.

I must be careful with my critiques, however. Not too long ago, a British baker who also criticized Mexican baking on television was promptly buried under a mountain of internet outrage from locals who rightfully pointed out that their pastries are exactly as they intend them to be. So, I will simply say they are “efficient.”

I had a long list of other bakeries and bistros to try, but my ambitious itinerary was about to be derailed by a single, catastrophic culinary decision.