Barrio San Mateo, Churubusco

Photos: Copyright ©2024 Barrio San Mateo

The Barrio San Mateo shopping center is so small it might not have made these pages. But the tiny complex is home to a number of better independent businesses. It operates as something like the center to the historic center that is already one of the original settlements of Coyoacán. It’s just up the street from the church that used to serve as the political and social center of the community.

Today, things are a lot more easy going. While Heroes del 47 is the main drag through the town, it’s far from a teeming main street. A left turn off of the southbound Calzada de Tlalpan puts you in one of Coyoacán’s familiar walkable and charming neighborhoods.

The shopping center is roughly an eight-minute walk southwest from Metro General Anaya and roughly the same from the Interventions Museum in better-known San Diego Churubusco. That’s just to the north.

While the Barrio San Mateo doesn’t offer acres of discounts on clothes and consumer goods, the restaurants are independently operated. The coffee is better. And visitors find the curiosities and color for which Coyoacán is frankly world famous. The outside stretch of Heroes del 47 is lined with similar shops and not-exactly boutiques.

A quirkier, more whimsical point of contact can hardly be found in the area. For international visitors, you’ll find a perfect a spot to reconnect and reorient yourself.

Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.