Must-see attractions in Mexico City

  • Palace Bellas Artes

    Palacio de Bellas Artes

    Alameda Central

    Immense murals by world-famous Mexican artists dominate the top floors of this splendid white-marble palace – a concert hall and arts center commissioned…

  • Fountain in the courtyard of a government building, National Palace, Zocalo, Mexico City, Mexico

    Palacio Nacional

    Centro Histórico

    As the seat of the federal branch of the Mexican government, the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) is home to the offices of the president of Mexico and…

  • Torre Latinoamericana

    Centro Histórico

    The Torre Latinoamericana was Latin America’s tallest building when constructed in 1956, and remains the dominant focal point of Centro Histórico. It's an…

  • COYOACAN, MEXICO - NOV 1, 2016: Blue House (La Casa Azul), historic house and art museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo
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    Museo Frida Kahlo

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    Renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was born in, and lived and died in, Casa Azul (Blue House), now a museum. Almost every visitor to Mexico City makes a…

  • The ruins of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City.

    Templo Mayor

    Centro Histórico

    Before the Spaniards demolished it, the Aztec 'Great Temple' Teocalli of Tenochtitlán covered the site where the cathedral now stands, as well as the…

  • House Studio Museum of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.

    Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    If you saw the movie Frida (2002), you’ll recognize this museum, designed by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's friend, architect and painter Juan O’Gorman…

  • Leon Trotsky grave with the Soviet symbol in his House Museum in Mexico City.

    Museo Casa de León Trotsky

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    The Trotsky home, now a museum, remains much as it was on the day when one of Stalin's agents, a Catalan named Ramón Mercader, caught up with the…

  • Rivera's mural entitled "A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park," in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City.

    Museo Mural Diego Rivera

    Alameda Central

    This museum is home to one of Diego Rivera’s most famous works, Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the…

  • Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City.

    Museo de Arte Popular

    Alameda Central

    A major showcase for folk art, this is a colorful museum that even kids love. Crafts are thematically displayed from all over Mexico, including carnival…

  • Monument to the Mexican Revolution

    Monumento a la Revolución

    Alameda Central

    Unveiled in 1938, this monument contains the tombs of the revolutionary and post-revolutionary heroes Pancho Villa, Francisco Madero, Venustiano Carranza,…

  • The Metropolitan Cathedral seen from the Zocolo in Mexico City.

    Catedral Metropolitana

    Centro Histórico

    One of Mexico City’s most iconic structures, this cathedral is a monumental edifice: 109m long, 59m wide and 65m high. Started in 1573, it remained a work…

  • Exterior of the Anahuacalli Museum, crated by Diego Rivera.

    Anahuacalli

    Ciudad Universitaria & Tlalpan

    Designed by Diego Rivera to house his collection of pre-Hispanic art, this museum is a templelike structure of volcanic stone. The ‘House of Anáhuac’…

  • Museo Jumex in Plaza Carso, Mexico City.

    Museo Jumex

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Museo Jumex was built to house one of Latin America's leading contemporary art collections. Temporary exhibits draw on a collection of around 2600 pieces…

  • Part of the facade of La Casa de los Azulejos in Mexico City.

    Casa de los Azulejos

    Centro Histórico

    Past the pedestrian corridor Gante stands the amazing Casa de los Azulejos. Dating from 1596, it was built for the Condes (Counts) del Valle de Orizaba…

  • Mural at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.

    Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso

    Centro Histórico

    Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros painted murals here in the 1920s. Most of the work on the main patio is by Orozco; look for the…

  • Mexico, Mexico City. The Basilica of Guadalupe, considered to be the second most important sanctuary of Catholicism after the Vatican City.

