I walked through here on my way to Polanco. It's a lovely little garden space that is open and free…read moreto the public. They have a small greenhouse and a large area under the fruit trees where you can sit on a blanket (people were picnicking there), as well as benches under the thicker trees in the shade on the other side of the garden. The entrance I came in through was on the bosque castle side, and I went out the exit on the other side where the museum of modern art is. I was able to walk down that way easily to get to Polanco. I was a solo traveler and I love gardens so I had a very lovely time walking through and looking at the plants here.

Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking all at once. Definitely a must see for all visitors. The…read moreentire walk is lovely and so much to see. Also, so much to see and do once you're done seeing the Botanico. This will be for sure something to do be sure to add to your to-do-list.

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.

Wow Parque Mexico really is impressive. This park is located very close to our Airbnb in Condesa so…read morewe walked in the park a few times this past week. My 2 most favorite things about this park is seeing so many dogs. As a dog lover (and also of one who recently just lost her little girl dog 2 months ago), it was so nice to see so many dogs because they always bring me so much joy when I see them. Most of the locals walking their dogs walked their pups off leash. And for the most part, their dogs were all very well behaved and always stayed close to their owners. But there were also some people who also walked their dogs on leash. The other thing that I loved the most about this park was that there are so many trees that really keep this park very nice and cool because of all the shade throughout this large park. It really does encourage people to come out and walk and do some exercise, which I really love. At this park were a few different playground areas and also a very large pond with ducks. There are also vendors selling items, food, etc throughout the park. There is also a restroom if you need to use it, which cost $5 MXN or $0.29 USD (it is common to pay to use the toilet in Mexico but be aware that it is common for there to be no toilet paper, sometimes no toilet seats.... yes the actual seat, and hand soap. But usually restaurants, grocery stores and museums do not charge to use their toilet). This park is surrounded with a lot of restaurants, coffee shops and apartment buildings. For the most part, it is a pretty kid friendly and dog friendly park that felt safe to visit the days and nights we came by to walk. If I lived here, I would definitely be a regular.

The park has a great mix of open areas, walking paths, and shaded spots that makes it for a good…read morecasual stroll. It's also dog friendly, so you will see a lot of people enjoying the space with their pets.

Visiting Museo Casa Kahlo on a Sunday morning piqued my interest in learning more about Frida Kahlo…read moreand Diego Riviera's lives as artists, so that same afternoon I headed here--Museo Casa Estudio Diego Riviera y Frida Kahlo--to see where inspirations materialized into physicality. This location comprised of a set of personal working art studios, each with a bespoke structure customized to suit his or her creative outlets. On a cloudy Sunday afternoon around 2pm in January, these former artists' lofts were busy though not uncomfortably crowded. Sunday is their free admission day and the only reason I think the location wasn't more full, was due to a sprinkling rain on and off. While they don't require tickets they ask for visitors to sign a guest book as they enter the premises, after which you're free to roam around. There are three main structures--the studios of each respective artists and another built by a Mexican architect, who I believe as a friend of the couple. They aren't large, each would take maybe 10 minutes to walk thru, the studio of Diego Riviera being the most popular due to the resetting of furniture and decorative elements simulating the setup when he used to create works here. Visitors can go up to the roof too, which is a few stories up, though take care since there are no high side railings and it's a three story drop down. Around the exterior ground floor there are a few larger descriptive plaques on the history and purposes of each building and Diego and Frida's career and personal timeline as well. Inside each building there are smaller signs with the majority in Spanish. It took about 30 minutes to get thru both as I didn't try to translate and read thru many of these. Inside Riviera's studio, it was cool to see some displays of different items Diego collected as inspiration for his art, everything from ceramic serving ware to terracotta artifacts from early native settlements, to paper mache sculptures, paintings and mobiles. Kahlo's studio was used as more of a gallery space featuring a small exhibit on Hungarian photographer Kati Horna's work documenting life in Mexico City in the mid 20th century. O'Gorman's building showed some architectural background and small-scale models of these three buildings and a handful of his conceptual and preparatory work for this project in particular. At the end of the day not sure if this location is a "must see" on your first trip, though I appreciated the context it provided for understanding more about these two artists! For more info: https://inba.gob.mx/sitios/recorridos-virtuales/casa-estudio-diego-rivera-frida-kahlo/

