A Table Above the Zócalo via 20,000 Pieces of Colored Glass- The Gran Hotel
There’s a rooftop restaurant, La Terraza Gran Hotel, but what you really want is one of the little tables right by the open rail overlooking the Zócalo.
The stained glass at the Gran Hotel is breathtaking. Mostly blue, it fills the enormous atrium with a prism of color. What makes it even more extraordinary are the open-air, curved balconies that run beneath it. You can stand below and look up through all those levels of balconies to the ceiling above.
The moment you arrive at the Gran Hotel, it is an experience. The doormen and bellhops are dressed in wonderfully vintage-looking uniforms. There are enormous crystal chandeliers, old cage elevators and all those beautiful details that make the place feel as though it has been lifted out of another time.
Riding the elevator was so much fun. It reminded me of the old elevators in Paris, the kind you don't see much anymore.
And then you arrive on the top floor. Well, almost. You have to take another elevator, or the stairs, to get there, but somehow that just adds to the fun.
There’s a rooftop restaurant, La Terraza Gran Hotel, but what you really want is one of the little tables right by the open rail overlooking the Zócalo. Grab a drink and something to nibble on and watch the sun go down over the square.
Make sure you go before sunset, as you must catch the daylight filtering through that beautiful blue stained glass below before the evening lights come on.
Centro Histórico can be so chaotic, and after a day of tramping around, I loved having these little respites away from the crowds. This was a magical place for a glass of bubbles.
The Gran Hotel
The building opened in 1899 as El Centro Mercantil, one of Mexico City’s grand early department stores, selling imported European goods. It was considered one of the city's most fashionable commercial buildings during the Porfiriato.
The spectacular stained-glass ceiling was designed by French artist Jacques Grüber, of the Nancy School of Art Nouveau. More than 20,000 pieces of coloured glass were assembled in France before being brought to Mexico in 1906. With its three domes and intricate botanical designs, it was considered the largest stained-glass work in the Americas and one of the largest in the world.
The building's original cage elevators are still there, along with much of its Art Nouveau interior. The elevators were Otis elevators and were among the earliest installed in Mexico.
The Centro Mercantil remained a department store until 1958. It was then converted into a hotel and reopened in 1968, in time for visitors attending the Mexico City Olympic Games. A major restoration between 2003 and 2005 brought the building back to much of its former glory. The hotel now has 60 rooms.
The hotel has also had a little Hollywood life, appearing as a filming location in James Bond films including Licence to Kill and Spectre.
Today, the rooftop terrace is one of the best places in Centro Histórico to take in the Zócalo, the National Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral from above.
Make a reservatoin: https://terrazagranhotelcdmx
