24 Best Sights in Mexico City, Mexico

This small museum compound is where Diego and Frida lived, painted, loved, and fought (they divorced briefly in 1939) from 1934 to 1940; its three angular red and blue buildings with large multipane windows and a cacti-filled courtyard is stylistically the antithesis of the traditional Spanish Colonial Museo Frida Kahlo just a few miles away in Coyoacán. In the red main house, some of Rivera's final paintings rest on easels, and you can see his denim jacket and shoes on a wicker chair with his modest little bed and side table made up as though the artist might return at any moment. In the building's studio you can view giant papier-mâché sculptures (some of the pre-Hispanic pottery that Rivera collected) and other curious figurines and colorful folk art. The buildings' unusual, and at the time highly avant garde, designs are a big part of what makes a visit here so interesting. Architect Juan O'Gorman, who devised these buildings in 1931, was a close friend of Rivera's and lived on the property in a third structure that today, like the blue house that Frida resided in, contains rotating exhibits.

Interesting architectural features include several curving concrete exterior and interior staircases, and a bridge that connects the rooftops of Diego's and Frida's homes—a convenient passageway that allowed the two simultaneous access to and space from one another.

Set in an art deco former fire station (the building itself is reason enough for a visit), the Muso de Arte Popular maintains a gloriously diverse collection of folk art from all of Mexico's 32 states. Expect to find elaborately painted pottery from Guerrero, trees of life fashioned from clay in Mexico State, textiles woven in Oaxaca and Chiapas, and carved masks from Michoacán. Don't forget to stop at the on-site store on your way out for an exceptional collection of crafts sourced directly from communities around the country, by far the highest quality products you'll find in the city.

A devoted collector of pre-Hispanic art, Diego Rivera built his own museum to house the more than 45,000 artifacts he collected over his lifetime—which, sadly, came to an end several years before this impressive volcanic-rock building with a design inspired by ancient Mexican pyramids was completed in 1964. The third-floor studio, with its massive wall of windows, displays sketches for some of Rivera's most celebrated murals. Be sure to make your way to the rooftop, which affords sweeping city and mountain views, especially if it's a clear day; look out for the museum's small adjacent nature reserve, which you can also walk through. During the weeks surrounding Día de Muertos, you can view a remarkable altar in honor of Rivera himself. Although located in the larger delegación of Coyoacán, the museum is in the neighborhood of San Pablo Tepetlapa, about a 15-minute Uber ride south of Coyoacán's historic center; it's also a short walk from the Nezahualpilli light rail station.

In Xochimilco, on the outskirts of the city, you'll find this superb collection of paintings by Frida Kahlo and the largest private collection of works by Diego Rivera. The museum was established by Dolores Olmedo, Rivera's lifelong model, patron, and onetime mistress. The lavish display of nearly 150 pieces from his cubist, postcubist, and mural periods hangs in a magnificent 17th-century hacienda with lovely gardens. Kahlo's paintings are in a separate, adjacent hall; the museum sometimes lends these for traveling exhibitions, so check ahead to ensure they're here if this is the main reason you're visiting. Concerts and entertainment for children are presented on many weekends, while gaggles of geese and strutting peacocks amble about the grounds, adding to the clamor. There is a lovely small café in a glassed-in gazebo, and a variety of compelling rotating exhibits are held in other buildings around the property. During the month of October, the museum presents one of the better Día de Muertos displays in the city. You can reach the museum by taking the metro to Tasqueña station, and then catching the light-rail to La Noria (not Xochimilco), which is a five- to seven-minute walk away. By car, it's about a 40- to 50-minute drive from El Centro, but many visitors combine a stop here with boating on the canals in Xochimilco or strolling around historic Tlalpan. Just note, however, that currently the museum has been closed since the pandemic; it's expected to reopen sometime in 2024, and visitors are advised to check the museum's Facebook page for updates. 

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. Tickets can only be purchased online. You can buy them from the museum website, but these tend to sell out quickly. If this happens, you can try buying tickets from a third-party tour site, such as  Tiqets.com,  GetYourGuide.com, or  Viator.com. You'll pay a surcharge, but these sites sometimes have tickets available on shorter notice, and they also sell tickets many weeks in advance, which the museum's official site does not. For all the hassle of buying tickets, it's worth the effort to visit this very special place, and once you're inside, you can explore at a leisurely pace (and be glad the museum is never allowed to become too crowded).

