In fact, there are any number of ways to have a “perfect” day in Mexico City. The capital has more than 150 museums and untold numbers of world-class art galleries, high-end boutiques, stylish bars, lively markets and Michelin-starred restaurants. After all, it’s a city of over 23 million people. You could have enriching experiences in numerous different neighborhoods, but my first choice will always be Polanco, home to my latest hotel discovery. Here’s a full-day itinerary — and I do mean “full” — in Mexico City’s poshest colonia.

Morning

Wake up in your suite at the 19-room Casa Polanco, overlooking quiet Lincoln Park, and have an eye-opening cup of coffee or tea (the hotel places it outside your door on a Lucite tray each morning). When you’re ready, make your way down to La Veranda and have breakfast — either à la carte or from the full buffet — in its courtyard surrounded by tropical greenery. With Mexico City traffic being what it is, you’ll get around faster on your own two feet.

Midmorning

Casa Polanco is 10 minutes from Bosque de Chapultepec, the vast park considered the lungs of Mexico City. Stroll along the south side of Paseo de la Reforma, hugging the park, and take in the rotating photography exhibit shown on the wrought-iron fence, part of the city’s outdoor cultural initiative.

This area of the park has several important museums, so you’ll have to make a few hard choices today. Here are my favorite three:

On the north side of Reforma stands the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The most-visited museum in the capital is so large — with more than 600,000 objects — that it could easily occupy your whole day. I recommend getting the Travel Office to book a guide to hit the highlights. Don’t miss the umbrella fountain, “El Paraguas,” at the courtyard center; the 15th-century Aztec sun stone; a replica of Moctezuma II’s headdress (the original is still in Vienna); and the colossal Olmec heads.

Museo de Arte Moderno, located on the south side of the street, is my new favorite small museum in Mexico City. Before going in, take a few moments to tour the sculpture garden out front. Opened in 1964, this intimate institution contains 20th-century art displayed in round, light-filled spaces. Among its collection are over 100 works from nine “heritage artists,” including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Be sure to view Rufino Tamayo’s cubist “Homenaje a la raza India,” positioned under the golden light of an alabaster dome, and “The Two Fridas,” by Kahlo (1939). 

Farther into the park is Chapultepec Castle. To get to it, walk up the hillside path roughly three-quarters of a mile. Benches along the way offer places to rest. The castle has two parts: the former Military College that houses the Museo Nacional de Historia, containing notable objects and portraits from the past five centuries, and the Alcázar, which was the home of the Austrian archduke Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife, the Belgian princess Carlota Amalia. Both sides are worth your time, but highlights are the Alcázar’s gardens and the black-and-white-marble terrace overlooking Mexico City. It’s quite extraordinary to stand on a centuries-old castle terrace and have a straight view down a boulevard lined with modern skyscrapers.

Lunch

You’ve surely worked up an appetite. Take a car to Michelin two-star Quintonil for lunch, in the heart of Polanco. Its tasting menu changes monthly and can be adapted for those with food restrictions. Choose from the dining room or the bar, where you have a front-row seat to the kitchen. If you don’t have a couple of hours (or more) for a multicourse lunch, opt for one of the numerous cafés that line the leafy streets of Polanco. If you just need a coffee and a sweet treat, I recommend visiting Maque or Conejo Blanco Cafetería, highly recommended panaderías across the street from one another.

Afternoon

If you haven’t had your fill of museums, take a car to Museo Jumex, a free contemporary art museum showcasing blue-chip artists such as Donald Judd, Marcel Duchamp, Richard Pettibone, Dennis Hopper and Andy Warhol in a striking building designed by British architect David Chipperfield. The goal of the museum, which opened in 2013 by the heir to the Jumex juice corporation, Eugenio López Alonso, is to bring art to the masses.

Or you could spend the rest of the afternoon browsing the boutiques along and around Mexico City’s poshest shopping street, Avenida Presidente Masaryk. In addition to international luxury brands like Hermès, Gucci and Chanel, you’ll find cutting-edge concept stores like Ikal and Lago, plus a host of high-end designers at El Palacio de Hierro, the capital’s first luxury department store.

Evening

Walk back to Casa Polanco for a spa treatment or the hotel’s “tea time,” with drinks and snacks, from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

For dinner, you can’t go wrong with famous two-star Pujol, which has had our recommendation for years. Alternatively, try Guzina Oaxaca, on Avenue Presidente Masaryk. It uses fresh ingredients from Oaxaca in traditional family recipes to great effect. Start with the “Guacamole and Grasshoppers” and the fish ceviche with xoconostle (sour cactus fruit) in a roasted-peanut sauce with chile morita, ginger, red onion and cilantro.

Back at your hotel, make the most of the complimentary bar: Have a nightcap and start planning your next trip.