24 Best Sights in Mexico

The manicured gardens of the Alameda Central at the western edge of Centro Histórico have been the heart of Mexico City life since the height of the city's pre-Hispanic glory, when informal markets were held here. Strolling around the park today remains a great way to break up sightseeing in the neighborhood. During the week it's quite lively, but you'll be able to find a shaded bench for a few moments of rest before heading off to more museums. Food vendors throughout the park sell all kinds of snacks, from ice cream to grilled corn on the cob. In the early days of the viceroyalty, the Inquisition burned its victims at the stake here. Later, national leaders, from 18th-century viceroys to Emperor Maximilian and the dictator Porfirio Díaz, envisioned the park as a symbol of civic pride and prosperity. Life in Mexico, one of the quintessential texts on daily life in the colonial period, written by the British countess Frances Calderón de la Barca, describes how women donned their finest jewels to walk around the park even after independence. Over the centuries it has been fitted out with fountains and ash, willow, and poplar trees; through the middle of the 20th century, it became a popular gay cruising ground. Today, the Alameda is one of the best places in town to see people from all walks of life, mingling in the shadow of some of the city's most iconic buildings.

This 1,600-acre green space, literally translated as Chapultepec Forest, draws hordes of families on weekend outings, along with cyclists, joggers, and horseback riders into its three sections, which are divided from east to west by major roads. The first section is the oldest and the most frequented, as it is closest to the city center and home to many museums and other attractions. The second section is much quieter, with plenty of space for recreational activities, while the third section is largely undeveloped and generally functions as an ecological reserve.

At the park's principal entrance, the Monumento a los Niños Héroes (Monument to the Boy Heroes) commemorates the young cadets who, it is said, wrapped themselves in the Mexican flag and jumped to their deaths rather than surrender during the U.S. invasion of 1847. To Mexicans, that war is still a troubling symbol of their neighbor's aggression: it cost Mexico almost half its territory—the present states of Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Other sights in the first section of Bosque de Chapultepec include a castle, three small boating lakes, a botanical garden, and the Casa del Lago cultural center. You'll also find Los Pinos, the ex-residential palace of the president of Mexico, which is now open to the public for the first time thanks to Mexico's current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Tuxtla’s Central Park (more plaza than park) shades in comparison to this one-block expanse a few blocks west of the city, especially as a gathering place. The lush vegetation makes the park a pleasant spot to catch a break from the daytime heat of Tuxtla but it really comes to life in the evenings from 6 to 9 when—per its name—live marimba music can be heard in the park’s gazebo. Grab a spot on one of the green wrought-iron park benches to watch the performance. Plenty of couples get up to dance, a few in chiapaneco folk costume; feel free to join in if the music so moves you. Children play. Vendors sell food and balloons. The spectacle makes for one of those quintessential tropical Mexican evenings, and it's all free.

Condesa's other green lung, the 22-acre Parque México lies just southeast of its slightly smaller and slightly older sister, Parque España. Among its many enchanting features, you'll find a gracious duck pond, a large children's playground, fountains, a strikingly ornate art deco iron clocktower, and dozens of footpaths passing by emerald gardens, topiary shrubs, and towering specimen trees. The park was constructed in 1927 on the site of a former racetrack, which explains the circular road, Avenida México, looping its perimeter and the name of the colonia in which its officially located, Hipódromo (hippodrome) Condesa. The park is lined with handsome buildings, including some of the best examples of art deco in the city. Dozens of cafés, taquerias, and bars are within a couple of blocks of the park, making it a great spot to enjoy a casual bite to eat.

Officially this 96-acre swath of greenery is a nursery that was developed in 1913 to grow tree seedlings to be transplanted to the forests in and around Mexico City, but today Viveros functions for visitors as a glorious park (it has, in fact, been an official national park since 1938). A 2.2-km (1.4-mile) gravel walking and jogging trail laces the perimeter of the property, and a series of narrow trails crisscross the park, each one lined with specimen trees that are planted around the city: acacia, sweet gum, jacaranda, cedar, and so on. There are five entrances around the park: the southwest one is closest to Viveros metro, but the northeast one is better if you're walking over from elsewhere in Coyoacán or from the Coyoacán metro stop. Each entrance is staffed by security, and although admission is free, the gates shut to the public promptly at 6 pm and don't reopen until the next morning at 6 am. This is one of the most enjoyable (and popular) spots in the city for jogging, but throughout Viveros you'll also find benches, rows of ornamental plants, hundreds of colorful and friendly black and gray squirrels, swatches of grass to set up picnic blankets, and a central plaza that's often the site of small groups informally practicing fencing, yoga, dancing, and the like. Unless you glimpse the unfortunately bland Torre Mítikah, which was completed in 2021 on the neighborhood's northern border, you can easily imagine that you're miles from urban civilization while relaxing in this enchanting urban sanctuary. Near the northeast entrance, an actual nursery sells plants, flowers, and garden statuary and gifts of every imaginable kind.