Each one of Diego Rivera's Mexico City murals is equal parts aesthetic revelation and history lesson, offering large overviews of Mexican history, allegorical vignettes from daily life, or, in the case of the single mural on display at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, a visual rolodex of important figures in the nation's history. That mural, Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en el Parque Alameda (Sunday Afternoon Dream in the Alameda Park), was originally painted on a lobby wall of the Hotel Del Prado in 1947–48 with the controversial inscription "God does not exist," which was later replaced with the bland "Conference of San Juan de Letrán" to placate Mexico's conservative Catholic elites. The 1985 earthquake destroyed the hotel but not the mural, and this small, laser-focused museum was built across the street to house it. Like most of Rivera's murals, this one serves a didactic purpose as well, providing a veritable who's who of Mexico's most important historical figures; their identities are helpfully outlined in English and Spanish on panels facing the painting.

One of Mexico City's most well-known architectural icons, Museo Soumaya houses the valuable art collection of billionaire philanthropist Carlos Slim, as well as visiting exhibitions. The museum's Plaza Carso branch sits just beyond the edge of Polanco and contains sculptures by Rodin and Dalí and paintings from old masters to modernists and impressionists, including works from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, El Greco, Tintoretto, Monet, and Picasso. But there are also many Mexican artists represented, including Diego Rivera. Each floor of the museum has a different layout, and you walk along curving ramps (not unlike those in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City) to get from one floor to another. Designed by the Mexican architect Fernando Romero, Slim's son-in-law, the $70 million building has a shape some have likened to a silver cloud, and is covered by thousands of hexagonal aluminum tiles.

Within its modernist shell, the sleek Rufino Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum contains paintings by noted Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo as well as temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art. The selections from Tamayo's personal collection, which he donated to the Mexican people, form the basis for the museum's permanent collection and demonstrate his unerring eye for great art; he owned works by Picasso, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Francis Bacon, and Henry Moore. 

Although this gleaming, expansive contemporary art museum on the campus of UNAM—in the same cluster of buildings that make up the university's cultural center—has no permanent installation, the several gallery spaces, some intimate and some enormous, are staged with exceptional changing shows throughout the year. Additionally, parts of the university's extensive collection are shown at different times. MUAC is on par with any of the city's contemporary art museums, partly thanks to the gorgeous, angular design of noted architect Teodoro González de Leon, who also designed Reforma 222, Torre Manacar, and—in collaboration—Museo Rufino Tamayo (which bears a resemblance to MUAC). The glass facade rises at a sharp angle over a long reflecting pool, facing a broad courtyard that leads to the cultural center's performance venues. A long curving window in the back of the building looks out over the volcanic landscape on which the museum and the university are built, and a grand, freestanding staircase leads to a lower-level museum restaurant (the food is fine, if not spectacular, but the space is beautiful) and some additional galleries as well as a lecture hall. There are usually five or six shows taking place at any given time, and these rotate two or three times per year. Past shows have been devoted to works by Ai Weiwei, Zaha Hadid, Anish Kapoor, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, and Pola Weiss. The museum shop is also superb and carries a number of reasonably priced household items.

The Cultural Center of Spain is an art space, restaurant, and bar in the heart of the neighborhood, just steps away from the Cathedral and the Templo Mayor and with beautiful views of both from its open-air rooftop. It was built in an area that Hernán Cortés himself assigned to his butler, Diego de Soto, though the land changed hands many times and the current building was constructed in the 18th century, well after the years of Cortés. Temporary exhibits housed in the seven exhibition rooms often highlight young artists and showcase current artistic trends. While the exhibitions are worth a look, there are also conferences and workshops held on a nearly daily basis for anyone interested in art and culture. The rooftop bar, which hosts frequent live music events, is one of the neighborhood's better-kept secrets, with a balcony opening directly onto the Cathedral's magnificent dome and buttresses: easily one of the area's best views. Check out the center's website for listings.

At the northern edge of UNAM's cultural center and an easy stroll from MUAC (Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo) and the concert halls, this mesmerizing and tranquil complex of contemporary sculpture is more of a wilderness than a garden. Opened in 1979, it contains strikingly dramatic and in some cases massive sculpture installations by six renowned artists: the frequent Barragán collaborator Mathias Goeritz as well as Helen Escobedo, Manuel Felguérez, Sebastian, Hersúa, and Federico Silva, who came up with the idea of creating a natural space to display large-scale, abstract shapes. The property adjoins a massive nature preserve; if you have time, take a stroll through the rugged, arid landscape of rusty-hued volcanic rock and the flora that thrives here. It's a peaceful spot, although with little protection from the sun. Note that it closes at 4 in the afternoon.

One of the more disorienting buildings in Centro, the Ex-Teresa was first established in 1616 as a Carmelite convent and now runs as a contemporary art space. The convent was shut down after 250 years, but the space reopened in its current iteration in 1993. The two primary chapels lean precariously against one another, unsettled by centuries of seismic activity and resulting in a gravity-warping physical experience when you step inside. The space transforms dramatically with each new installation, but its vertigo-inducing power is constant.

