The city of Puebla, 90 miles from Mexico City, is home to baroque and Spanish colonial–style buildings, including the historic Puebla Cathedral (Catedral de Puebla). Wander through its 14 chapels, admire the 16th century paintings, and marvel at the tallest twin bell tower in Mexico; it’s said angels lifted the three-ton bell in place.
Architecture, art, and pre-Hispanic culture combine at the pyramid-shaped Anahuacalli Museum, conceptualized by Mexican artist Diego Rivera and Juan O’Gorman and built from black volcanic rock. Opened in 1964, this singular museum houses Rivera’s collection of about 2,000 pre-Hispanic artifacts, murals, mosaics, and more.
Leafy pedestrian walkways, historical monuments, and numerous open-air art and photography exhibitions characterize Paseo de la Reforma, one of Mexico City’s busiest thoroughfares which splices Chapultepec Park and connects it with the historic center. Lined by towering skyscrapers and luxury hotels, Paseo de la Reforma is also home to Mexico City landmarks like the Ángel de la Independencia.
Topped with a gilded Winged Victory, the Angel of Independence (El Ángel) is one of Mexico City’s most recognizable monuments, built to commemorate the centennial of the War of Independence. Visitors can admire from a distance, tour the mausoleum, or get a special permit to climb to the angel’s 150-foot-high (46-meter-high) viewpoint.
Soccer—or fútbol as it’s called in Spanish—is an integral part of Mexican culture. For the country’s people, Estadio Banorte (commonly known as Azteca Stadium, or Estadio Azteca), Mexico's largest stadium, is the heart of the sport. Home to the professional soccer team Club América and the Mexican national team, the 87,000-seat stadium is the first venue to host two FIFA World Cup finals, and it will welcome a third for the 2026 World Cup.
Once the tallest building in Latin America, the Latin-American Tower (Torre Latinoamericana) was originally built in 1956 and remains a major landmark of downtown Mexico City as well as remarkably earthquake resistant. Here, visitors can marvel over panoramic views from the 44th floor observation deck, sip cocktails at the 41st floor bar, and stop by the two on-site museums.
One of the oldest markets in Mexico City, San Juan Market is a hotspot of culinary delicacies, rarities, and oddities you’ll struggle to find anywhere else in the capital. Alongside tarantulas, scorpions, and all kinds of creepy crawlies, visitors can also sample exotic fruits, some of the city’s best tacos, and organic Mexican coffee.
Historic Plaza Garibaldi is the go-to spot for live local music in Mexico City. To get the full experience, cozy up to the bar at one of the square's numerous tequila joints, watch a folkloric show, or settle in to an outdoor table and enjoy the hustle of urban life as mariachi bands weave among patrons while playing traditional tunes.
Founded in 1551, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is one of the country’s largest, oldest, and most prestigious universities. However, it’s the UNESCO-recognized Mexico City campus—known as Ciudad Universitaria (University City)— which is of most interest. Visitors can freely explore the grounds, admire the murals, and drop by the on-campus art, history, and science museums.
Originally a public green space in 1592, Mexico City’s Alameda Central features fountains, statues, and lush landscaping. The urban park is a popular spot for locals and visitors to relax, people watch, and explore historic, cultural, and artistic sights like Diego Rivera's famous mural,Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park.
The Juan O’Gorman-designed San Ángel houses, where Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo once lived and worked, are now known as the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Studio-Museum. Today, you can explore the pair's work, legacy, and former living spaces through exhibits such as art tools and papier mache figures. Quieter and lesser known than Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Coyoacán, this museum gives you a new perspective on the artists.
The charming, bohemian vibe of Mexico City’s La Condesa neighborhood attracts locals and tourists alike. The stylish area boasts a thriving food scene, as well as plenty of bars and clubs. Its wide, tree-lined avenues are dotted with modern cafés, galleries, and boutiques mixed with fixtures of its past, including art nouveau mansions and art deco apartment buildings.
Take on roller coasters, river rapids, and laser tag at Six Flags Mexico—the only Six Flags theme park in Latin America. Located at the southern edge of Mexico City, this theme park brings to life comic book characters and cartoons via all manner of family-friendly attractions, spread across seven areas, including DC Super Heroes.
The Plaza Carso branch of Mexico City's Soumaya Museum houses the eclectic $700 million private art collection of one of the world’s wealthiest men. Its exhibitions of European masters and Mexican art are on par with the world’s top museums, while the towering building itself is a shimmering work of art on the Mexico City skyline.
The Diego Rivera Mural Museum (Museo Mural Diego Rivera) houses Mexico’s most famous work of art by one of the nation’s most beloved artists. Rivera painted Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central in 1947, and the mural depicts famous people and events in Mexico’s history in Alameda Central Park, which is built on the grounds of an ancient Aztec marketplace.
