Must-see attractions in Mexico City

  • Fountain in the courtyard of a government building, National Palace, Zocalo, Mexico City, Mexico

    Palacio Nacional

    Centro Histórico

    As the seat of the federal branch of the Mexican government, the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) is home to the offices of the president of Mexico and…

  • Torre Latinoamericana

    Centro Histórico

    The Torre Latinoamericana was Latin America’s tallest building when constructed in 1956, and remains the dominant focal point of Centro Histórico. It's an…

  • COYOACAN, MEXICO - NOV 1, 2016: Blue House (La Casa Azul), historic house and art museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo
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    Museo Frida Kahlo

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    Renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was born in, and lived and died in, Casa Azul (Blue House), now a museum. Almost every visitor to Mexico City makes a…

  • The ruins of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City.

    Templo Mayor

    Centro Histórico

    Before the Spaniards demolished it, the Aztec 'Great Temple' Teocalli of Tenochtitlán covered the site where the cathedral now stands, as well as the…

  • House Studio Museum of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.

    Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    If you saw the movie Frida (2002), you’ll recognize this museum, designed by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's friend, architect and painter Juan O’Gorman…

  • Leon Trotsky grave with the Soviet symbol in his House Museum in Mexico City.

    Museo Casa de León Trotsky

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    The Trotsky home, now a museum, remains much as it was on the day when one of Stalin's agents, a Catalan named Ramón Mercader, caught up with the…

  • The Metropolitan Cathedral seen from the Zocolo in Mexico City.

    Catedral Metropolitana

    Centro Histórico

    One of Mexico City’s most iconic structures, this cathedral is a monumental edifice: 109m long, 59m wide and 65m high. Started in 1573, it remained a work…

  • Museo Jumex in Plaza Carso, Mexico City.

    Museo Jumex

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Museo Jumex was built to house one of Latin America's leading contemporary art collections. Temporary exhibits draw on a collection of around 2600 pieces…

  • Part of the facade of La Casa de los Azulejos in Mexico City.

    Casa de los Azulejos

    Centro Histórico

    Past the pedestrian corridor Gante stands the amazing Casa de los Azulejos. Dating from 1596, it was built for the Condes (Counts) del Valle de Orizaba…

  • Mural at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.

    Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso

    Centro Histórico

    Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros painted murals here in the 1920s. Most of the work on the main patio is by Orozco; look for the…

  • Mexico, Mexico City. The Basilica of Guadalupe, considered to be the second most important sanctuary of Catholicism after the Vatican City.

    Basílica de Guadalupe

    Mexico City

    A cult developed around this site after a Christian convert named Juan Diego claimed in December 1531 that the Virgin Mary appeared before him on the…

  • Avenida Madero

    Centro Histórico

    This stately pedestrianized shopping avenue west of the Zócalo, linking Bellas Artes and the Zócalo, boasts a veritable catalog of architectural styles…

  • Happy 5 de Mayo

    Zócalo

    Centro Histórico

    The heart of Mexico City is the Plaza de la Constitución. Residents began calling it the Zócalo, meaning ‘base,’ in the 19th century, when plans for a…

  • Trajinera or punt on the canals and floating gardens of Xochimilco Mexico City

    Xochimilco Canals

    Mexico City

    Hundreds of colorful trajineras (gondolas) await passengers at the village’s 10 embarcaderos to paddle you through the waterways dotted with birdlife and…

  • 500px Photo ID: 90987349 - Trumpet player in Mariachi band

    Plaza Garibaldi

    Centro Histórico

    Every night the city’s mariachi bands belt out heartfelt ballads in this festive square. Wearing silver-studded outfits, they toot their trumpets and tune…

  • Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Three Culture Square) at Tlatelolco - Mexico City, Mexico;  Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco

Shutterstock ID 521555881; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco

    Mexico City

    The events that occurred before, during and after the 1968 massacre on Plaza de las Tres Culturas are chronicled in Memorial del 68, a compelling…

  • "Desierto de los Leones" National Park Mexico City; 
Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen
convent
Shutterstock ID 2054551526; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen

    Mexico City

    This weathered 17th-century former Carmelite monastery within the Parque Nacional Desierto de Los Leones provides an interesting glimpse of what it would…

