Rivera's mural entitled "A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park," in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City.

©PSHAW-PHOTO/Shutterstock

Museo Mural Diego Rivera

Top choice


This museum is home to one of Diego Rivera’s most famous works, Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central), a 15m-long mural painted in 1947. Rivera imagined many of the figures who walked in the city from colonial times onward, among them Hernán Cortés, Benito Juárez, Porfirio Díaz and Francisco Madero.

All are grouped around a Catrina (skeleton in pre-revolutionary women’s garb). Rivera himself, as a pug-faced child, and Frida Kahlo stand beside the skeleton. Charts identify all the characters. The museum was built in 1986 to house the mural, after its original location, the Hotel del Prado, was wrecked by the 1985 earthquake.

Camera (M$5) and video use (M$30) cost extra.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Laboratorio de Arte Alameda

0.05 MILES

As is often the case with museums in the centro, the 17th-century former convent building that contains the Laboratorio de Arte Alameda is at least as…

2. Museo de Arte Popular

0.16 MILES

A major showcase for folk art, this is a colorful museum that even kids love. Crafts are thematically displayed from all over Mexico, including carnival…

3. El Caballito

0.17 MILES

A couple of blocks west of the Alameda Central is El Caballito, a yellow representation of a horse's head unveiled in 1992 by the sculptor Sebastián. It…

4. Plaza Juárez

0.19 MILES

Representing the new face of the Alameda zone, the row of chain restaurants, bars, stores and a Hilton hotel facing the park resembles an outdoor shopping…

5. Hemiciclo a Juárez

0.19 MILES

A large white semi-circular monument to Benito Juárez on one edge of Alameda Central. It's a popular photo spot for people in graduation or bridal garb –…

6. Alameda Central

0.19 MILES

Created in the late 1500s by mandate of then-viceroy Luis de Velasco, the Alameda took its name from the álamos (poplars) planted over its rectangular…

7. Museo Memoria y Tolerancia

0.2 MILES

A mazelike, unique museum of 55 halls dedicated to preserving the memory of genocide victims. The multimedia exhibit chronicles crimes committed against…

8. Iglesia de la Santa Veracruz

0.23 MILES

Originally constructed in 1586, this church was rebuilt in the 18th century and now houses the Museo Franz Mayer. It features two doors in Mexican baroque…