The facade of this refurbished building from the 1950s has a colonial air, but inside is one of the most contemporary art museums in town, with a mission to explore how art intersects with science and technology. There is a space for contemporary and often experimental art, a display area for video and photographs, and a room where artists whose works are not displayed in other museums and galleries can exhibit. These are not necessarily young artists, but those who have yet to become truly established.

The building that now houses the Museum of the Photography Archive is one of the oldest on the Zócalo, first built in the late 16th century as part of the property of the Nava Chávez family, founded by the canon priest Pedro Nava Chávez and passed down through his niece, Catalina de Nava. Decorated in a neo-Moorish style popular in Mexico's colonial period, the house became famous in 2006 when archaeologists uncovered a monolithic statue of the goddess Tlaltecuhtli under its floors. That same year, the building opened its doors for regular photography exhibitions, often focused on the work of Mexico's finest photojournalists.

This cube-shape art museum built in 1972 by businessman and collector Dr. Alvar Carrillo Gil is one of the top venues in the city for viewing vanguard art. Rotating exhibits showcase contemporary art in a wide range of media, often by young, emerging artists. At times you can also view portions of the immense permanent collection, which consists of more than 2,000 works, about 1,400 of which Gil collected himself. These include more than 150 murals and paintings by José Clemente Orozco, 45 works by David Alfaro Siqueiros, and important pieces by Rivera, Klee, and Picasso.

The Modern Art Museum's permanent collection has many important examples of 20th-century Mexican art, including works by Mexican school painters like Frida Kahlo—her Las dos Fridas is possibly the most famous work in the collection—Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Olga Costa. There are also pieces by surrealists Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington.

Housed in the 16th-century Hospital de San Juan de Dios, this museum houses thousands of works collected by Franz Mayer, who emigrated from his native Germany to Mexico in 1905 and went on to become an important stockbroker. The permanent collection includes 16th- and 17th-century antiques, such as wooden chests inlaid with ivory, tortoiseshell, and ebony; tapestries, paintings, and lacquerware; rococo clocks, glassware, and architectural ornamentation; and an unusually large assortment of Talavera (blue-and-white) ceramics. The museum also has more than 700 editions of Cervantes's Don Quixote. The old hospital building is faithfully restored, with pieces of the original frescoes peeking through. You can also enjoy a great number of temporary exhibitions, often focused on modern applied arts. 

Found within the refurbished Santa Inés convent, this inviting museum displays international modern art as well as work by Mexico's enfant terrible, José Luis Cuevas, one of the country's best-known modern artists (1934–2017). The highlight is the sensational La Giganta (The Giantess), Cuevas's eight-ton bronze sculpture in the central patio. It represents male-female duality and pays homage to Charles Baudelaire's poem of the same name. Up-and-coming Latin American artists appear in temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Founded by an heir to the Jumex juice fortune, this contemporary art museum is located just across the way from the Museo Soumaya, and though the subdued travertine building that houses it is not as eye-popping as Carlos Slim's shiny silver cloud next door, the exhibition design of the Jumex is arguably superior. Shows draw from the museum's 2,700-strong collection, which includes boldfaced names like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and Andy Warhol, as well as temporary exhibitions of work by international contemporary artists. There's also an on-site café and store.

This museum with a big gift shop (or shop with a small museum) and café features small expositions of contemporary Mexican design. The goals of the museum are to provide a space for design, to assist local designers, and to offer a location in which designers can make money from their craft. Exhibitions, open only through guided tours in Spanish every half hour from 10 am to 8 pm, are shown in a back room made of brick, where you can see the old archways from Cortés's patio, which was built, in part, on top of Moctezuma's pyramid. The shop is open to the public.

The collections of the National Art Museum occupy one of Centro's most impressive neoclassical buildings, designed by Italian architect Silvio Contri in the early 20th century. The works in the permanent collection, organized in galleries around a gracious open patio and grand central staircase, span nearly every school of Mexican art, with a concentration on work produced between 1810 and 1950. José María Velasco's Vista del Valle de México desde el Cerro de Santa Isabel (View of the Valley of Mexico from the Hill of Santa Isabel) is on display; the collection also includes artists such as Diego Rivera and Ramón Cano Manilla. Keep an eye out for temporary exhibitions of works by Mexican and international masters. 

Founded in 1964 by the late artist Alfredo Guati Rojo, this museum devoted entirely to watercolor painting makes for an enjoyable detour if you're strolling along nearby Avenida Francisco Sosa. Admission is free, and the two-story white house that contains the galleries is surrounded by pretty flower gardens and hedges, which you can admire from the terrace of the small museum café. The art includes dozens of works by Rojo and his wife, plus galleries devoted to watercolor paintings by Mexican, international, and contemporary artists; a separate building across the garden stages temporary exhibits.

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.