49 Best Sights in Mexico City, Mexico

Built between 1779 and 1785, this baroque palace—note the imposing door and its carved-stone trimmings—was originally a residence for the Counts of Moncada and the Marquises of Jaral de Berrio, a title created only five years earlier. The palace takes its name from Agustín de Iturbide, who stayed here for a short time in 1822. One of the military heroes of the independence movement, the misguided Iturbide proclaimed himself emperor of Mexico once the country finally achieved freedom from Spain. He was staying in the palace when he became emperor, a position he held for less than a year before being driven into exile. In the two centuries since, the house has been a school, a café, and a hotel. In 1964, the Palacio Iturbide became the property of Banamex, which oversaw its restoration and eventually reopened the space in 2004 as a cultural center, showing major exhibitions in the grand central atrium.

The Plaza Loreto branch of the famed art museum in Polanco contains several huge exhibition rooms set inside the upper level of a colonial-era warehouse building that now houses shops and restaurants. It's a bit south of the heart of San Ángel, and not necessarily worth a trip all on its own, but admission is free and the exhibits are quite interesting and include an extensive look at the life and work of renowned Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (of Estadio Azteca and Museo Nacional de Antropologia fame). There are also wonderful collections of Venetian paintings, Flemish tapestries, and early Mexican photography.

It's perhaps unsurprising that in a city where disused hydroelectric and garbage heaps have been reimagined as parks and new neighborhoods, a badly polluting former oil refinery has been converted into a stunning, family-friendly green space with seven sections to replicate different climate-vegetation zones. The 136-acre preserve in the north of the city opened in 2010 on the bicentennial of the country's independence from Spain (hence the park's name). Key features include a lake that's lovely to walk around, picnic areas, playgrounds, jogging tracks, sporting fields and courts, an orchid greenhouse, and a gorgeous botanical garden that's definitely the highlight of any visit. Food stalls are located throughout the park, and there's even a little bar and grill with outdoor seating next to the lake. Concerts, festivals, and other noteworthy events take place here throughout the year—check the online calendar for what's coming up next. The park is a 15- to 20-minute drive north of Polanco (the vehicle entrance is at Av. F.F.C.C. Nacionales 221, on the east side of the park) and easily accessed from the Estación Refinería metro stop, which is at the park's northeast corner.

At the eastern edge of the neighborhood, not far from the border with Coyoacán, this handsome park is anchored by a striking art deco obelisk monument to Álvaro Obregón, the much-lauded general of the Mexican Revolution and 39th president of Mexico. In 1928, shortly after his reelection to the presidency, Obregón was assassinated while dining in La Bombilla restaurant, which stood exactly where the monument and park are today—they opened seven years after his death, in 1935. A long, shallow reflecting pool frames the monument, which is illuminated dramatically at night, and is surrounded by beautifully tended gardens and rows of trees. Rife with benches, the park is a perfect place to enjoy a picnic or relax with a book; it also makes a nice break if you're strolling to or from Coyoacán via Avendia Francisco Sosa. Along Avendia de la Paz, which forms the park's northern border, you'll find a series of well-stocked, bargain-filled used-book stalls. The streets immediately south of the park, a neighborhood known as Chimalistac, are lined with lovely old homes and gardens.

Like nearby Parque México, this slightly smaller but no less alluring 16½ acre urban oasis was laid out in the early 1920s by architect José Luis Cuevas, who was also responsible for planning much of the surrounding Hipódromo section of the Condesa neighborhood. It opened officially in September 1921, during the centennial celebrations of the Mexican War of Independence. A focal point of Parque España is the dramatic, modern sculpture and fountain installed in 1974 in honor of statesman and Mexican Revolutionary General Lázaro Cárdenas. It's a figurative depiction of the outstretched palm of then President Cárdenas, welcoming Republican refugees of the Spanish Civil to Mexico during the late 1930s. Both the statue and the park in general are popular places to sit with a book or watch locals strolling with their dogs. It's filled with flower beds, native shrubs, a small pond, and a playground.

