Monocle

I've never really taken much notice of Monocle books or travel guides before. My impression was that they were designed for trendy, wealthy, people....more interested in savouring the best of everything than concerned with the price. I still think that this is the case after reading this little travel guide book. On the other hand, it does seem to be fairly accurate with the places they have chosen and the experiences that they suggest. It's many years since I lived in Mexico and I was last show more in Mexico City in 2008....so my experience is really dated. And there are clearly some great galleries and museums, for example that were not there in my time.
I was also interested to hear that there had been concerted action to address the pollution problem though it was not clear to me that it had been solved.
I remember some of the fabulous old hotels in Mexico such as the Gran Hotel near the Zocalo but when I checked out the prices, I was stunned ....around $A900 per night. Not that this guide was actually recommending the Gran Hotel as a place to stay. It was recommending smaller boutique hotels.....and I haven't checked out the prices of these but they look expensive.
Nevertheless there is still a wealth of information here about eating street food; about attempts being made to recover some of the ancient waterways that made up Tenochtitlan before Cortez; about catching taxis and personal safety. And there are a number of walking tours that they recommend which look pretty good to me. There are even some nice suggestions about things they would buy...and they look good to me.
Of course there are many similar guides to Mexico City....though few with this emphasis on design and quality. It's compact and could well be an ideal companion for somebody who has a few days to explore the city ....though there is enough there to occupy you for many months.
My version is now 2018.....so already dated but I assume that more recent editions have been produced and these would well be worth purchasing. Nice layout, nice colour and illustrations. Happy to give it four stars (I'd probably give it five if I had the up to date version). show less

Didn't know what to expect when I requested it. Well designed book with lots of interviews with small (or still family owned large) businesses. Interviews include how they've managed to keep true to their business goals while growing. Also has some original articles / tips for starting up.

Fine. Schnell durchgeblättert.

shelved at: 92 SWI : Architecture - Switzerland