On our first visit to Mexico City in 2023, we visited the Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul) in…read moreCoyoacán. On our visit a few weeks ago, we visited the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo in San Ángel. The experiences are very different, but I really enjoyed our recent visit to the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo. The three houses on the property were design by Mexican Juan O'Gorman completed by 1932 (when O'Gorman was only 27). Two of them, connected by bridge, were designed by O'Gorman for his friend Diego Rivera and his then wife Frida Kahlo. These projects are an example of O'Gorman's politics (he was a committed socialist) and how those politics affected his designs (the homes are minimalist and highly functional, while still having inspiring design). Frida and Diego moved into the houses in 1934. When Frida's father died, she moved back into the house in Coyoacán, but Rivera lived in his house in San Ángel until his death in 1957. When you visit, you can walk into all three buildings (the third of which is the smallest, designed for O'Gorman's father, but never used by him). Many of the rooms of the homes are used for exhibits with information about O'Goman, Rivera, Kahlo, and other artists, but Diego's house has preserved his studio in much he way it was when he lived in the home. (If you've seen the movie Frida, you'll recognize the home for a very memorable scene - based on real facts.) While I didn't find this museum nearly as crowded as the Coyoacán museum (which, for me, was almost unpleasantly crowded), but has lots of tight spaces and you might wait a bit to make it into an area of one of the houses you want to see. We visited with a guided tour (booked through Viator), but you absolutely don't need to do this. I liked visiting with a guide, because we got a lot of information and context about the house without having to get up close to things to read - helpful in a crowded space. If you're a fan of Diego, of Frida, of O'Gorman, of art history, of architecture..., the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo is well worth a visit. Because San Ángel is gorgeous, make an afternoon of it and spend a few hours exploring other areas and attractions in the neighborhood!

This was the park right outside our hotel in the busy central part of CDMX. The park itself is…read morebeautiful with a lot of fountains and art.

The Central Park of Mexico City is long and big. Great place to rest, enjoy the nature. It connect…read morewith the city, municipality government's building, opera house, historic district and more. We enjoy the park and saw the police dog patrolling. The park is welcome by many. Especially during the day of the dead festival.

It was a super crowded pre-Christmas shopping day and the whole street was FULL of people looking…read moreover the bargains to be had on the carts and blankets of street vendors. I paused to admire the enormous pinata and a young man handed me a flyer and told me to go inside - it's free today and there's a Christmas craft fair! Can't argue with free and less crowded and... hey! This building is pretty cool! I really enjoyed the Christmas fair on the first floor - tons of crafts, jewelry and artisan foods. I bought a couple big packages of powdered chocolate and green mole. After making a lap around, I noticed more signs and realized: this is a museum! I sneakily walked up the stairs - since there were no people around, I thought perhaps the museum part was actually closed. I went into the first gallery - massive photo prints of Favian Vergara featuring kitschy prop and satire heavy scenes from the 50s-70s and only one security guard to share the experience with me! I was tickled and delighted. I went to the next gallery and the next... I have never been in such a fantastic museum with so few people and such interesting conversations with the docents/guards who seemed much more engaged and interested in the artwork than at any museum I've ever visited. I hope you make it to this museum on your visit to CDMX - it's a fantastic historic building and the artwork is very enjoyable.

I visited the Palacio de Cultura Banamex a week or so ago when I was visiting Mexico City for a few…read moredays. Right in the heart of Centro Histórico, it's a stunning and imposing building. That's because it has a long and interesting history! The large residence was built in 1785 by the Count of San Mateo Valparaíso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name Palace of Iturbide because Agustín de Iturbide lived there and accepted the crown of the First Mexican Empire (as Agustin I) at the palace after independence from Spain. In later years, the building served as the College of Mining, a hotel, and home of Banamex Cultural Foundation. In 2002-2004, the building was renovated and restored. It reopened as the Palacio de Cultural Banamex and now hosts temporary art exhibits and art workshops. When I visited the Palacio, they had two very interesting exhibits: "Copa de Arte Popular Banamex" and "Barro y cerámica en México. Poéticas de lo utilitario." The former is an exhibit of popular art and the World Cup - there were some amazing pieces in this exhibit. The latter exhibit was the larger exhibit on the main level, and it also had some amazing works. The museum was a little busy - it's free and surrounded by other amazing tourist attractions in Centro Histórico - but it has great exhibits in an incredible building. It's definitely worth exploring if you're in the neighborhood.

El Palacio de Cultura Banamex is a historic building just a block from the Zocalo, which celebrates…read moreMexico's art and cultures. This beautiful building is owned and runned by one of Mexico's most popular banks, Banamex. The building has been transformed into an open concept gallery where people can enjoy of beautiful art exhibits for free. My husband and I had the opportunity to see an art exhibit called "Los Maestros" (the masters), which highlighted some of the best artisans in central and south Mexico. Each "maestro" specializes to one specific type of craft, from a region/state in Mexico. My favorite were definitely the "arboles de la vida"; they had so much detail and color! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone near the zocalo. It is a great stop if you are walking Madero towards Palacio de Bellas Artes.