Although part of the country's national park system, this hilly, arid 623-acre expanse of oak scrubland south of the city—just 3 km (2 miles) west of Tlalpan Centro—feels a bit more like a city park, given that its completely surrounded by residential neighborhoods. It's also a highly popular destination for running and walking, with its paved central pathways easily accessible from the bustling neighborhood at the park's main entrance, where you'll also find the stately Casa de la Cultura Tlalpan cultural center as well as a good-size parking area and a playground. Once you venture deeper into the park, along the gravel and dirt paths, it starts to feel a bit more like you're actually in a wilderness (signs with park maps are placed strategically throughout the park, making it easy to navigate). Jagged lava outcroppings are evidence of the eruption some 2,000 years ago of nearby Xitle volcano, and the park contains more than 200 kinds of flora, from wild orchids to towering palms, and around 135 types of birds, snakes, and mammals. If you make a complete circuit around the park and venture out to its northwestern border, you'll also spy some strange, curving towers in the mid-distance, at which point the gleeful screams of passengers will clue you in that you're viewing the back side of Six Flags México amusement park.

Mexico City is flanked by huge mountains, including the cloud-scraping peaks of 5,230-meter (17,160-foot) Iztaccíhuatl and its neighbor Popocatépetl, an extremely active volcano that's also the country's second-highest peak, at 5,426 meters (17,802 feet). Visible on clear days from the city center, Popocatépetl is more than 3,300 feet taller than the highest peak in the Lower 48, California's Mount Whitney. But Izzi and Popo, as these twins are affectionately known, aren't actually within city limits (they're about 56 to 72 km [35 to 45 miles] south of El Centro). The highest peak within city limits is Mount Ajusco, which is the centerpiece of Parque Nacional Cumbres del Ajusco, the third oldest national park in Mexico. Located in the southwestern corner of CDMX, it's a highly popular destination for hikers. Summiting its 3,930-meter (12,894-foot) peak is no easy feat, however. You'll want to allow at least seven hours to make it up and back, and as trails aren't always well-marked and crime isn't unheard of in this minimally patrolled wilderness, it's best to attempt a hike here with a guide or locals who've done the climb before. At the very least, go with a friend and research online for good trail maps and directions—under no circumstances should you go it alone. The elevation gain from any of the hike's starting points is around 2,500 to 3,000 feet, and it is a steep 10-km (6-mile) round-trip or loop hike (depending on the route), beginning in lush coniferous meadows and rising well above the tree line. You should also be in good shape to make it all the way. But it's a wonderfully rewarding adventure, and the views from the summit of neighboring mountains as well as the entirety of Mexico City to the north are spectacular. An excellent starting point is the trail that leads up from beside the casual Mexican restaurant, Cabaña Mireles La Polea, which is on the north side of the mountain, on the road that encircles it. Uber drivers shouldn't have trouble finding it, and if you drive yourself, you can park at the restaurant (or others near it) if you dine here before or after (the food is quite tasty)—just ask permission first.

This less-visited but beautiful little park is in the San Diego Churubusco neighborhood, just steps from the excellent Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones. The 1.5-acre patch of lush gardens is fenced in (and open only during the day). There's a central kiosk and fountain, a huge statue of Cortés, stone and brick paths, a couple of children's playgrounds, and plenty of benches to relax on. The tranquil oasis is a perfect spot to sip coffee and munch on pastries (Pastelería Caramel is right on the way if you're making the 15-minute walk here from the center of Coyoacán).

One of the earliest churches built in New Spain, this huge and striking church dates to 1527, although construction wasn't completed until 1550, and it's been rebuilt and extensively remodeled at various times (its spire had to be repaired after it was badly damaged in the city's 2017 earthquake). The interior is quite spectacular, with priceless artwork and a gorgeous vaulted ceiling. Next door, the cloister of the former convent is a peaceful spot to relax and reflect.

