Condesa, Mexico City's colourful bohemian quarter

The first few times you walk or cycle around the colonia of Condesa, it has a way of bewildering you. Firstly, you can't help feeling that you're in some kind of small town which surpises you with its somewhat European-plus-Mexican flavour and its wide leafy streets lined with Art Deco architecture. Surely you can't be in the middle of that mighty megapolis called Mexico City? Something isn't quite right. Its airy pavement cafés, potpurri of ethnic restaurants, thickly vegetated parks, hip boutiques and its air of decadence and distinctly bohemian feel may convince you that DF has its own type of Parisian Latin Quarter.

Secondly, if you find yourself going round and round in circles, don't worry. Calle Amsterdam follows the oval layout of the area's former horse racetrack (Hipodromo in Spanish) which only adds to your confusion. Keep going and you'll eventually land back up where you started. Down the centre of this street runs a leafy, bike-friendly, walkway while the street on either side is flanked by restaurants, cafés and boutiques. Despite this, Condesa is essentially a residential area and definitely one of Mexico City's most charming, character-filled colonias.

Map showing the oval layout of Calle Amsterdam, former horse racetrack

La Condesa (meaning "Countess" and named after the Countess of Miravalle who owned this land and the former racetrack) dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century, hence the profusion of Art Deco and Art Nouveau-style buildings. It was home to many artistic middle and upper-class residents and foreigners, including Askenazi Jews from Eastern Europe and Spanish refugees fleeing from the Spanish Civil War. In the 1970s, the younger generations began to leave Condesa for other more fashionable areas. The 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, which severely damaged the neighbouring Roma district, hastened the continuing process of abandonment as residents began to move out to more up-market areas like Polanco. With prices falling and attracted by its unusual architecture, a new type of resident moved in: young businessmen, artists, musicians and others. Restaurants began to open, and chairs and tables which were set out on the pavements became an instant success with the city's mild climate. Today, it's a more relaxed community with its own pace of life, featuring the bright colours of Mexico in a bohemian setting. And a lively night life scene.

Central to this district are the two parks, Parque México and Parque España, which are not only the vital lungs of this area but an essential part of its character. In fact, this is probably the colonia with the most trees, the most dogs and maybe even the most eating places. All in all, it's a great place to wander around or have a coffee or meal, with surprises down most streets and some quirky finds waiting to be discovered on most visits. Street art, amusing posters, dogs in stripy jumpers, roundabouts with fountains, ancient vehicles which look as if they haven't been moved since I was born, colour-drenched buildings, original doors and windows with wrought-iron railings... you won't get bored. I would just love to get rid of all the ugly tangles of black spaghetti everywhere, supposedly electric wires, which disfigure the streets and façades and threaten to behead tourists on the open-topped Turibus as it passes through.

Snapshots of Condesa

Leafy streets

Bright colours

One of the many pavement cafés

Colourful façade

Tables set outside

Dog training in Parque México

Wall art

Coffee, food, books and live music at El Péndulo

Typical architectural features

A man relaxing in Parque México

Blue and red

The Green Corner

Blue is a popular colour

A fancy doorway

Life-sized animals climbing up the side of a building

Crêperie de la Paix with Calvin Klein underwear advert above

Decorated façade

Eco-bicis, Mexico City's bike-sharing scheme

Ducks on the pond

Car leftover from the last century

Eye-catching colour scheme

Exercising in the park

Purple building in Calle Tampico

Amusing sign: "Pedestrians have preference... preferably alive, please!"

A waiter waiting for some customers

"Anyone for breakfast?"

Looking inside a café-bar

Two men in suits by their red VW Beetle

Lake and fountain in the park

Adding a touch of colour to a drab building

Wallace Whisky Bar - with over 500 gallons of whisky in stock!

Detail of multi-coloured old trolley bus

Old car outside the Hotel Condesa DF - notice the key to wind it up with!

Another old Japanese trolley bus converted into a place to eat - with rooftop terrace included! The staircase is made of skateboards and the railings on the top with old bicycles

Mague pasteleria and café

Ferns peeping through window railings

Handwritten sign saying: "Please don't destroy my leaves. They provide the city with oxygen. Thank you."

Mexican colours

Vegetarian food

Still don't know what this large figure is on top of this building

Ornate windows

All-blue café

Cool shady park with water

Artwork on a house

Beautiful gardens and flowers

Different coloured houses

A bit of grafitti

Large mansion in Calle Durango

Sign seen outside a restaurant

Early morning in Parque México

Mexican food at La Flautería

Literary centre

He won't get bored with so many magazines to read!

Wide street in Condesa

A whole building used as an advertisement

A health food shop

Interesting sign seen in a shop window

Boutique in one of the streets

Bright red building

Artwork by a petrol station

Another popular colour combination - red and blue

Hanging trumpet flowers

An old delivery truck

Not walking the dogs, but taking them for a ride

Relaxing by a fountain

Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima in Condesa

Priest outside the church

Nuns at their stall and woman selling artichokes

Matching colours

Lombardi restaurant - I suppose the wine bottles are empty?

"Transform your world
Transform your city
Transform yourself
Don't throw litter."

Small balcony