Travel Through Books: Mexico City, Mexico

by Jalisa Whitley | Jun 17, 2024 | Blogs

Travel Through Books is BOOKED Trips travel guide series that goes deeper into some of our favorite cities guided by literature. We select books by authors around the world that speak to the history, culture, and energy of the cities helping tourists go beyond the guidebooks to better understand the places we visit.

Welcome to Mexico City, Mexico. Mexico City has served as both setting and muse for countless writers. This Travel Through Books guide invites you on a unique exploration of Mexico City, using literature as our compass.

If you’re looking for a book that will take you on a journey across borders and through time, Katie Gutierrez’s More Than You’ll Ever Know is the perfect choice. Pack your bags and get ready for an unforgettable adventure. The themes and scenes from the book will inform our trip itinerary and you’re in for a truly unique trip.

Our Mexico City experience is for travelers who want to go beneath the surface to discover the unconventional, underground, and transgressive. From fine dining to off-the-beaten path food venues; journeying from underground speakeasies to the canals of Xochimilco and soaring above Teotihuacán in a hot air balloon. This guide is an invitation to lean into your own desires and enjoy all Mexico City has to offer.

WHAT TO READ

In Katie Gutierrez’s debut novel, More Than You’ll Ever Know, two women’s lives become intertwined as they explore the secrets and lies that can bind us together or tear us apart. Lore Rivera is a successful, ambitious international banker who leads a double life. In Laredo, Texas, she is a devoted wife and mother to twin boys. But in Mexico City, she is married to another man, Andres Russo. When Russo is murdered, Cassie Bowman, a struggling true-crime writer, becomes obsessed with Lore’s story. She convinces Lore to grant her a series of interviews, and as Cassie digs deeper into Lore’s past, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies. More Than You’ll Ever Know is a complex story that explores the power of secrets, the consequences of our desires, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone.

Check out our interview with Katie Gutierrez here.

WHERE TO STAY

Casa Prim Hotel Boutique – a 4-start boutique hotel in the Juarez neighborhood
Andaz Mexico City Condesa – a 4-star property centrally located in the Condesa neighborhood (a part of Hyatt)
Ignacia Guest House – an exclusive bed & breakfast in Colonia Roma named after Ignacia, who for over 70 years was the housekeeper of this 1913 estate house.
La Valise Mexico City – for a splurge stay at this boutique hotel which occupies an elegant 1920s French-style townhouse. It features eight meticulously designed suites.
Casa Pani – Frequented by art world cool kids and travelers who admire the work of Mexico’s top modernist architects, Casa Pani has six guest suites in a revamped 1960s mansion.

WHAT TO DO

Go on a bookstore crawl to one of the amazing bookstores in the city: Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, Elana Garro cultural center, Under the Volcano, La Increible, Casa Bosques, Bibliofilia, and chains including Péndulo, and Porrua.
Grab a group of friends and spend an afternoon on a trajinera in Xochimilco.
Go on a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids of Teotihuacán.
Visit the Utopias airplane library in Iztalapa neighborhood.
Go on a food tour of the city with our friends at Sabores Mexico City.
Visit one of the many museums in the city including the Frida Kahlo House, Museo Casa Estudio Frida y Diego, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, Museo de Arte Popular, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Dolores Olmedo Museum, or Luis Barragán House.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

Want help designing your dream trip? We plan private experiences! We have existing group itineraries in Cape Town, South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Accra, Ghana, Cartagena, Colombia, Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, Mexico, and Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica that can be customized. Fill out our private trip interest form or email jalisa@bookedtrips.com for more information.