Fodor's Expert Review Museo Frida Kahlo

The Casa Azul (Blue House), where the iconic artist was born in 1907 (not 1910, as she wanted people to believe) and died 47 years later, is both museum and shrine. Kahlo's astounding vitality and originality are reflected in the house itself, from the giant papier-mâché skeletons outside and the retablos (small religious paintings on tin) on the staircase to the gloriously decorated kitchen and the bric-a-brac in her bedroom. The house displays relatively few of Kahlo's original paintings, but you can admire her early sketches, diary entries, tiny outfits, and wheelchair at her easel, plus her four-poster bed fitted with a mirror above, and in a separate exhibit space across the garden, a collection of her dresses presented in the context of her physical disabilities. The relaxing garden also has a small but excellent gift shop and café. The museum has become astoundingly popular in recent years and carefully limits ticket sales to avoid the house becoming too crowded at any given time—you'll be thankful for this once you're inside, but perhaps less thrilled when you encounter the line to get into the building, which extends down and sometimes around the block daily, especially on weekends. It's highly advisable that you purchase your tickets online in advance, or arrive as early as possible on a weekday.