Things to do in Mexico City
The Centro Histórico boasts architecture from the baroque Metropolitan Cathedral to Aztec archaeological site, Templo Mayor and Museum. Sprawling wooded Bosque de Chapultepec is home to several museums, including the National Museum of Anthropology. City retreats include Mexico Park in Condesa and the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. Hip neighbourhoods such as the Zona Rosa, Condesa and San Angel feature some of the country's leading contemporary art galleries. Most museums are closed on Mondays.
Museums and Galleries
Expand all1. National Museum of Anthropology - History of Mexican life
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A modernist architectural masterpiece and the city's finest museum, the National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec brings Mexico's history and ethnography to life. The display on the Spanish conquest is especially fascinating, and there's lots of information in English.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$51; concessions & under-13s free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 9am-7pm
Address
Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City 11560
Telephone
+52 (55) 5553 6253
2. Franz Mayer Museum - Decorative arts
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Located in Alameda Central, the Franz Mayer Museum is housed in a former hospice and peaceful retreat from the bustling city. The items featured include ceramics, silver, furniture, textiles, sculptures and paintings. All are as functional as they are beautiful.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$45; concessions MX$25; under-12s free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-5pm
Address
Hidalgo 45, Mexico City 06300
Telephone
+52 (55) 5518 2266
3. Museum of Modern Art - Mexican and international masterpieces
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The Museum of Modern Art in Bosque de Chapultepec has permanent exhibitions featuring works by Rivera, Kahlo, Siqueiros, Tamayo and Dr Atl. It also hosts temporary exhibits of the work of international artists and there's a popular sculpture garden to explore.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$20; concessions free; Sun free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-5.30pm
Address
Paseo de la Reforma and Gandhi, Mexico City 11560
Telephone
+52 (55) 5211 8331
Transport
Chapultepec metro
4. Frida Kahlo Museum - Artistic icon
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The Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacán was home to the Mexican painter and her husband, Mexican/Spanish muralist Diego Rivera. Evidence of her life - clay pots, a wheelchair, pre-Colombian art - abounds. The museum also has a bookstore and café.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$55; concessions MX$20; under-6s free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-5.45pm
Address
Londres 247, Mexico City 04000
Telephone
+52 (55) 5554 5999
5. Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum - Rivera's masterpiece collection
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Housed in a grand hacienda in Xochimilco, the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum boasts 127 paintings by Spanish/Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and 25 works by Frida Kahlo, as well as collections of pre-Colombian, colonial era and folk art and artefacts.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$55; Tue free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-6pm
Address
5843, Avenida México, Mexico City 16030
Telephone
+52 (55) 5555 1221
Transport
Metro to Tasqueña; then tren ligero to La Noria.
Website
6. Leon Trotsky Museum - The revolutionary's last days
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The Leon Trotsky Museum in Coyoacán, with its riflemen's watchtowers atop high stone walls, relives the period he took refuge here before he was killed. Trotsky's office has been left as it was and his grave is in the backyard.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$40; concessions MX$20
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-5pm
Address
Avenida Río Churubusco 410, Mexico City 04100
Telephone
+52 (55) 5658 8732
Transport
Coyoacán metro
Attractions
Expand all7. Palacio de Bellas Artes - Early 20th-century architecture
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The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Alameda Central is a flamboyant hybrid of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, best known for its immense murals. It also has an architecture museum and a folklore museum, an elegant bookstore, a café, and temporary exhibitions.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$35; Sun free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-6pm
Address
Avenida Hidalgo 1, Mexico City 06050
Telephone
+52 (55) 5512 2593
8. Templo Mayor and Museum - Aztec archaeological site
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This pyramid-shaped Aztec temple, uncovered in 1976, was once used for human sacrifices. Today the Templo Mayor and Museum in the Centro Histórico is an archaeological site. Most of the remains, including 6000 artefacts, can be viewed in the museum.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$45; concessions & under-13s free; Sun free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 9am-5pm
Address
Seminario 8, Mexico City 06060
Telephone
+52 (55) 5542 4943
9. Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica - Pilgrimage site
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Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica is a bold architectural statement and national icon. Built in Guadalupe in 1976, it houses a cloak said to show the face of Mexico's patron saint. There is also a 17th-century basilica and museum on site.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 6am-9pm
Address
Calzada de Guadalupe, Mexico City 07050
Telephone
+52 (55) 5577 6022
10. Metropolitan Cathedral - Hispanic catholic exuberance
Show more Metropolitan Cathedral in the Centro Histórico boasts breathtaking Hispanic Baroque flamboyance. Built in the 16th century, it is also the oldest cathedral in the Americas. Sunday evening mass features mariachis, Mexican musical groups, and the bell tower provides city views.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 8am-8pm
Address
Plaza de la Constitución, Mexico City 06060
Telephone
+52 (55) 5510 0440
Transport
Zócalo Metro
11. National Palace - Centre of national politics
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Built in 1563, the National Palace in the Centro Histórico houses the presidential office and Federal Treasury. Most impressive are the several extensive murals by Mexican/Spanish muralist Rivera. The botanical gardens display a well-tended collection of regional flora.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 10am-4pm; Sat & Sun 10am-5pm
Address
Plaza de la Constitución, Mexico City 06060
Telephone
+52 (55) 3688 1261
12. Chapultepec Castle - Mexico's royal past
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Chapultepec Castle offers panoramic city views from a hill at the heart of wooded park, Bosque de Chapultepec. The former imperial and presidential palace houses the National History Museum. Visit the hall of mirrors at the base of the hill.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$51; concessions free; Sun free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 9am-5pm
Address
Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City 11560
Telephone
+52 (55) 5241 3100
Special things to do
Expand all13. Floating Gardens of Xochimilco - Boating getaway
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Once the Aztec city's breadbasket, Xochimilco is filled with canals, making up the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. At the weekends, local families hire trajinera boats and float down the canals while enjoying a picnic. Pass by historic buildings, restaurants and musicians.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$200 (per hour, per group of up to 20 people)
Opening Hours
All day
Address
Salitre, Mexico City 16010
Transport
Tasqueña metro; then tren ligero to last stop
14. Arena de México - Traditional Mexican wrestling
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Colonia Doctores is home to the Arena de México where lucha libre, Mexican wrestling, takes place. Crowds of up to 17,000 give the arena a circus-type ambience twice a week. There are three or four bouts a night.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
MX$70-MX$140
Opening Hours
Tue & Fri from 8.30pm
Address
197, Dr Lavista, Mexico City 08400
Telephone
+52 (55) 5588 0266
Transport
Cuauhtémoc metro
15. Mexico Park - Public garden respite
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Built in 1926 on the site of a former horse-racing venue, the oval-shaped Mexico Park in Condesa is a welcome dose of greenery with fountains, waterfalls, ponds and a lake with swans. In spring the lilac-coloured jacarandas are in bloom.Show this on mapE-mail this item
Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily dawn-dusk
Address
Avenida Michoacán, Mexico City 06170
Transport
Chilpancingo metro
