Top 10 Things to Do in Mexico City 2026

The second-largest public square in the world — the heart of both the Aztec empire and the Spanish colonial order — is surrounded by the National Palace with Diego Rivera's monumental history murals, the Metropolitan Cathedral built over the ruins of the Aztec sacred precinct, and the excavated Templo Mayor pyramid. Free entrance to the murals and the cathedral makes this the highest culture-per-peso experience in Mexico.

The weekly Friday and Tuesday lucha libre wrestling shows at the Arena México — the cathedral of Mexican folk sport — combine acrobatic athleticism, theatrical villain-versus-hero narratives, and rowdy crowd participation into one of Mexico's most distinctive live entertainment experiences. The taco stands in the arena concourse serving cochinita pibil tacos are as important as the matches themselves.

The bohemian southern neighborhood of Coyoacán where Frida Kahlo was born, lived, and died houses the Casa Azul museum in the artist's original blue house, preserving her studio, personal belongings, and pre-Hispanic artefact collection. The neighborhood's weekend market in the central plaza selling traditional crafts and the Jardín Centenario's cafe terraces make Coyoacán the most culturally layered afternoon in the city.

The floating gardens of Xochimilco — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the surviving remnant of the Aztec chinampas lake system — are navigated by brightly painted flat-bottomed boats called trajineras carrying parties of Mexicans eating, drinking, and listening to mariachi bands hired from floating boats alongside. The experience on a Sunday afternoon when the canals are crowded with multigenerational family groups is one of the most joyous in Latin America.

The national theater and fine arts museum, built in white Carrara marble from 1904 to 1934 and crowned by a spectacular Art Nouveau dome of stained glass depicting the Valley of Mexico, houses the definitive collection of Mexican muralism including works by Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, and Tamayo. The Tiffany glass curtain of the theater depicting the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl is lowered only for the Ballet Folklórico performance.

The largest flower market in Latin America operates 24 hours a day in the Venustiano Carranza district, selling every variety of Mexican flower from bird-of-paradise to cempasúchil marigolds for Day of the Dead altars alongside exotic tropical plants and artisan flower arrangements. Arriving at 4am when the wholesale buyers crowd the stalls in darkness illuminated by work lights is a genuinely extraordinary sensory experience.

The Art Deco and French Second Empire avenues of Colonia Roma and the circular park-centered streets of Colonia Condesa form Mexico City's most liveable and internationally admired urban fabric, lined with the highest concentration of taco restaurants, mezcalerías, and design shops per block of any neighbourhood in the city. Alfonso Cuarón's film Roma set this neighborhood's 1970s past against its contemporary cosmopolitan present.

The neighborhood market of Colonia Roma is Mexico City's finest traditional market for daily produce shopping and the best place to eat a mid-morning breakfast of quesadillas, enfrijoladas, and fresh juice at communal tables surrounded by flower vendors and cheese stalls. The market's Caribbean section selling Cuban and Venezuelan products reflects the neighborhood's immigrant history.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico's 1950s campus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its integration of muralism into architecture, most spectacularly in Juan O'Gorman's 10-story mosaic mural covering all four facades of the Central Library using over four million natural stones. The campus's Olympic Stadium, Rectory Tower, and the Espacio Escultórico volcanic rock art installation make it the most ambitious public art project in Mexican history.

The second-largest public square in the world — the heart of both the Aztec empire and the Spanish colonial order — is surrounded by the National Palace with Diego Rivera's monumental history murals, the Metropolitan Cathedral built over the ruins of the Aztec sacred precinct, and the excavated Templo Mayor pyramid. Free entrance to the murals and the cathedral makes this the highest culture-per-peso experience in Mexico.

The weekly Friday and Tuesday lucha libre wrestling shows at the Arena México — the cathedral of Mexican folk sport — combine acrobatic athleticism, theatrical villain-versus-hero narratives, and rowdy crowd participation into one of Mexico's most distinctive live entertainment experiences. The taco stands in the arena concourse serving cochinita pibil tacos are as important as the matches themselves.

The bohemian southern neighborhood of Coyoacán where Frida Kahlo was born, lived, and died houses the Casa Azul museum in the artist's original blue house, preserving her studio, personal belongings, and pre-Hispanic artefact collection. The neighborhood's weekend market in the central plaza selling traditional crafts and the Jardín Centenario's cafe terraces make Coyoacán the most culturally layered afternoon in the city.

The floating gardens of Xochimilco — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the surviving remnant of the Aztec chinampas lake system — are navigated by brightly painted flat-bottomed boats called trajineras carrying parties of Mexicans eating, drinking, and listening to mariachi bands hired from floating boats alongside. The experience on a Sunday afternoon when the canals are crowded with multigenerational family groups is one of the most joyous in Latin America.

The national theater and fine arts museum, built in white Carrara marble from 1904 to 1934 and crowned by a spectacular Art Nouveau dome of stained glass depicting the Valley of Mexico, houses the definitive collection of Mexican muralism including works by Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, and Tamayo. The Tiffany glass curtain of the theater depicting the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl is lowered only for the Ballet Folklórico performance.

The largest flower market in Latin America operates 24 hours a day in the Venustiano Carranza district, selling every variety of Mexican flower from bird-of-paradise to cempasúchil marigolds for Day of the Dead altars alongside exotic tropical plants and artisan flower arrangements. Arriving at 4am when the wholesale buyers crowd the stalls in darkness illuminated by work lights is a genuinely extraordinary sensory experience.

The Art Deco and French Second Empire avenues of Colonia Roma and the circular park-centered streets of Colonia Condesa form Mexico City's most liveable and internationally admired urban fabric, lined with the highest concentration of taco restaurants, mezcalerías, and design shops per block of any neighbourhood in the city. Alfonso Cuarón's film Roma set this neighborhood's 1970s past against its contemporary cosmopolitan present.

The neighborhood market of Colonia Roma is Mexico City's finest traditional market for daily produce shopping and the best place to eat a mid-morning breakfast of quesadillas, enfrijoladas, and fresh juice at communal tables surrounded by flower vendors and cheese stalls. The market's Caribbean section selling Cuban and Venezuelan products reflects the neighborhood's immigrant history.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico's 1950s campus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its integration of muralism into architecture, most spectacularly in Juan O'Gorman's 10-story mosaic mural covering all four facades of the Central Library using over four million natural stones. The campus's Olympic Stadium, Rectory Tower, and the Espacio Escultórico volcanic rock art installation make it the most ambitious public art project in Mexican history.