Chilangos, Mexico City folks, do not play games when it comes about their bookstores and libraries. Mexico’s historic publishers own several bookshops and go the extra mile to make readers around town know how to provide great books whilst surprising them with astonishing visuals. Here’s a list of the top 8 places to buy or read books, while taking in some beautiful architecture.
Librería Porrúa
A few steps from Mexico City’s main museums, this bookstore is found inside Chapultepec Park, combining a bookstore with quiet place to read or sip on some coffee and a place to gaze at mother nature with its stunning views of the greenery and the Chapultepec lake.
@elviravelazquezh
Don’t be surprised if you bump into a tree that stands amongst bookshelves and coffee tables wrapped around crystal walls and wooden floors. There’s a little bit for everybody here: a slide for kids, rooms with natural light, desserts for those with a sweet tooth, great coffee for the ‘coffeephiles’, and a terrace to enjoy this bookstore’s main attraction: nature.
Biblioteca Vasconcelos
Built in 2006, this library will overtake you with its impressive architecture. Its bookshelves appear to be hanging from the ceiling, above tables and desks where people are working or reading. Its rooftop features skylights that allow natural light to brighten up the library. A true masterpiece by architect Alberto Kalach.
@nellie_pmbrt
Centro Cultural Elena Garro
In the neighborhood of Coyoacán (the city of coyotes), hometown of Frida Kahlo, there’s a bookstore inside a beautiful colonial house. A glass-and-concrete structure greets visitors, but rest assured the house itself remains intact, with even the original trees standing where the former terrace and porch once stood. A must-see for book lovers.
@pointsandplans
Rosario Castellanos Bookstore
A movie theater and bookstore, the Rosario Castellanos bookshop is something of a symbol in La Condesa, Mexico’s hippest neighborhood. This art deco building is one of the main gathering points for booklovers from all over town. After years of abandonment, Mexican architect, Tedoro González de León took care of the renovation. As you go in, you are immediately taken in by the white walls, the huge floor plan and the ceiling’s pattern resembling the shadows of tree branches above you. A must in Mexico City.
@joelarmando12
El Péndulo
No bookstore list is complete without El Péndulo. They have a handful of locations, but make sure you check out the one in La Roma with its multi-floor plan and wall-to-wall shelves wooden shelves. This one is inside a huge house from early 20th century in the vibrant neighborhood of La Roma. Three floors of books plus a rooftop terrace where you can get a bite, and a small theatre to catch a music show or book launches.
@cafebreriaelpendulo
Biblioteca Central UNAM
The queen of all libraries. It’s located in the heart of Mexico City’s main university campus called CU (short for University City). It’s a seven-stories-tall block of concrete decorated with a massive mural by Juan O’Gorman called Historical Representation of Culture that invites readers to go inside, or just stay in the park-like surroundings of the campus, while admiring this gigantic work of art.
@santopatronus
Alessandro Rossi
Inside the Library of Mexico in downtown, this bookstore makes the list as one of the most visually engaging with a quirky layout and wooden shelves that seem distorted but inviting. Conceived not only to serve sales area but also exhibition, this bookshop made up of two independent corridors at of The City of Books in at La Ciudadela (Spanish for the Citadel). As you walk in you’ll be enveloped by a wooden honeycomb with square shelves of all sizes that encompass all around. Up on the walls, the honeycomb houses books and other times; in the ceiling, it hides lighting, installations; on the floor, it becomes a grid covered by a transparent floor, to exhibit even more items. Don’t miss it!
@dateandoando
Elsa Cecilia Frost FCE
A jewel in south Mexico City, this bookstore is surrounded by a park that carries the name of Juana de Asbaje (pen name Sor Juana), one of Mexico’s most cherished poets. Head over there to check out the colonial town of Tlalpan, where New Spain’s aristocrats used to chill. Though this is certainly a smaller bookstore than the rest, its location is the most unique: not in the busy streets of one of the biggest cities in the World, but in a beautiful colonial neighborhood where you can forget about the noise and the frenzy and just focus on the books to gaze at their mosaic mural.
@relatostaiyari
Whether you’re into books or not, you should definitely pay a visit to these beautiful places in Mexico City. I’m pretty sure you will find something to do, buy, or try. Anyhow, don’t miss the chance to let yourself be dazzled by the beauty of the architecture, nature, or views of these amazing places.
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If you can’t get enough of Mexico City, you have to read the following articles:
10 Mexican Towns You Must Visit To See The Real-Life Locations Behind Pixar’s Coco
I Am Gringa And Chilanga: Lessons From My 6-Month Stay In Mexico
The Sculpture Route That Celebrates The World In Mexico City
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