Visit Mexico City Guide
Museums In Mexico City
There are more museums in Mexico City than in almost any city on earth — over 150 by the city's own counting — and a visitor with four days will see four of them. This page is about which four. Every price below is the foreign-visitor rate published by the museum itself and read on 30 August 2026, and every closing day is the museum's own.
Quick answer Which museums, what they cost, and in what order
Four museums carry a first visit: the National Museum of Anthropology, Chapultepec Castle, the Templo Mayor and the Casa Azul, with the Palacio de Bellas Artes as the cheap fifth. The federal ones charge MX$210 to a foreign visitor and MX$105 to nationals and residents; all of them close on Mondays.
Key takeaways
- Start with Anthropology — three hours, MX$210, and it makes every other Mexica and Teotihuacán object in the country legible
- The cheapest good one is Bellas Artes at MX$95, free on Sundays to everyone — the only universal free day in this guide
- The free ones worth a morning: Museo Soumaya, open daily, and the murals in the Palacio Nacional with photo ID
- The Sunday free entry at federal museums applies to Mexican nationals and residents only — a visiting foreigner pays full price
- Which museum belongs to which day is set out on the Mexico City city guide
The Museums Worth Your Hours, Grouped By Kind
Sort by price or time needed with the chips, or filter by district. Prices are the foreign-visitor rate read on each museum's own site on 30 August 2026; time needed is our routing, since none of these publishes one.
The archaeology and history museums
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National Museum of Anthropology
Museumfrom MX$2103 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Twenty-three halls, the Sun Stone, the Olmec heads and Pakal's tomb. The one museum nobody regrets.
Tip: Ground floor only on a first visit; take the lift and skip the ethnography upstairs.
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Templo Mayor
Ruins + museumfrom MX$2102 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
The Mexica great temple excavated beside the cathedral, with eight rooms of what came out of the ground.
Tip: The museum is better than the ruins; leave time for it.
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Chapultepec Castle
Castle + museumfrom MX$2102 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Imperial apartments, O'Gorman and Siqueiros murals, and the terrace down Reforma.
Tip: It closes at 17:00, an hour before the Anthropology Museum — do it first.
The art museums
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Palacio de Bellas Artes
Museumfrom MX$951.5 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Tamayo on two floors, inside the city's most photographed building.
Tip: Free on Sundays to everyone, which is unique in this guide.
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Museo Soumaya
Museumfrom Free1.5 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
A silver-tiled hull holding Rodin, Dalí and colonial painting — free, and open every day of the year.
Tip: Lift to the top, then walk down the ramp.
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Museo Tamayo and the Museum of Modern Art
Museumsfrom Own tickets1.5 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Two smaller collections on the path between the castle and the Anthropology Museum.
Tip: Only if you have a full park day.
The house museums
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Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul)
House museumfrom MX$3201 hbook-ahead tier 3 of 3
The house she was born and died in: the studio, the bed with the mirror, the wardrobe opened in 2004.
Tip: No box office — buy the timed ticket days ahead.
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Museo Casa Kahlo
House museumfrom Shown at checkout1 hbook-ahead tier 2 of 3
Her parents' house on Aguayo, opened in September 2025 and run by the family.
Tip: Open Wednesday to Monday — the Monday answer in Coyoacán.
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Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli
Museumfrom See museum1.5 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Rivera's volcanic-stone temple for his pre-Hispanic collection, sold with the Casa Azul as one route.
Tip: Tue–Sun 11:00–17:30; quiet after the crowds of Coyoacán.
The free ones
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Palacio Nacional murals
Muralsfrom Free1 hbook-ahead tier 2 of 3
Rivera's history of Mexico up the main staircase, inside the president's working palace.
Tip: Free with a passport — but access changes without notice; ask at the gate.
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Museo Nacional de Arte
Museumfrom Own ticket1.5 hbook-ahead tier 1 of 3
Mexican painting from the colonial period to 1954, in a palace two minutes from Bellas Artes.
Tip: The quiet alternative when Bellas Artes is full.
Numbers match the list — tap a pin for the guide.
Which Museums, In Which Order
If you have one, two, three or four museum slots in this city, this is how we would spend them.
| Slots | Take | Cost | Why in that order |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Anthropology | MX$210 | Three hours that explain the whole country |
| Two | Add Bellas Artes | MX$305 | Cheap, central, and the murals are the other half of Mexican art |
| Three | Add the Templo Mayor | MX$515 | It is the ground the Anthropology objects came out of |
| Four | Add the Casa Azul or the castle | MX$725–835 | Kahlo if the person interests you; the castle if the view and the history do |
| A free day | Soumaya and the Palacio Nacional | Free | Both open when the wallet is not |
All the paid ones except the Soumaya close on Mondays; the Monday page is the workaround.
Guided Museum Visits
Where a guide or a digital audio is the actual product. Prices as listed on 30 August 2026.
from $22.61
Mexico City: Anthropology Museum Ticket & Digital Guide
Listing details checked 2026-08-30
Entry ticket with a digital guide on your phone — the museum publishes no audio guide of its own.
Check Availability
from $67
Mexico City: Anthropology Museum Guided Visit
Listing details checked 2026-08-30
Guided visit through the ground-floor halls with transport, for the museum that rewards a guide most.
