Mexico City: Insider Travel GuideChat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.CNN Insider Guides are thoroughly checked for accuracy. Given the fluid nature of the travel industry, however, some listings may fall out of date before guides can be updated. The best practice is to confirm current information on official websites before making plans to visit any business or attraction.HotelsLuxuryHotel BrickHotel Condesa dFCondesa df, 102 av. Veracruz, Mexico City Mexico; +52 55 5241 2600Hotel Las AlcobasLas Alcobas Mexico DF, Presidente Masaryk 390A Col. Polanco, Mexico City 11560 Mexico; +52 55 3300 3900 Mid-rangeHotel GeneveHotel Geneve Ciudad de Mexico, Londres 130 Col. Juarez, Mexico City 06600 Mexico; +52 55 5080 0800BudgetHotel CatedralHotel Catedral, Donceles #95, Col. Centro, Mexico City 06020 Mexico; +52 55 5518 5232Cancún: Insider Travel GuideDiningPujolPujol, Francisco Petrarca 254 Polanco, Mexico City 11570 Mexico; +52 55 5545 3507Casino EspañolCasino Espanol, Isabel la Catolica, 29, Mexico City Distrito Federal Mexico;

+52 55 5510 2967ContramarContramar, Durango 200, Col. Roma Norte, Mexico City Mexico; +52 55 5514 3169Dulce PatriaDulce Patria en Las Alcobas, Anatole France 100 Col. Polanco, Mexico City Mexico; +52 55 3300 3999Taquería TlaquepaqueEl BajíoEl Bajio, Alejandro Dumas 7 Col. Polanco, Mexico City Mexico; +52 55 5281 8245On the trail of the world's best tacos in Mexico CityNightlifeRagga and Joy RoomBar San LuisCantina Tío PepeMiralto (atop the Torre Latinoamericana)Miralto, Madero #1, Piso 41 Col Centro, Mexico City 06000 Mexico; +52 55 5518 1710Salón Tenampa at Plaza GaribaldiTenampa Salon, Plaza Garibaldi 12 Col.Centro, Mexico City CP06010 Mexico; +52 55 5526 617610 things Mexico does better than anywhere elseShopping / AttractionsFonartPineda CovalinStunning silverTane Mahuta, Av Parque Mexico 67, Condesa, Mexico City Mexico; Centro Histórico/ZócaloHistoric Center, Juarez, 66, Mexico City 06000 Mexico; Coyocán/Frida Kahlo's Casa AzulDay TripsPyramids at TeotihuacanTeotihuacan World Heritage Site, Ecatepec Piramides km.22 + 600, Municipio de Teotihuacan, San Juan Teotihuacan 55800 Mexico;

Lucha LibreArena Mexico, Ave. granjas, Mexico City 02230 Mexico; +52 55 5588 0266PueblaLa Purificadora, Callejon de la 10 Norte 802 Paseo de San Francisco Barrio del Alto, Puebla 72000 Mexico; +52 22 2309 1920Meson Sacristia de la Compania, 6 Sur 304 Callejon de los Sapos, Puebla 72000 Mexico; +52 22 242 3554World's best cities for nightlifeColorful, vibrant Mexico City (it's no wonder why Frida Kahlo lived here) is home to a lavish wine scene hidden beneath the exteriors of many of its hotels and restaurants. I recently pushed aside images of Mexico's capital as merely a good place for tequila and tacos and went in search of the best wine-sipping spots. I drank wine—including many Mexican wines, a treat considering so few are exported to the United States—alongside delicacies like huitlacoche, empanadas, mole, plantains, and ceviche. Even with just a couple of days in Mexico's capital city, it's nearly impossible to not find Mexican wines on a wine list. So here are five perfecto spots to start sipping.

