Toreo Parque Central Shopping Center

The Toreo Parque Central is one of the newer shopping centers in Mexico City. It’s technically just beyond the City limits in Naucalpan, Mexico State. But it’s, significantly, on the site of the much loved Toreo Bullfighting Ring. This is the reason many Mexico City and neighboring State of Mexico residents all still call it Toreo instead of Cuatro Caminos. Cuatro Caminos is the giant Metro station and giant transit center just to the north of the mall.

The architect was Javier Sordo Madaleno. In these pages, he’s probably most famous for the dramatic 2008 San Josemaría Escrivá Church. The project has been widely been acclaimed for the sunken design. Natural light can only be seen descending through the central courtyard area. With space for some 200 retailers, it goes down some five levels. A Chedraui supermarket shares that lowest level with a casino and a few other shops.

Open just since 2015, the Toreo Parque Central has come to symbolize some of the success of the many projects to rehabilitate the City’s crowded northwest suburbs. While traffic can still reach a snarl, the shopping center remains utterly sublime. And though it’s not the only one in the area, it is perhaps the most stylish, and certainly, the most enticingly designed.

Metro Cuatro Caminos is roughly a 15-minute walk to the north.