Mexico City/Zona Rosa

Zona Rosa is a business and entertainment district located in a portion of Colonia Juárez, near the center of Mexico City. It is one of the city's most touristy areas, filled with hotels, dance clubs, restaurants, bars and live bands. Demographically, it boasts a healthy gay population as well as a relatively high concentration of Korean immigrants. Mexico City's financial heart is also here, with the Mexican Stock Exchange building and the 35-story HSBC building next to the Angel de la Independencía, amongst other banks with offices in this area. It is clearly defined by Avenida Insurgentes to the east, Avenida Chapultepec to the south, Paseo de la Reforma to the north, and Calle Sevilla to the west. Though not considered part of Zona Rosa, a lot of its characteristic style spills northward across the Paseo de la Reforma.

Zona Rosa (which means "pink zone", not to be confused with zona roja, a red light district) used to be the place to go for nightlife in the city, but other areas, most notably Condesa, have surpassed it in trendiness. Nevertheless, there is still heavy tourist traffic, and you will easily find yourself accosted by people in the streets selling goods and services, be it dance and strip club promoters, tourist information from police officers, tours from taxi drivers, plus the usual crowd of street vendors, lottery vendors and beggars. If you're not interested, just ignore them.

Get in
Glorieta de Insurgentes, the plaza-and-traffic circle at the intersection of Avenida Insurgentes and Avenida Chapultepec, is a transportation hub for the Metro and Metrobus and is an excellent stopping-off point.

By metro
You can hop off at (Line 1, pink). The station exits in the plaza at the center of Glorieta de Insurgentes, where good people-watching opportunities abound.

By bus
If you are riding on Chapultepec Avenue, ask the driver to drop you at Florencia Avenue. Keep in mind though, that the MetroBus is usually packed.

By car
You can access the area using Avenida Niza, Avenida Reforma or Avenida Insurgentes. There are several parking lots charging around M$14 an hour. Several restaurants have their own valet parking, charging between M$30-45. There are also parking meters charging M$10 an hour. Make sure you pay enough when using meters, as unlike other countries where the police will just leave a ticket on the dashboard, in Mexico City, they will put a wheel lock to violators and paying fines is a very expensive and troublesome process. Meters are off on Saturdays and Sundays.

By turibus
The double-decker hop-on and hop-off tourist bus that runs along Paseo de la Reforma, and throughout many other areas of the city. You can depart Zona Rosa at the Angel de Independencia for connections to the pyramids, the south of the city and the normal tourist route. Be sure to check the schedule at the tourist information booth a few steps from the stop.

Get around
Walking is the best way to move around. The area has a few pedestrian-only streets, being Genova the main street where many restaurants and shops are located.

Do
Zona Rosa is probably the only area in Mexico City that really never sleeps. It's a great place to start and end your night. Mexico´s Zona Rosa is also known as a meeting point for Mexico City's thriving gay community.

Eat
If you're looking for fast food chain restaurants or internet cafes, they're practically on every corner in Zona Rosa.

Drink




Dance
In Amberes street, there are a few places to go and let loose on the dance floor.

Gay-friendly
The Zona Rosa is also a very gay-friendly area. In the information kiosks you'll find many guides with gay places to visit in the zone. A good first stop is the BGay cafe on Amberes (a street which also has several other gay bars and clubs). See LGBT Mexico City for more gay-friendly bars and clubs.

Sleep
Some of Mexico City's most renowned hotels are located in Zona Rosa.

Hostels

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Connect
Cell phone services in Mexico City are excellent. 5G coverage is the norm as of 2023, particularly with Telcel, and dark spots with no coverage are virtually unheard of in Zona Rosa. Free WiFi is available at most hotels, restaurants and other tourist spots. The city government provides free WiFi service to everyone in public parks and plazas, including the Glorieta de Insurgentes and nearby Chapultepec Park.