Connected to the neighborhood's other central plazas by café-lined Calle Higuera, this tree-shaded plaza with red-painted cement benches and pretty gardens is anchored by a little chapel known officially as La Chapel of the Immaculate Conception Church—although everyone calls it by its nickname, "La Conchita." The twin-spired, relatively modest structure has an impressive pedigree: it stands on the site of a pre-Hispanic ceremony ground, and it was built by none other than Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1525 (although, like so many of the city's ancient structures, it was extensively rebuilt later—in this case sometime around the late 1600s). Cortés, incidentally, is said to have had a home overlooking the church. The interior is closed indefinitely for renovations, but you can admire the striking facade of the tezontle (volcanic stone) that's so common in this part of the city. 

Known as the birthplace of mariachi music in Mexico City, you'll likely see multiple mariachi bands performing in this plaza. The area around it isn't always safe after dark, so make your visit there during the daytime, and don't stray too far from the main roads.

On the site of Mexico's first convent (1524), this church has served as a barracks, a hotel, a circus, a theater, and a Methodist temple. The main sanctuary's elaborate baroque facade is set past an iron gate and down a pretty flight of steps from street level. Inside, the Templo is one of the best places in Centro to get a sense of the seismic shifts that continue to unsettle Mexico City. Stand at the back of the nave and note the chandeliers, which appear frozen mid-swing: an effect of gravity combined with the incline of the aisle, which has sunken unevenly over the centuries. The church next door, in a French neo-Gothic style, was added later.

The occupants of cars and buses speeding along the city's Anillo Periférico (southern beltway) are sometimes surprised to see an ancient, conical pyramid rising just off the side of the highway, standing out rather strangely among the modern buildings that dominate the surrounding landscape of the city's Pedregal area. From around 1400 to 200 BC, a Mexica settlement with as many as 20,000 residents thrived here along the southern shoreline of Lake Texcoco, the now drained body of water on which Mexico City now stands. They built this impressive pyramid likely around 800 BC, several centuries before the construction of the massive pyramids of Teotihuacán (a settlement that some believe was created by descendants of Cuicuilco inhabitants). It's thus considered the oldest of the major archaeological sites in metro CDMX. Today you can visit the site, which has been remarkably well preserved in part because it was covered in lava by the eruption of nearby Xitle around 100 BC. A small museum designed by noted Mexican architect Luis Macgregor Krieger houses excellent exhibits tracing the settlement's history as well as countless pots, figurines, tools, and other artifacts unearthed on the site. You can also walk the grassy, verdant grounds and stand atop the pyramid. Cuicuilco is a five-minute drive from Tlalpan Centro and about a 15-minute drive from UNAM and Ciudad Universitaria. You can Uber here, or take the Insurgentes Sur Metrobus to the Villa Olímpica stop, from which it's an easy five-minute walk.

Located relatively close to the city center in the San Pedro de los Pinos colonia, near San Ángel and Del Valle, this important archaeological site is on what centuries ago was the southwestern shore of Lake Texcoco, an area fed by streams from the western mountains. Its name, which in the Nahuatl language of the Mexica who resided here means "viper of the cloud," is believed to refer to the swirl of stars above that we call the Milky Way. The physical structure preserved at this site is relatively young, having been inhabited from around AD 900 to 1521. One of Mexico's smallest archaeological sites (it's just under 2 acres), Mixcoac only opened to the public for visits in summer 2019, under the aegis of Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). Visitors can tour the remaining structures, which include a central courtyard surrounded by east and west platforms, with a ceremonial plaza, residential rooms, and other spaces.

In the early 16th century, Mexico City's zoo in Chapultepec housed a small private collection of animals belonging to Moctezuma II; it became quasi-public when he allowed favored subjects to visit it. The current zoo opened in the 1920s, and has the usual suspects, as well as some superstar pandas. A gift from China, the original pair—Pepe and Ying Ying—produced the world's first panda cub born in captivity (much to competitive China's chagrin). Today, a descendent of those original pandas, Xin Xin, is one of only three pandas in the world not owned by China. Chapultepec is also home to a couple of California condors plus hippopotamus, giraffes, and kangaroos. The zoo includes the Moctezuma Aviary and is surrounded by a miniature train depot, botanical gardens, and two small lakes. You'll find the entrance on Paseo de la Reforma, across from the Museo Nacional de Antropología.