The city's best (read: only) real park is around the corner from the aquarium. With 29 acres of shaded playgrounds, trails, and a train to ride, it's a great place for kids to work off hotel-bound energy. It really gets moving on Sunday, frequently to the beat of a live band.

This very centrally located park that divides Cuauhtémoc from San Rafael is best known for its all-day artisan market on Sundays. This is an excellent spot to people-watch, eat local snacks, and pick up souvenirs of all kinds, from traditional handicrafts to hip clothes. The artists are primarily Mexican, and representative of all corners of the country. 

This multipurpose park at the eastern edge of the historic center (just three long blocks from the main plaza) has ancient trees, flower-lined paths ideal for a morning jog, a basketball court, and a children's play area with swings and fun things to climb. Local artists sell paintings and prints on Saturday, beginning at 10 am, on the north side of the park; during the first two weeks of February, more than a hundred vendors gather to sell mountains of decorative plants and baby fruit trees, as well as ceramic pots.

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.

Offering a small oasis of calm only a few blocks from Coyoacán's joyfully frenetic main plazas, this green space of topiaries, life-size bronze statues of Frida and Diego, and a central fountain with three vertical streams of water has a relaxing ambience. Open only during the day, the narrow, fenced-in park prohibits pets, skates, bikes, and sporting equipment. For this reason, it's a lovely place to read, catch your breath, and listen to songbirds chirping in the trees overhead. It's diagonally across the street from Plaza de La Conchita, with its historic chapel.

A half block north of the main plaza is this small, cozy park, officially known as Plaza Cepeda Peraza. Historic mansions, now reincarnated as hotels and sidewalk cafés (including a Starbucks), line its southern and eastern sides, and at night the area comes alive with marimba bands and street vendors. On Sunday, the streets are closed to vehicular traffic, and there's free live music performed throughout the day.

The Parque Lineal Río Pitillal is basically a scenic path along the Pitillal River, starting at Avenida Francisco Villa (right in front of Cinépolis) and extending all the way to the beach. There is a nice pathway perfect for bikes and trolleys, benches, picnic tables, and even a lookout that shows a scenic perspective of the city.

This hilly green space on the border of San Miguel Chapultepec and Tacubaya includes a maze of tree- and shrub-lined pathways as well as one of the largest children's playgrounds close to Condesa. The central fountain, beside a pergola with a massive bougainvillea tree looming over it, is a lovely place to sip coffee, read a book, or chat with friends. Adjacent to the park's southeast corner, you'll find Museo Casa de Bola ( www.museoshaghenbeck.mx/museo-casa-de-la-bola), which is open by appointment only or during special events (it's a popular wedding venue). The magnificent 16th-century villa belonged to San José de Tacubaya, and its 13 ornately decorated rooms are filled with fine European (predominantly French) tapestries, finery, decorative objects, and furniture that dates over the past few centuries

Though small by Mexican standards, this central park is picturesque with a beautiful view of Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción. Half of the old-fashioned kiosk in the park's center contains a branch of the municipal tourist office. The other half houses a pleasant café-bar, where you can sit and watch residents out for a stroll and listen to the itinerant musicians who often show up to play traditional ballads in the evenings.

Avenida Juárez leads to Parque Reforma, where more than 100 tables are set beneath trees clipped into perfect cubes. As the sun goes down, noisy birds roost here and young couples buy ice cream from carts or slip off to secluded benches. The park has a memorial to Fausto Vega Santander, a member of the 201st Squadron of the Mexican Air Force and the first Mexican to be killed in combat during World War II.

This park at Calles 60 and 55 is lined with popular, if a bit touristy, restaurants and draws crowds with its Thursday-night music and dance performances (shows start at 9, but come early if you want to sit close to the performers). On Sunday, couples also come to dance to a live band and dine on food from carts set up in the plaza. The Iglesia de Santa Lucía opposite the park dates from 1575 and was built as a place of worship for the Maya, who weren't allowed to worship at just any Mérida church.

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).

Also known as the Plaza de Armas, this square has distinctive portales (colonnades) and bells that compete for your attention. The hands-down winners are the deafening chimes of the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asunción, which sits on the square's southwest corner. It dates from 1721. The runners-up are the bells of the 1635 Palacio Municipal, which have a fainter but no less insistent tune. The tower originally did double duty as a lighthouse.