I visited el Museo Vivo del Muralismo a week or so ago, when I spent a day in the Centro Histórico…read moreneighborhood on a trip to Mexico City. On a prior visit to the city, I had visited a site that is well known for its murals (also definitely worth a visit), but I wasn't prepared for this museum! The museum is located in the former Ministry of Public Education, but it only opened as a museum in September 2024. During its time as a government building, the Secretary of Public Education José Vasconcelos commissioned the 200 murals that can now be seen when you visit the museum. Most of the murals are by Diego Rivera, but there also murals by David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Fermín Revueltas, and more. I spent almost three hours exploring the museum. I couldn't believe how many murals were on its walls. I looked down at one point and realized I had spent more than hour just exploring the first of three floors. It's enormous. They have plenty of bathrooms and a cafe on the first level with indoor and outdoor seating (we stopped by for a coffee and a sparkling water after exploring for a while). The museum is free to visit, making it one of the best ways to learn about Mexican muralism while visiting Mexico City. It's truly a gem. Even in a city of incredible museums, it stands out for its incredible number of murals and architecture. I highly recommend it including it on your itinerary for a trip to Mexico City.

I visited Museo Kaluz when I was in Mexico City a week or so ago. The museum is located at one…read morecorner of Alameda Central, near several other attractions (Museo del Pulque, Museo Mural Diego Rivera, Museo Franz Mayer, Museo Memoria y Tolerancia, and more...). When I visited, their temporary exhibit was "El jardín de Velasco," an exhibit of the works of Mexican landscape painter and botanist José María Velasco (1840-1912). I wasn't familiar with Velasco, and I enjoyed learning about him through the exhibit. The building is beautiful, but the museum is on the smaller side. With a nominal entrance fee of $95 mxn, it's worth visiting if you're interested in the exhibit. But if you're not, I wouldn't recommend Museo Kaluz. It doesn't have a permanent collection, so you need to be interested in the temporary exhibit to make a visit worthwhile. It isn't one of my favorite museums in Mexico City, but if there's an exhibit you're interested in, it would certainly be worth a visit!

After a visit to Casa Gilardi last weekend in Mexico City, I wandered over to visit Kurimanzutto…read more The art gallery has a location in NYC and one in Mexico City, in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood. The contemporary art gallery is beautiful (industrial with concrete and yet green with plant life and warm with lots of warm toned wood). When I visited, they had a couple of exhibitions, but one really blew me away: "gala porras-kim: future spaces replicate earlier spaces." The graphite works in particular in this exhibit made me stop in my tracks, and I spent more time at the gallery than I expected to. They also have plenty of nice bathrooms, places to sit, and a gift shop, so you can spend quite a bit of time here. It's a beautiful gallery, and I'd happily return (and check out the NYC gallery) on the strength of the gala porras-kim exhibit! Check it out if you're in the beautiful San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood!

Kurimanzutto is fantastic gallery that creates an experience around you. The space is stunning and…read moremakes the art feel even more alive. I saw the Colombian artist Oscar Murillo's work, and it was powerful, energetic, and beautifully presented. A real highlight in Mexico City.

We added a stop here on our way back from the Xochimilco boat ride, and found it a worthwhile stop…read more The grounds are lovely and extensive, and the buildings are beautiful especially with peacocks wandering about. The hairless dogs are interesting, especially since they seem to enjoy hanging around a statue of their likeness, fooling you into thinking they are statues as well, until one of them moves. The house is an excellent backdrop for the extensive Diego Rivera paintings. There is a small room showing Frida Kahlo's life story in photos and a few paintings. We were fortunate to be there on a Sunday when a folklorico show was on, all in their colorful costumes and showing off their fancy footwork. Definitely a peasant place to hang out for an hour on our way back to city center.

Worth the trouble if you're in the area, or a huge fan of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. I can't say…read moreit's a convenient trip from the heart of Mexico City, but I'm certainly glad we came. I visited in October 2017 and was able to see many of Frida and Diego's pieces up close and personal. The museum wasn't crowded so I didn't feel rushed to move from painting to painting. In addition to artwork, there's a large collection of archaeological artifacts that Diego collected throughout his lifetime. I enjoyed the historical aspect that these items brought to the museum experience, and the context they added to Diego and Frida's lives and artwork. The museum grounds are almost as impressive as the art itself - beautiful gardens, courtyards, lots of peacocks and peahens roaming about, hairless dogs, lush lawns, etc. The grounds are peaceful and a great place to relax from the chaos of Mexico City. Tickets are 100 pesos (approx. $5 USD) per person, and there's an additional fee if you want to take photos inside the art exhibits.

