Parque San Lorenzo

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The Parque San Lorenzo is the former atrium of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Martír. This was the main parish church for the original town of San Lorenzo Xochimanca. It’s still one of the most visible reminders of Pueblos Originarios in otherwise heavily urbanized Benito Juárez.

Today, the park is not really the center of the Tlacoquemécatl del Valle neighborhood. The neighborhood is actually more famous for the Tlacoquemécatl Park a few blocks away to the northeast. In fact, the Parque San Lorenzo sometimes gets referred to as the Parque Santa Monica. This moniker results from the stunning 20th-century church just across the street from the park’s southeast corner.

Nevertheless, it’s a beloved and heavily attended little corner of the city. Just a half block off of the Insurgentes avenue, it’s perhaps forever in the shadow of the much better-known (and bigger) Parque Hundido. But the Parque San Lorenzo is one of those plazas that neighbors could never do without.

It’s just a few blocks north of the Metro Insurgentes Sur. The busy Metro station makes the most of already heavy commuter traffic by serving the heavy shopping traffic too. The enormous Galerias Insurgentes shopping complex is just to the south.