Mexico City Regions - Condes and Roma
The Condesa and Roma district of Mexico City is a residential and restaurant area on both sides of Insurgentes avenue (Condesa on the west side, Roma on the east side) between Viaducto Miguel Alemán in the south and Avenida Chapultepec in the north. It's a large area with mostly Art Deco architecture, large parks, and a relaxed atmosphere.

Understand
La Condesa, an area consisting of several colonias on the west side of Avenida Insurgentes, became immensely popular with artists, musicians and other creative people in the mid 90s, resulting in rising real estate costs and an abundance of hip restaurants, cafes, and bars. Today, La Condesa is still worth a visit, although it has to an extent been taken over by yuppies, after many of the pioneers moved on to other neighbouring areas. One such area is Col. Roma, on the opposite side of Insurgentes from Condesa, which is less developed, but has a similar flavor.

The area of Condesa closest to Insurgentes is focused around Avenida Amsterdam, a large, oval street that used to be the track of the area's horse racetrack (thus the name for this colonia, Hipódromo Condesa). Av. Amsterdam is long and slightly curving, making it easy to lose your direction while going along it. It's dotted with small roundabouts where other streets cross it, and a large part of the area inside it is taken up by the Parqué México, with an open-air amphitheatre on one end, and small lanes amongst large trees and fountains on the other. There are several good restaurants and bars in this area, but it's the most residential, and least urban, of the Condesa.

The other part of Condesa is Col. Condesa, a bit further away from Insurgentes, on the other side of Av. Nuevo León. This is much more heavily developed, and has an incredibly assortment of bars, restaurants, and sidewalk cafes.

Col. Roma, on the other side of Insurgentes, has less greenery and is more urbanized. It's going through a period of very fast real estate development at the moment, as prices and popularity are increasing. There are new bars and restaurants popping up every week, and it's well worth a visit. Roma also has two small malls, one by Insurgentes, the Plaza Insurgentes, and another on the east side of the area, by Avenida Cuauhtémoc, the Plaza Cuauhtémoc. Both have stores and Cinemex movie theaters