Customer Reviews

Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My wife and I just returned from a five night stay in Mexico City.

Along with An Opinionated Guide, we used Fodors.

For me, the great value of An Opinionated Guide was the walks it lead me and my wife on. These walks were through both the historical center and some of the wealthy and artistic neighborhoods.

I feel that the walks gave me as good a sense of Mexico City as a non-Spanish speaking tourist is likely to get in a few days.

I agree with another reviewer that sometimes it was helpful to carry along a thicker guidebook which gives longer descriptions of specific sites.

One way in which this criticism does not seem fair, however, is that many of the sites that the walks cover are not so much historically or culturally important (a famous painting or a building by an important architect)as they are important in showing an aspect of Mexican life: transvestite hair dressers in a flower market and how this reveals the tolerance of Mexican society or a uniform shop where the mannequins are posed like famous sculptures such as the Pieta and how this shows the presence of a folk art tradition.

I think this is an essential book for anyone traveling for pleasure to Mexico City.

My wife and I just returned from Mexico City and found this guide to be invaluable. If you're an independent traveler, with a particular interest in architecture, this is the book for you. We loved the walking tour suggestions (particularly the one in Coyocan), as well as "Top 10" lists (taquerias etc.). This is really the only guide a first-time visitor to D.F. needs!

Why won't someone write a new, good, comprehensive book about Mexico City? Well, probably because it's the biggest city in the world and no one has time. Look, when an American goes to Mexico City, you are probably going there for business or some specific reason. And you are probably wondering what it's gonna be like after hearing, "Don't drink the water" a million times.

This book is a good crash course on Mexico City from a guy with a nice writing style. But, the book dances between being a "tell it like it is" reality check (which I really enjoyed) to a random laundry list of stuff to see. Plus it's really thin. Not a lot there.

I think the best use of this book is a primer for mentally preparing yourself to go. Read it in bed a few nights before you pack, especially the first chapter. It'll hit the high points and give you a "Cliffs Notes" version of the city.

When you get there, in the insanity, best bet is to hire a trustworthy local to give you the tour. This is not a city for novices to try to navigate, although I wish you many moments of beauty, like dilapidated houses with beautiful pink flowers in the window, and kids with holes in their shoes looking at you with big beautiful brown soulful eyes and chasing pigeons around the park, happier than I've been in years. Good luck!

What a delightful book about one of my favorite cities and cultures! Instead of flipping to the glossary to find say, "museums" or "restaurants" and then reading a brief note of the address followed by a short description, I found that once I had begun reading the Introduction I simply couldn't put it down and just read it straight through until the end. It is so gracefully written and full of interesting insights, places and anecdotes that I can't wait to see them for myself. The numerous carefully scripted walks are described with such pleasure and respect for the people and daily life. The visitor is placed right in the midst of the action, tastes, colors and smells. No looking through the window of a tour bus here. It is a vast city and the various districts are quite distinct from one another and the public transportation to get to each is clearly described. The famous sites are all here for you, but this little volume also has unique places that I don't think you'll find in any other book.

This book was helpful in some ways, though I would not recommend relying soley upon it when navigating Mexico City. A more traditional guidebook is necessary to fill in some gaps. For example, the guide includes few maps, and the ones that it does include are of poor quality. The book's strength is in identifying restaurants and attractions that are a bit off the beaten path, and it does so primarily through descriptions of walking tours of various neighborhoods. The problem with this is that the author often does not provide addresses for the restaurants/ attractions he recommends, so if you are not strictly following his walking tour, it is very difficult to choose an attraction and only visit it. Overall, it was an interesting read, and had some valuable information, but it was far from comprehensive.

My partner Jeb and I returned last week from an amazing trip in Mexico City. We had sought out a guide to the city and found this one online. We had read quite a bit from other sources but found things here that appealed to our sense of wanting to "get to know the place" rather than simply hitting the greatest hits alone.


We quickly found ourselves carrying this book with us as so many moments we spent following Jim Johnston's lead were quite amazing. In addition to fantastic food advice, this guide is written with enough restraint not to squander the impact of "discovery". We had many of these fine experiences - the fantastic cakes at Pasteleria Ideal , the joy of the "wet dog" park in La Condessa, and the surprise on first seeing the psychedelic dining room on the approach to La Gruta were really gratifying examples.


We are already planning future trips to Mexico City and spending time in La Roma and La Condessa made us think to seek out short term rentals there. This book shares special information not found in other guides and is written with a personal passion that will really add value and authenticity to your trip.

I've been to Mexico City many times, but the last time was with this new guide in hand. It is fabulous! I saw things I had never seen before. With other guide books (and I have them all!) I always felt like a tourist. With this new guide, I felt more like a local. And, I love the restaurant recommendations...not to be found in your typical guidebook.
Caren Cross, San Miguel de Allende,MX

I just returned from Mexico City and cannot say enough about how much I depended on this book. While any mainstream guidebook can point out the common sites, this one takes you off the beaten track and leads you through tours of less frequented neighborhoods. Its like having a (very well informed) local right there with you. I felt as if I could make an entire trip just by following the walking tours and food recommendations. Certainly get another book for details like street and subway maps, but use this one to plan your days and get to know the real Mexico City.

The little book on Mexico City by Jim Johnston is quite wonderful. As someone who has visited there many times, he still offers places that were new to me, and frankly, it was fun to read about places I'd already seen, as he brought a fresh point of view to them. Getting taxis in this bustling town is crucial and I much appreciated his listing all the hidden spots where one could get a safe cab. His one page riffs on various cultural aspects of Mexico are gems, especially one on surrealism and another of friendliness. This book does what any first-rate travel guide should do, it made me want to get on the first plane back to Mexico City.

I bought several travel guides before I went to Mexico City. This was the only one that I took with me every day before I left the hotel. The walking tours, restaurant recommendations and travel information are exactly what you need for an insider's look into Mexico City. I lent the book to some family before they went to Mexico City and they agreed, this was the best Mexico City book.