Check Availability
from $75.65
Mexico City: Chapultepec Castle and Anthropology Museum Tour
Listing details checked 2026-08-30
Castle and Anthropology Museum in one guided half day, which is how the two are usually paired.
Check Availability
from $32
Mexico City: Frida Kahlo Museum or Casa Kahlo Entry Ticket
Listing details checked 2026-08-30
Timed entry to the Casa Azul with a digital guide — the museum sells no tickets at the door, so this is a slot as much as a…
Check AvailabilityWhat You Pay, And The Rule Behind It
One tariff decides most of the prices on this page.
Since 1 January 2026, INAH — the federal institute behind the archaeology and history museums — has charged MX$210 to non-resident foreign visitors and MX$105 to Mexican nationals and foreign residents at its Category I sites: Anthropology, Chapultepec Castle, the Templo Mayor and Teotihuacán. INBAL's Bellas Artes charges MX$95 to everyone. The Casa Azul, a private foundation, charges MX$320.
The consequence worth repeating: Sunday is free at INAH sites for nationals and residents only. A foreign visitor pays MX$210 on a Sunday and gets the fullest rooms of the week. The genuinely nationality-blind free bands are children under 13, visitors with disabilities, and students and teachers with a current credential — bring the credential, because it is the exemption a visitor can actually use. The tickets page compares every gate price with its platform equivalent.
How Many Museums Are There, And Why It Does Not Matter
The number is genuinely large and genuinely unhelpful.
Depending on who is counting and what counts, Mexico City is credited with 150 to 170 museums, which puts it near the top of any world list. The figure gets quoted constantly and it tells a visitor nothing: what matters is that four of them will fill a first trip, and that they are spread across three districts that are kilometres apart.
So the useful planning unit is not the museum but the day: Chapultepec is one, the Centro is another, Coyoacán is a third. The three-day itinerary is built exactly that way, and the museums fall out of it rather than the other way round.
Practical Notes That Apply To All Of Them
Five things that are true across the city's museums.
Mondays close nearly everything, because both INAH and INBAL close then. Bags are checked and anything large usually has to be left. Photography without flash is normal; tripods and professional lenses are not, and video is banned outright at the Casa Azul. Cash and cards both work at the booths. English labelling is patchy: the Anthropology Museum is good, the smaller museums are Spanish-only, and the digital-guide ticket exists for exactly that reason.
The Museums On One Map
Numbered to the list above. The clusters are the point: three districts, not eleven separate trips.
Where The Museums Sit
Three districts hold almost all of them.
Centro Histórico
Templo Mayor, Bellas Artes, the Palacio Nacional murals, MUNAL.
All within a dozen blocksMuseums In Mexico City: Questions
What are the best museums in Mexico City?
The National Museum of Anthropology first, by a distance — three hours and MX$210, and it makes the rest of the country legible. Then Bellas Artes for the murals at MX$95, the Templo Mayor for the Mexica capital, and the Casa Azul if Frida Kahlo is why you came. The order is above.
How many museums are there in Mexico City?
Between 150 and 170, depending on who counts and what qualifies, which puts the city near the top of any world list. It is also a number that helps nobody: four museums fill a first visit, and they sit in three districts kilometres apart — the reasoning is above.
How much do museums cost in Mexico City?
MX$210, about US$12.35, at the federal (INAH) museums for a non-resident foreign visitor and MX$105 for nationals and residents; MX$95 at Bellas Artes; MX$320 at the Casa Azul; free at the Museo Soumaya and at the Palacio Nacional with photo ID.
Which museums are free in Mexico City?
The Museo Soumaya, free every day of the year; the Palacio Nacional murals with a passport; and the Palacio de Bellas Artes museum on Sundays, which is free to everyone. At INAH museums the Sunday exemption covers Mexican nationals and residents only.
Are Mexico City museums open on Mondays?
Almost none. Both INAH and INBAL close their museums on Mondays, which takes out Anthropology, the castle, the Templo Mayor, the Casa Azul and Bellas Artes at once. The Museo Soumaya and Museo Casa Kahlo are the exceptions — the Monday page has the full list.
Do I need to book museum tickets in advance?
Only for the Casa Azul, which sells online and has no box office. The federal museums are walk-up, not timed, and do not sell out; the only reason to buy a platform ticket for Anthropology is the digital guide it bundles, since the museum publishes none of its own.
Turning Museums Into Days
The unit is the district, not the collection.
Give Chapultepec a day, the Centro a day and Coyoacán a day, and the museums arrange themselves: castle then Anthropology, Templo Mayor then Bellas Artes, Casa Azul then the market. That is the three-day itinerary, and it costs about MX$950 a person in entries.
The one thing to hold before you fly is the Casa Azul ticket; everything else on this page is bought at the door. The wider trip is on the Mexico City city guide.
Inside The Collections
Three museum run-throughs, useful for deciding which halls you actually want.
Best museums in Mexico City
A ranked pass through the main collections.
Video: Nata & Shtepa10 must-visit museums in Mexico City
A broader list including the smaller houses.
Video: DanVsWorldThe 5 best museums in Mexico City
A shorter selection with the reasoning.
Video: CindyVideos load from YouTube only when you press play.
Page last reviewed 2026-08-30. Prices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
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