What to See in Coyoacán: A Guide to Mexico City’s Colorful Colonia, Part 1

Nearly every visitor to Mexico City sets foot in Coyoacán. They’re drawn here for one major reason: the Casa Azul, or Blue House, iconic artist Frida Kahlo’s home and museum. While the Blue House is undoubtedly touristy, I’ll admit that it truly is a must-see. When you visit the Coyoacán neighborhood, however, you can find so much more than this one beautiful building! Beyond the Frida Kahlo Museum, you’ll uncover layer upon layer of fascinating history — from Hernán Cortés and his conquistador army, to ghostly centuries-old legends, to famous writers, directors, and even movie stars who called this place home.

In this Mexico City travel guide, I’ll delve into where to go and what to see in Coyoacán. I live near this stunning neighborhood, and often walk here to destress and get some much-needed quiet within the city. I’ll structure this guide as I do my own explorations: as a meandering walk through the neighborhood. Feel free to follow it when you visit Coyoacán, and let me know what you discover along the way!

This is Part 1 of the Coyoacán neighborhood guide, covering Frida and Trotsky’s homes, the market, the colonia’s center, and plentiful detours. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for Part 2! It will take you further into Coyoacán’s oldest street, Francisco Sosa, and its most iconic park.

Two Small Notes:

1. To use this as a walking guide, click on the purple-colored place names I’ve included throughout the article! These will take you directly to Google Maps links for each spot, so you can orient yourself. Or just write me, and I can show you around myself!
2. Today, Coyoacán is the name of an “alcaldía” of Mexico City: a sprawling municipality with many distinct neighborhoods. However, its center was once the ancient village of Coyoacán — spots like Del Carmen and Santa Catarina — and they’ll be my primary focus for the guides, as they form the most historic and walkable area. Many people consider this area to be the original neighborhood of Coyoacán.

Walking in the Footsteps of Frida, Diego, & Trotsky

For most of you, the Blue House will undoubtedly be your introduction to Coyoacán — perhaps even one of the main reasons you wanted to visit Mexico City! In my opinion, this is wholly justified. (My only wish is that people also explore beyond this well-known site! And, frankly, look beyond the glamorized, commercialized image of Frida that companies use to sell their products, getting to know the real, complex artist behind the image.) Even when crowded, Frida’s home is a work of art that reflects her life philosophy and immense creativity. She grew up here, and later moved back as an adult, transforming the house into an extension of Kahlo and Rivera’s boundless artistic vision.

Frida Kahlo’s house sits on the northern edge of Coyoacán. It may be hard to imagine today, as you pull off the busy highway and arrive at the museum, but when Frida was born here at the turn of the 20th Century, this was considered the very outskirts of Mexico City. Coyoacán was a sleepy, colonial village slowly being swallowed up by the capital’s expansion.

*Important Advice*: How to Visit the Frida Kahlo Museum Stress-Free

Time and time again, my visitors in Mexico City have encountered the same issues when seeing the Blue House. Everyone wants to visit, but not many know that they should plan in advance. On multiple occasions, my visitors weren’t aware of just how popular this destination is. By the time they arrived, the museum was completely full! Because of this, I strongly recommend that several weeks before your trip, you buy tickets ahead of time here. Make sure you buy them from the official website, boletosfridakahlo.org, to avoid scams or up-charges from tour companies. If you don’t purchase in advance, there’s a good chance that tickets may be sold out when you get to the Casa Azul. I also suggest buying tickets for a weekday morning, as the afternoons and weekends are especially crowded at this famous site.

My other tip for the Frida Kahlo Museum? Many visitors miss one of its loveliest exhibits, “Appearances are Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo.” This is a separate building within the complex, to the far right of the entrance past the gardens and pyramid sculpture. A permanent exhibition, it features dozens of pieces from Frida’s legendary wardrobe, many inspired by the Tehuana culture from Oaxaca State. Whether you’re a fashion lover or not, this part of the museum provides deep insight. It explores Frida’s disabilities, cultural identity, and politics — and how she used clothing to turn herself into a complex work of art.

More to See in Northern Coyoacán: The León Trotsky Museum

About two blocks away, you can easily visit the Leon Trotsky Museum as well. After receiving asylum from the Mexican government, Trotsky and his wife Natasha lived with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in the Blue House for two years. Then, perhaps due to an affair between Trotsky and Kahlo, they moved to this (appropriately) red colonial home just a stone’s throw away. The modest house is much less crowded than Frida’s home, and you can tour it in 30 to 60 minutes. (Depending on your level of interest in the highly-detailed timeline of global Communism at the entrance.) See how Trotsky lived out his last few years, reading texts and recording hours of his thoughts in the study.