Open since May, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant is tucked into the three-year-old, 31-story St. Regis Mexico City. It sits on some choice real estate. Just outside the hotel entrance is Paseo de la Reforma, a tree-lined pedestrian-friendly boulevard that's home to the famous Diana fountain. Within J&G Grill the best seat in the house is on the terrace, which overlooks the fountain. best irish red wineFor a sampling of Mexican wines, this is a good place to start. wine and food chicagoThere are about 2,000 bottles of wine in the restaurant's cellar and many are from Mexico. indian wine to buyNote that J&G Grill is open for dinner only and just like Vongerichten's other restaurants, the cuisine is avant-garde. how early can you buy wine in ga

In this case, many dishes are inspired my Mexican flavors, like the avocado pizza (topped with cilantro, lime, and jalapeno) and roasted Yucatan grouper (served with "aromatic" black beans and cilantro puree). Perfect for pairing with Mexican wines like Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc. Not so touristy—although it's directly behind the second location of Museo Soumaya, housing much of financier Carlos Slim's art collection, and within Plaza Carso, a luxury shopping center and mixed-use complex that Slim spent $1.4 billion on—Carolo Carso is a hit with locals. cheap white wine singaporeIt's part of a family-owned collection of restaurants and bakeries. best buy italian red wineTouting a bistro feel on the menu, the wine list (clocking in at around 250 selections) is designed to pair with a variety of flavors, spices, and herbs, much of which are organic and locally grown.

Grab a table on the outdoor terrace and gaze out at the glittering Museo Soumaya's curvy shape. To pair with ceviche, duck tacos, and BBQ shrimp with black-bean puree and white rice, I chose a glass of Casa Madero Chardonnay (Mexico) This has got to be the most colorful, vibrant eatery I've ever dined in, right on down to the details in the presentation—like a baby pink rose in the center of a frozen margarita, desserts displayed on a toy carousel with burning incense, turquoise rock salt rimming a plate, or a party favor poking out of empanadas. Dulce Patria—from chef Marta Ortiz of Mexico City's Aquila y Sol—is tucked into the two-year-old luxury boutique hotel Las Alcobas, the property resembling a cute and tidy white cube with just 35 rooms. The dining space is decked out in reds and pinks. Within a fishbowl of flowers at each table is a Mexican flag. Choosing a glass of 2011 Piedra de Sol Chardonnay (Ensenada, Baja, Mexico), it matched up nicely with "vampire ceviche," an elaborate dish consisting of mango chips, chile pepper, fish, and chopped fresh mango arranged in a martini glass with a tin "camping" spoon stuck in.

On the wine list of close to 400 selections are many Mexican wines, as well as some from Israel, Uruguay, France, Spain, South Africa, Chile, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, and California, reflecting the global nature of Dulce Patria's menu. As charming as its surroundings in the Condesa neighborhood, Azul Condesa boasts a garden setting that's a buffer from the street noise, and a crisp palette of blues and whites, complete with embroidered napkins depicting the restaurant's logo and pretty blue pottery used for dishware. Food historian and chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita has crafted a menu (for both lunch and dinner) of plates that serve as a gastronomic map of Mexico, such as "green ceviche" and organic hibiscus-flower enchiladas. From the wine list, I chose Rincón del Barón Double Blanc, a Guadalajara, Mexico, white wine that's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. A whopping 13 desserts help close out the meal on a sweet note, folding in various Mexican takes on flan, cheese, cake and chocolate.

In an unassuming storefront along a very stylish street (Avenida Presidente Masaryk) in Polanco is Restaurant Izote, its dining room long and narrow, and the breadth of cuisine and wine very diverse. Chef Patricia Quintana, who has authored several cookbooks about regional cuisine, merges flavors inspired by many Mexican states (plus the Southwestern US) to come up with small plates like roasted-duck enchiladas topped with Oaxacan mole sauce or corn tortillas with lobster and pumpkin-seed sauce done Tuxpan style. The entire wine list, of about 40 selections, consists of Mexican wines. With a glass of Note de Cata Casa Madero Shiraz (Parras Valley, Coahuila, Mexico), its jammy, crushed-raspberry imprint on my palate, I attacked the menu by sharing small plates with my table as the night wore on. , along with new-hotel openings. She also writes for Wine Enthusiast, TIME, Whole Living and American Way. In 2006 she co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Coffee and Tea (Alpha Books/Penguin).