We wandered into the Telegraph Museum recently as it's located in the same building as the National…read moreMuseum of Art. We were visiting that museum and decided to stop in at the very small (but still quite interesting) Telegraph Museum ("it's free/why not?!"). It was interesting to have in the building as the building was previously the Communications Palace! We didn't stay long, but it was fun to wander around for a few minutes in this unexpected little museum. The murals painted on the ceiling were amazing - classical but then there's a telephone pole!! Worth stopping in if you're visiting the National Museum of Art but I wouldn't go out of my way unless you're very interested in telecommunications!

Even if you're not interested in the history of telegraphs, I recommend checking out this museum…read more It's centrally located, it's free, and it's gorgeous inside. The building features pink marble - I repeat, PINK MARBLE - columns and an elegantly painted ceiling, and houses an impressive collection of communication instruments and systems from previous decades. These antiques make you stop and think: wow, people used to go through a lot of trouble just to send 1 text message! (They must have chosen their words carefully.) A visit will take 30 minutes or less.

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

On previous trips to Mexico City, I've visited others of Luis Barragán's homes in the city. But I…read morefinally made it to this (perhaps the most famous and most photographed) house by the architect. I'm so glad I finally made it. The home is still owned by the family of one of the two men who commissioned the home from Luis Barragán in the 1970s. They have a website, and you can go and reserve a tour (and then pay in cash for the tour when you arrive). When you arrive, you meet the son of one of the men who commissioned the home, who grew up in the house (his mother still lives upstairs on the third floor, which is the only part of the house that is not accessible on the tour). He gives an introduction in both Spanish and English in the entry hallway to the home, and then walks everyone to the showstopper (that swimming pool!!!). After that, you can wander through the house at your own pace, taking pictures and wandering. And the tour guide/owner of the home was always available if you had questions about the architecture or the history of the home. It was a great tour, and the home is unique and incredible. The house is colorful and creative and yet appears as if it would be very comfortable to live in. Certainly another inspiring example of Luis Barragán's work. As a bit of an architecture nerd who likes to incorporate architecture into my itineraries when I travel, I found the tour of Casa Gilardi to be one of the best things I did on this trip to Mexico City. It's a special place and absolutely worth a visit. (Since it can be a little out of the way, make sure to spend more time in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood - there are art galleries and cafes!)

When I was planning our weekend trip to CDMX, I really wanted to go to the Luis Barragan museum but…read moregetting tickets seemed impossible. It was easier to get tickets to Casa Gilardi if not entirely straight forward. My friend emailed and was able to reserve our time/day and then we paid cash in person upon arrival at our reservation. Our tour guide was the son of the man who commissioned the home and his family still resides there full time. He was incredibly informative and made us feel entirely at home during the tour. The house itself was absolutely incredible and well worth the visit.

A couple of minutes after entering Laboratorio Arte Alameda, while I stood viewing some display…read morejust inside the door, a worker moved me along with Spanish words that I wrongly interpreted as "she doesn't want me standing here". I couldn't have been more wrong. What she was trying to prevent was me missing the "walking" of sculptor Theo Jansen's Strandbeest. Theo Jansen's kinetic PVC sculptures make their way down sandy beaches looking alternately like relics from the dinosaur era or like things that will inhabit the Earth after drones become ubiquitous. They came to San Francisco briefly last year (as part of the Exploratorium's offering) but I missed it and had resigned myself to seeing Strandbeest in motion only online. But here I was, in Mexico City, in a building that must be some old cathedral, and I saw that thing walk and it was just wondrous. The exhibits that come to this museum are constantly changing and how much you enjoy your experience here will likely depend on what's on view. They seem to have no permanent collection which means that what you get is anyone's guess but if I happened to catch Theo Jansen's work odds are good that the people in charge know art and will be bringing you something good and interesting. The space itself is gorgeous, with very high ceilings and cavernous rooms. You'll likely be in and out in 1 hour but you'll have been exposed to something you might long remember. There's a lot of museums in this area. This one appears to be trading in contemporary art worldwide. Admission is a pittance but the experience might be memorable so make a little time for this place and you might be rewarded admirably. * Located in the historic district, in Alameda Central Park, steps away from Museo Mural Diego Rivera.

We randomly stumbled into this museum, thinking it was still an active church. We decided to pay…read morethe entrance fee and give it a shot. The exhibition Modos de Oir (Ways of Hearing) was (in my opinion) subpar. One of the larger installations (to the right, as you walk in) was not functioning. Other installations were unclear and/or unimpressive. There were many friendly security guards stationed in the museum, but I didn't see any other staff present. I appreciate that the church is being reused as a museum, rather than torn down, but I don't think the "Art Lab" is a good match for the space. I would have rather seen exhibits highlighting historical or cultural information. The mural in the side room is very impressive, and the courtyard is lovely, but the exhibition was not the best use of our time.