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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Plaza of Three Cultures

    Plaza de las Tres Culturas

    Mexico City

    So named because it symbolizes the fusion of pre-Hispanic and Spanish roots into the Mexican mestizo identity, this plaza displays the architectural…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Historic museum of interventions in Mexico City; Shutterstock ID 1612581472; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones

    Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones

    Mexico City

    On August 20, 1847, Mexican troops defended this 17th-century former monsatery against US forces advancing from Veracruz in a dispute over the US…

  • 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…

  • View of sugar skulls, a common gift for children and decoration for the "Day of the Dead", at the "Museo del Juguete Antiguo México" in Mexico City on October 20, 2020. - The collection of skulls is from 1968 and were made as gifts for the different sports delegations that participated in the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP) (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images)

    Museo del Juguete Antiguo México

    Mexico City

    Mexican-born Japanese collector Roberto Shimizu has amassed more than a million toys in his lifetime, and this jumbled four-floor museum showcases about…

  • 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…

  • coyoacan, Mexico city-abril 10, 2015: Church churubusco, Museum of Interventions, Historic site,
Ex-Convento de Churubusco
convent

    Ex-Convento de Churubusco

    Mexico City

    On August 20, 1847, this former convent was the scene of a historic military defeat, when Mexican troops defended it against US forces advancing from…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Acuario Inbursa

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Mexico's largest aquarium holds 1.6 million liters of water and 280 well-cared-for marine species, including barracuda, manta rays and five types of…

  • 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…

  • Mexico;  United Mexican States - may 13 2018 : the Basilica of Guadalupe district; Museo de la Basílica de Guadalupe

 Shutterstock ID 1119334316; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Museo de la Basílica de Guadalupe

    Mexico City

    The Museo de la Basílica de Guadalupe, at the rear of the Antigua Basílica, has a fine collection of colonial art interpreting the miraculous vision.

  • Plaza Santo Domingo

    Centro Histórico

    Smaller and less hectic than nearby Zócalo, this plaza has long served as a base for scribes and printers. Descendants of those who did the paperwork for…

  • 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…

  • Museo Jardín del Agua

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Diego Rivera painted a series of murals for the inauguration of Cárcamo de Dolores, Chapultepec's waterworks facility built in the 1940s. Experimenting…

  • 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…

  • Jardín de la Bombilla

    Coyoacán & San Ángel

    In this tropically abundant, pruned park spreading east of Avenida Insurgentes, paths encircle the Monumento a Álvaro Obregón, a monolithic shrine to the…

  • 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’…

  • Estela de Luz

    Zona Rosa & Reforma

    Opposite Torre Mayor, the 104m-high Estela de Luz was built to commemorate Mexico's bicentennial anniversary in 2010, though due to delays in construction…

  • Museo Nacional de Historia

    Polanco & Bosque de Chapultepec

    Historical exhibits chronicle the period from the rise of colonial Nueva España to the Mexican Revolution. On display are iconic objects such as the sword…

  • 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…