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 City and 800m higher, it makes a fine escape from the carbon monoxide and concrete. Public transport here is unreliable; most people arrive by taxi from central Mexico City or the nearby Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen.
Parque Nacional Desierto de los Leones
Mexico City
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.78 MILES
Immense murals by world-famous Mexican artists dominate the top floors of this splendid white-marble palace – a concert hall and arts center commissioned…
14.12 MILES
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…
13.73 MILES
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…
9.75 MILES
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…
14.25 MILES
Before the Spaniards demolished it, the Aztec 'Great Temple' Teocalli of Tenochtitlán covered the site where the cathedral now stands, as well as the…
24.82 MILES
Tepoztlán's main sight is this 10m-high pyramid perched atop a sheer cliff at the end of a very steep paved path that begins at the end of Avenida del…
Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
7.49 MILES
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…
28.47 MILES
There’s a very simple reason to visit this wonderful, expansive museum comprising the restored Jesuit Iglesia de San Francisco Javier and an adjacent…
Nearby Mexico City attractions
1. Ex-Convento Santo Desierto del Carmen
0.7 MILES
This weathered 17th-century former Carmelite monastery within the Parque Nacional Desierto de Los Leones provides an interesting glimpse of what it would…
2. Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
7.49 MILES
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…
7.67 MILES
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…
7.69 MILES
Designed by veteran architect Teodoro González de León, the contemporary art museum's sloping, minimalist-style glass facade stands in stark contrast to…
7.69 MILES
Inside the courtyard of this museum, midway along Plaza San Jacinto’s north side, is an elaborate fountain, a mad mosaic of Talavera tile and Chinese…
7. Zona Arqueológica Cuicuilco
7.8 MILES
The principal structure here is a huge circular platform of four levels, faced with volcanic stone blocks, which probably functioned as a ceremonial…
7.85 MILES
A storehouse of magnificent sacred art in a former school run by the Carmelite order. The collection includes oils by Mexican master Cristóbal de…