Artist Gildo Medina tells us how to make the most when you next visit Mexico City where he grew up
Artist Gildo Medina mixes figurative art with the surreal. He grew up in Mexico, and his artistic journey has been strongly influenced by the places he has lived and trained. Medina was featured in TASCHEN’s latest edition of “100 illustrators,” which profiled a selection of the most successful and important illustrators around the globe. A true Global Citizen he works and lives between Paris, New York, and Mexico. Here are his favourite spots around Mexico City.
Sartorial choices
As I’m a nomadic artist, I don’t have a special place where I buy clothes, so I really love to gather pieces from my trips around the world. However, in Mexico City you can find amazing places for shopping, like Av. Mazarik and el Palacio de los Palacios in the Polanco neighbourhood.
Happy Hour
“Artemisa Bar” in the Roma neighbourhood is the perfect place for an artisanal experimental cocktail. It’s a beautiful, eclectic place in Mexico with a French touch.

Artemisa Bar
For the bookworm
I love to spend hours at El Pendulo bookstores. There’s a few of them in the most interesting neighbourhoods, such as La Roma, Condesa, and Polanco. Also, you can sit and have breakfast, lunch, or dinner while you read.

“I love to spend hours at El Pendulo bookstores.”
A night’s stay
A great choice is the beautiful and chic Las Alcobas hotel in Polanco where you can find one of the most surreal and beautifully authentic restaurants in Mexico – Dulce Patria – curated by the Chef Martha Ortiz

Las Alcobas Hotel
Regional cuisine
It’s hard to pick just one restaurant because Mexico City has amazing food, but I do love Rosetta, which is in a grand Colonia Roma townhouse.

Rosetta Restaurant, Mexico City
For a meander
In the La Roma neighbourhood you could spend days just wandering around enjoying eclectic architecture that includes Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and modernist buildings.

La Roma neighbourhood
Cultural excursions
For contemporary art I love Museo Tamayo, and for being lost in time – Museo de Bellas in downtown.

Museo Tamayo, Mexico City