Visible on the horizon from Mexico City, the dormant Iztaccíhuatl volcano is Mexico’s third-highest peak and a popular choice for hiking excursions. Iztaccíhuatl is named for its resemblance to a sleeping woman, and scaling the 17,159-foot-high (5,230-meter-high) summit offers impressive views of Popocatépetl and the Valley of Mexico.
Just north of Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec), the upscale district of Polanco is home to some of the country’s wealthiest families. In addition to high-end real estate, the city’s most luxurious hotels and priciest restaurants line the streets of the district’s five neighborhoods. At the center of it all is the welcoming green space of Parque Lincoln.
The Ciudadela Artisan Market (Mercado de Artesanías la Ciudadela) offers perhaps the most comprehensive range of locally made handicrafts in Mexico City. In one fixed marketplace situated in the historic center, browse for reasonably priced jewelry, textiles, homewares, leather products, and more produced by artisans across the country, before refueling at the on-site dining area.
For a genuine glimpse of everyday life in most cities, head to the local food market. While Mexico City is packed with such spots, it’s La Merced Market that offers the most bang for your buck. With a maze of street food stalls selling goods from local produce to pinatas, this traditional spot is the city’s largest market and a major tourist draw.
In Mexico City, La Merced Market serves as the go-to spot for Mexican food items, while neighboring Sonora Market (Mercado de Sonora) is home to pretty much everything else. Vendors sell handmade and specialty goods, including pottery, religious items, and even animals. Known as the Witchcraft Market, the shopping center is filled with medicinal plants and occult items.
Mexico City’s Museum of Tequila and Mezcal (Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal) offers a lesson in the history, production, and significance of Mexico’s agave-based spirit. The museum also covers Mexican history and pop culture, with exhibits on its location at Plaza Garibaldi. The building is topped by a rooftop bar where you can sample shots overlooking CDMX.
At Mexico City’s Jamaica Market (Mercado Jamaica), just outside the city center, colorful flowers arrive by the truckload, filling the air with the scents of roses, hydrangeas, and lilies. In addition to the flowers displayed, Jamaica Market is also known for its local produce stalls and authentic street food at low prices.
Home to monuments, historic residences, and a cultural center, the San Angel neighborhood is a charming respite from busy Mexico City. But, one day a week, the Bazaar Sábado (Saturday Market) bustles with activity, with vendors selling art and crafts, original paintings and sculptures, and cheap eats.
A quieter alternative to nearby Coyoacán, San Ángel is also the ideal place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city center. Beloved for weekly arts and crafts markets and its charming small-town feel, San Ángel is characterized by colorful colonial buildings, cozy cafés, and cobblestone streets. Spend an afternoon here people watching in the plazas and shopping for handicrafts.
The village of San Andrés Mixquic, on the outskirts of Mexico City, is one of the best places in Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Every year in late October and early November, travelers make the long journey from Mexico City to the rolling hills of an otherwise quiet countryside to experience this truly unique cultural festival.
Home to pieces by major 20th-century Mexican artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Rufino Tamayo, the Museum of Modern Art (Museo de Arte Moderno) is a circular, domed building with a wealth of mainly post-1930 Mexican art. Here, explore permanent exhibits, the on-site sculpture garden, and regularly rotated temporary exhibitions in the heart of Chapultepec Park.
Home to the largest collection of decorative art in Latin America, the Franz Mayer Museum (Museo Franz Mayer) houses a predominantly Mexican collection of artefacts and artworks that spans six centuries. In this converted 16th-century former hospital, explore the library and permanent exhibits of Mayer’s private collections, as well as garments, jewelry, and folk-art pieces donated by other collectors and creatives.
Located in the historical heart of Mexico City, the National Museum of Art (Museo Nacional de Arte) houses an extensive collection of Mexican artwork from the 16th century to the 20th, including early paintings by Diego Rivera and landscapes by Velasco. While the permanent collection is impressive, temporary exhibits are often also worth the trip.
Pay homage to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky at the Leon Trotsky Museum (Museo Leon Trotsky), the Coyoacán home-turned-museum in which he briefly lived and was ultimately assassinated. Now dedicated to educating visitors about political asylum, you can also see the study where he was murdered, learn about his life, explore temporary art exhibits, and more.
Taking its name—which translates as “the place of twenty waters”—from the aqueducts and irrigation systems that fed its fertile farmlands; Cempoala was once one of the region’s most important pre-Columbian cities. Inhabited by the Totonac, Zapotec, and Chinantecas people, the scattered ruins date back to 1200 AD.
