Being in the area and originally hoping to check out the Palacio Nacional, though finding the time…read moretoo tight to make the 10am English tour time, without prior reservations, I ended up at a few nearby sights then circling back to this museum--the National Museum of World Cultures--toward the middle of the afternoon. Located in the same 18th century complex as the National Palace, the entrance to this museum is on Moneda with the closest intersecting street being Calle del Correo Mayor. Walking in to the building is a bit like walking into a fort, similar to many other grander historic structures in the area there's a central courtyard surrounded by a couple floors of corridors and galleries. There's not much of an official ticket office (or maybe we missed it), and entry is free. Founded in 1825 by the order of the first President of Mexico, General Guadalupe Victoria, in 1865 by decree of Emperor Maximilian of Hapsburg the museum started housing collections of pre-Hispanic Mexican history. Subsequently the same location also housed the first mint and Supreme Court, though in the context of museum workings became a center of archaeological, anthropological, and ethnographic research and documentation over the ensuing century. The main permanent exhibit halls include a wing on the origins of western civilization (Mesopotamia, Greek and Egyptian), a hall dedicated to Istanbul, Turkey, an Asian wing (China, Japan, Korea, with smaller halls featuring Indian traditional attire, Mongolian plains life via photographs, a temporary exhibit on Japanese calendars*), and an exhibit of children's toys from different world cultures. There were a couple areas where galleries were under construction for upcoming exhibits. Two interesting things I noticed were 1) that almost all the ancient artifacts in this museum are replicas, there are very few original/real items, 2) of the ancient artifacts that were replicated, there were an abundance of cute-looking ones**, much more so than I've seen in other museums, which I wasn't sure if was purposeful or incidental, though I found this humorous. Hours are 10am-6pm daily except closed Mondays. I'd suggest about 2-3 hours to go thru at a leisurely pace, though heads up basically all the detailed placards are in Spanish, so if you're not a native speaker, be prepared with a visual translation app on your phone or do your Duolingo homework before going. Gift shop, lockers (free) and bathrooms are available. For more info: museodelasculturas.mx *kinda random tho kinda cool? It was like walking thru a store with a lot of calendars hanging on the wall. **cute = small and round.

When we visited the Museo Nacional de las Culturas, we had intended to visit another site that…read moreturned out to be sold out for the day. This museum and the building's gorgeous exterior caught our eye(s) and we decided to wander in. The museum is dedicated to education about the world's cultures - past and present. There are several rooms decided to people of different cultures (we visited the Korean and Japanese rooms) and several rooms for temporary exhibits as well. When we visited, there was a great exhibit on the artist Boris Lurie and his connections to Mexico. The museum is free to visit. While it wasn't the most amazing museum we visited during our time in Mexico City (to be fair, there so many amazing museums in the city!), it was a nice change of pace! Worth stopping in if you're in the area.

A small gallery with a lot of black and white prints - it's a big space which I imagine is a lot…read moremore fun when they have events. I wasn't too impressed with the current exhibition -- it was kind of sad, but I happily signed the guest book to help ensure that the staff has a record of visitors to this nice free art space so they can keep it going!

In doing some research on CDMX prior to visiting, this former college came up as one of the OG…read moremural sites. I'm glad I stopped by! Located in the central historic district a half a block walking from the northern entrance to Templo Mayor, its unassuming exterior belies an interior of several courtyards encircled by arched columns. Looking closely past the arches to the shadows behind, shapes and colors shift into the foreground. Three stories of murals along the walls and stairwells draw you closer to examine. Images of historical events, symbolic figures, cultural events, depictions of native peoples to modern Mexico, you'll find a bit of it all here. The building started as a Jesuit boarding school, then a national boarding school in the late 1800s. Painters were given government commissions to paint murals featuring historical and political events in the 1920s, which is how paintings from artists like José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jean Charlot came to live here. When the school closed in 1978, it was reinvented as a museum and cultural center in 1992, with temporary art and history exhibits. When I visited there were a few exhibits going on, notably "Somos" detailing the role of Mexico in the Pacific to Atlantic trade route, from Manila to Aculpoco, and its lasting cultural artifacts visible in Mexican society. Another adjacent exhibit "TROPICAL: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America" brings together waves of art in reaction to major political changes in Mexico then more recently in SE Asian cultures. I felt enlightened learning about the cross-cultural exchange and how certain imported and exported items perpetuated like china poblana shawls. Most info placards were in Spanish so if you don't know the language, then a translation app would be helpful. For more info: https://www.sanildefonso.org.mx/