  • Mexico City, Mexico - February 9, 2020 - The Museo del Chopo is a very famous museum of contemporary art in Mexico City. It is part of the UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which is the biggest university in Latin America. Interestingly, this musem was actually built for an expo in Germany in 1902. Then the majority of it was bought and brought over to Mexico City, where, between 1903 and 1905, it was rebuilt.
Museo Universitario del Chopo

    Museo Universitario del Chopo

    Mexico City

    You can't miss the prominent spires of this university-run museum. Parts of the old building, made of forged iron from Düsseldorf, were brought over in…

  • Kurimanzutto Gallery

    Mexico City

    One of the city's most cutting-edge contemporary art galleries, temporary exhibits here showcase the works of up-and-coming talent from Mexico and abroad…

  • Mundo Chocolate Museum

    Zona Rosa & Reforma

    A beautifully restored 1909 building houses Mundo Chocolate, a museum and store known as MUCHO celebrating all things chocolate. The permanent exhibit…

  • Castillo de Chapultepec

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    A visible reminder of Mexico’s bygone aristocracy, the ‘castle’ that stands atop Chapultepec Hill was begun in 1785 but not completed until after…

  • Suprema Corte de Justicia

    Centro Histórico

    In 1940 Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco painted four panels around the 2nd level of the Supreme Court's central stairway, two dealing with the theme…

  • Centro Cultural de España

    Centro Histórico

    The Centro Cultural de España always has a variety of cutting-edge art exhibitions going on, such as 'Vibraciones' where visitors 'listened' to music…

  • Plaza Hidalgo & Jardín Centenario

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    The focus of Coyoacán life is its central plaza – actually two adjacent plazas: the Jardín Centenario, with the village’s iconic coyotes frolicking in its…

  • El Ángel

    Zona Rosa & Reforma

    The symbol of Mexico City, known as 'El Ángel' (The Angel), this gilded Winged Victory on a 45m-high pillar was sculpted for the independence centennial…

  • Museo Soumaya

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Someone ought to tell Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim that bigger isn't always better. Named after his late wife, this six-story behemoth (plated with 16…

  • Palacio Postal

    Centro Histórico

    More than just Mexico City’s central post office, this golden palace built in 1907 is an Italianate confection designed by the Palacio de Bellas Artes’…

  • Plaza San Jacinto

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    Every Saturday the Bazaar Sábado brings masses of color and crowds of people to this San Ángel square, 500m west of Avenida Insurgentes. Museo Casa del…

  • Jardín Botánico

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Highlighting Mexico’s plant diversity, this 4-hectare complex in Chapultepec is divided into sections that reflect the country’s varied climatic zones…

  • Museo del Calzado El Borceguí

    Centro Histórico

    At this shoe museum – and the oldest shoemaker in Mexico, operating since 1865 – there are over 2000 pieces of footwear on show, many from famous feet…

  • Museo del Estanquillo

    Centro Histórico

    Housed in a gorgeous neoclassical building two blocks from the Zócalo, this museum contains the vast pop-culture collection amassed over the decades by…

  • Museo de la Ciudad de México

    Centro Histórico

    Formerly a palace of the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya, this 18th-century baroque edifice now houses a museum with extensive exhibits focusing on the…

  • Palacio de Iturbide

    Centro Histórico

    Built for colonial nobility, in 1821 this became the residence of General Agustín Iturbide, a Mexican independence hero who was proclaimed emperor here in…

  • Museo Tamayo

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    A multilevel structure built to house international contemporary art, donated by Oaxaca-born painter Rufino Tamayo to the people of Mexico. The small…

  • Museo de Arte Moderno

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    The collection here exhibits work by noteworthy 20th-century and contemporary Mexican artists, including canvases by Dr Atl, Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco,…

  • Museo Nacional de Arte

    Centro Histórico

    Built around 1900 in the style of an Italian Renaissance palace, this museum holds collections representing every school of Mexican art until the early…

  • Parque Nacional Desierto de los Leones

    Mexico City

    Cool, fragrant pine and oak forests dominate this 20-sq-km national park in the hills surrounding the Valle de México. Around 23km southwest of Mexico…

  • Museo de El Carmen

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    A storehouse of magnificent sacred art in a former school run by the Carmelite order. The collection includes oils by Mexican master Cristóbal de…

  • Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    One of the city’s first contemporary-art spaces, this San Ángel museum was founded by Yucatecan businessman Álvaro Carrillo Gil to store a large…