    Basílica de Guadalupe

    Mexico City

    A cult developed around this site after a Christian convert named Juan Diego claimed in December 1531 that the Virgin Mary appeared before him on the…

  • Avenida Madero

    Centro Histórico

    This stately pedestrianized shopping avenue west of the Zócalo, linking Bellas Artes and the Zócalo, boasts a veritable catalog of architectural styles…

  • Happy 5 de Mayo

    Zócalo

    Centro Histórico

    The heart of Mexico City is the Plaza de la Constitución. Residents began calling it the Zócalo, meaning ‘base,’ in the 19th century, when plans for a…

  • Trajinera or punt on the canals and floating gardens of Xochimilco Mexico City

    Xochimilco Canals

    Mexico City

    Hundreds of colorful trajineras (gondolas) await passengers at the village’s 10 embarcaderos to paddle you through the waterways dotted with birdlife and…

  • 500px Photo ID: 90987349 - Trumpet player in Mariachi band

    Plaza Garibaldi

    Centro Histórico

    Every night the city’s mariachi bands belt out heartfelt ballads in this festive square. Wearing silver-studded outfits, they toot their trumpets and tune…

  • "Desierto de los Leones" National Park Mexico City; 
Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen
convent
Shutterstock ID 2054551526; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen

    Mexico City

    This weathered 17th-century former Carmelite monastery within the Parque Nacional Desierto de Los Leones provides an interesting glimpse of what it would…

  • Mexico City, Mexico - February 9, 2020 - The Museo del Chopo is a very famous museum of contemporary art in Mexico City. It is part of the UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which is the biggest university in Latin America. Interestingly, this musem was actually built for an expo in Germany in 1902. Then the majority of it was bought and brought over to Mexico City, where, between 1903 and 1905, it was rebuilt.
Museo Universitario del Chopo

    Museo Universitario del Chopo

    Mexico City

    You can't miss the prominent spires of this university-run museum. Parts of the old building, made of forged iron from Düsseldorf, were brought over in…

  • Kurimanzutto Gallery

    Mexico City

    One of the city's most cutting-edge contemporary art galleries, temporary exhibits here showcase the works of up-and-coming talent from Mexico and abroad…

  • Mundo Chocolate Museum

    Zona Rosa & Reforma

    A beautifully restored 1909 building houses Mundo Chocolate, a museum and store known as MUCHO celebrating all things chocolate. The permanent exhibit…

  • Castillo de Chapultepec

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    A visible reminder of Mexico’s bygone aristocracy, the ‘castle’ that stands atop Chapultepec Hill was begun in 1785 but not completed until after…

  • Suprema Corte de Justicia

    Centro Histórico

    In 1940 Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco painted four panels around the 2nd level of the Supreme Court's central stairway, two dealing with the theme…

  • Centro Cultural de España

    Centro Histórico

    The Centro Cultural de España always has a variety of cutting-edge art exhibitions going on, such as 'Vibraciones' where visitors 'listened' to music…

  • Plaza Hidalgo & Jardín Centenario

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    The focus of Coyoacán life is its central plaza – actually two adjacent plazas: the Jardín Centenario, with the village’s iconic coyotes frolicking in its…

  • El Ángel

    Zona Rosa & Reforma

    The symbol of Mexico City, known as 'El Ángel' (The Angel), this gilded Winged Victory on a 45m-high pillar was sculpted for the independence centennial…

  • Museo Soumaya

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Someone ought to tell Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim that bigger isn't always better. Named after his late wife, this six-story behemoth (plated with 16…

  • Alameda Central

    Alameda Central

    Created in the late 1500s by mandate of then-viceroy Luis de Velasco, the Alameda took its name from the álamos (poplars) planted over its rectangular…

  • La Ciudadela

    Alameda Central

    The formidable compound now known as ‘The Citadel’ started off as a tobacco factory in the late 18th century, though it’s best known as the scene of the…

  • Palacio Postal

    Centro Histórico

    More than just Mexico City’s central post office, this golden palace built in 1907 is an Italianate confection designed by the Palacio de Bellas Artes’…

  • Museo Franz Mayer

    Alameda Central

    This museum is the fruit of the efforts of German-born Franz Mayer. Prospering as a financier in his adopted Mexico, Mayer amassed the collection of…

  • Plaza San Jacinto

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    Every Saturday the Bazaar Sábado brings masses of color and crowds of people to this San Ángel square, 500m west of Avenida Insurgentes. Museo Casa del…

  • Jardín Botánico

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Highlighting Mexico’s plant diversity, this 4-hectare complex in Chapultepec is divided into sections that reflect the country’s varied climatic zones…

  • Museo del Calzado El Borceguí

    Centro Histórico

    At this shoe museum – and the oldest shoemaker in Mexico, operating since 1865 – there are over 2000 pieces of footwear on show, many from famous feet…