We hadn't planned on visiting the Colegio de San Ildefonso but the beautiful building stopped me in…read moremy tracks when we were exploring the area. We happened to walk in on a Sunday, when it's free to visit. So we spent an hour or so wandering around the colegio, which I learned is considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican muralism movement! The history: The Colegio began as a Jesuit boarding school and then was the National Preparatory School. When the National Preparatory School closed in 1978, the building wasn't in use until it reopened as a museum in 1992. The Colegio is now a museum and cultural center which hosts exhibitions. But it's also to many murals - by Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and other artists! It's worth visiting the Colegio to see these murals alone. When we visited, there was also an amazing exhibit - Vlady: Revolucion y Disidencia (at the museum through April 2023). The Colegio was really beautiful (the building, the murals, the art), and it's well worth a stop if you're exploring in the area!

We didn't make it to the San Ángel neighborhood when we visited Mexico City for the first time in…read more2023, but we visited a couple of weeks ago when we returned to Mexico City. It's a lovely neighborhood - well worth a visit for people visiting the city. One of the reason it's so great? Plaza San Jacinto. The plaza is traditional, with a fountain in the center and paths leading to it from each corner and side of the plaza. With plenty of trees, benches, and people, it's a great place for a walk/stroll or to sit on a bench and listen to music or read or people watch. But the highlight of a visit to Plaza San Jacinto? Every Saturday, it hosts the Bazaar Sábado - a traditional market of hundreds of artists, artisans, and sellers of almost everything you can imagine. We were lucky to be walking through the Plaza around 6pm on a Saturday (the market is from 10am-7pm every Saturday), and it was such a treat. But on every side of the Plaza are gorgeous buildings that house shops, restaurants, and a museum (Museo Casa del Risco), making the Plaza and its surroundings a great place to spend a few hours!

Plaza San Jacinto is just a twenty-minute walk from the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida…read moreKahlo and visiting both makes for a great Saturday. The Saturday artist market in the plaza always includes a wealth of talented painters lining the pathways although kitsch and craft has crept in since tourists discovered the market. I still deeply regret not buying a fantastic almost-abstract landscape painting years ago and that stayed in my mind as I strolled through the plaza and the thin stone streets of San Ángel.

I visited this museum with my Spanish class a week or so ago when we spent a morning in this part…read moreof Coyoacán. The museum is easy to get to (between two metro stations - Miguel Ángel de Quevedo and Viveros y Derechos Humanos) and very charming. It claims to be the world's first museum dedicated to watercolor painting. While it didn't have works by artists that are as well known as many other art museums, it made up for that in charm. The museum is located in a former private home, and the watercolor collection is varied and interesting. The gardens are beautiful, and the museum has a lovely cafe where you grab a bite to eat before, after, or during the visit (I had a coffee and a sandwich, looking out onto the gardens of the house, watching the "Employee of the Month" - a cat - napping in the sunlight). I wouldn't recommend that anyone go out of their way to visit this museum (unless you're a huge watercolor nerd), but if you're exploring Coyoacán, it's a charming museum that is well worth a visit.

4p* Museo Nacional de la Acuarela The watercolor museum…read moreNovo 88, Coyoacán FREE ADMISSION Friendly staff House and grounds There is an upstairs and downstairs for the galleries Also, saw children's gallery in a different building; some of the water color paintings by 4 yr and 6 yr kids were amazing Main house has wonderful paintings e.g., Manuel Ituarte, Alfredo Rojo Some look as realistic as photos Nice bathrooms Cafeteria