Soon after, a supposed colleague — the Stalinist spy Ramón Mercader — fatally stabbed him with an ice pick in that very room, assassinating Trotsky on behalf of the Soviet Union. In the nearby bedroom, you can see bullet holes from a previous assassination attempt, led by famed Mexican muralist David Alfonso Siquieros. At the end of the self-guided tour, you can contemplate the hammer and sickle memorial in the lush patio garden. Cuban author Leonardo Padura’s novel The Man Who Loved Dogs explores this assassination and the man behind it — a fascinating read! This unassuming Little Red House is at the crux of so much global history…

Getting There

It’s easy to see this area of Coyoacán from any part of Mexico City, especially if you take care to avoid arriving or leaving during rush hour from 4-7 PM. You can take an Uber, Didi, or taxi. Most likely, you’ll arrive in 30-40 minutes from centric areas like Roma, Condesa, or Polanco. Via public transportation, you can take the Line 3 (Green) subway in the Universidad direction. Get off at the Coyoacán stop and walk several blocks through the neighborhood to arrive at the museums.

Frida Kahlo tickets cost 320 pesos for foreigners. As I mentioned above, it’s best to buy them online ahead of time to avoid any hiccups. The museum is open from 10 AM – 6 PM each day, except for Wednesdays, when it opens an hour earlier. The Trotsky Museum only costs 40 pesos to enter, and you don’t need to reserve beforehand. It’s open from 10 AM to 5 PM, and sometimes offers cultural activities related to Trotsky and his work. Both museums — and, in fact, almost all museums in Mexico City — are closed on Mondays. Because of this, I’m working on a guide recommending what to do in the city on Mondays…

Detours

There’s more to see in each part of Coyoacán than I could possibly describe — and this is just Part 1 of the guide! Just across the highway (and easily reached) in the traditional Xoco neighborhood, you’ll find a lovely cemetery graced with elegant tombstones and jacaranda trees.

Right next door is the beloved Cineteca Nacional, Mexico City’s National Cinema. This modernist movie theater features fantastic Mexican films and many independent and classic movies, as well as several restaurants, cafés, and bars. (Chicha is my favorite restaurant there, try the flores de calabaza and flautas de jamaica!) It’s worth a visit for its incredible ambience, architecture, and of course a plethora of great films!

Exploring Central Coyoacán: Markets, Street Food, and Ancient History

Once you’ve finished up at the Casa Azul and Trotsky Museum, it’s time to delve into the heart of this historic neighborhood. Meander just a few blocks south from Frida’s Blue House on Ignacio Allende Street to the Mercado de Coyoacán. Because of Frida’s popularity, the market has evolved into a hybrid of tourist and local offerings. The city block-sized mercado‘s edges are lined with folkloric clothing and Frida souvenirs, but walk into its depths and you’ll still see plenty of Coyoacán residents shopping for fresh produce, household goods, plants, and supplies, as well as enjoying lunch at quick, tasty food stands.

This is a fun place to grab gifts for friends or family back home, including lovely woven baskets, and to sample unique fruits like mamey, granada china, and zapote negro. Of course, you can try popular Mexico City street foods like elote, esquites, and (my favorite) pambazos here as well! Be sure to bring cash (efectivo) in smaller peso bills and buy from the busiest stands, as locals know best. Keep in mind that due to the tourist presence, prices here may be inflated, and not all products are artisanal. For a better artisanry selection, I much prefer La Ciudadela Market and other vetted gift spots.

What to see in Downtown Coyoacán: Place of the Coyotes

After the market, continue south towards Coyoacán’s center. Before the mega-city swallowed it up, Coyoacán was actually a small village on the edge of Lake Texcoco. Appreciate the Prehispanic and colonial history soaked into every cobblestone as you make your way towards the Jardín Hidalgo and Jardín Centenario, the two interconnecting plazas at the heart of Coyoacán. These central squares are home to an infinite number of historical and cultural spots. It would take me a full day to describe them all, but if this article leaves you wanting more, feel free to write me and perhaps I can show you around. I’ll try my best to bring them to life here!

Age-Old (Explosive) History and Coyohuaca Culture

If you went back even earlier in the history of Mexico City — nearly 2,000 years ago — you’d witness the volcano Xitle’s violent explosion. In fact, this decades-long eruption covered the southern valley in ash and lava. In the centuries that followed, the strong, porous dried lava — known as tezontle — became the main building material in many indigenous and Spanish constructions. As a result, you can still see this beautifully textured stone all over Coyoacán. Look for deep black rock covered in tiny holes: that’s tezontle.

The Coyohuaca people, a Nahuatl-speaking culture, lived in this area for hundreds of years before the Mexica (Aztecs) conquered them. This was “the place of the coyotes,” a name still reflected in the striking fountain featuring two coyotes on the far right side of the plaza. Because the Mexica had oppressed native residents, when the Spanish arrived on Lake Texcoco’s shores in 1519 they found allies among people in Coyoacán and elsewhere.

To your right as you enter the square, there’s a long, blood-red building known as the Casa de Cortés. Today, this handsome building is the municipal headquarters for the neighborhood, but many believe that conquistador Hernán Cortés based his operations here as he plotted to conquer Tenochtitlán, the mighty Mexica (Aztec) capital just to the north. In fact, the myth-ridden structure was actually built in 1755, long after Cortés had died, by his descendants! Some history buffs still say that this piece of land — if not the building itself — was the site where Cortés and his henchmen tortured the Mexica (Aztec) emperor Cuauhtémoc, forcing him to reveal his empire’s treasures. (You can head a bit further south to the Plaza de la Conchita to see his supposed real house, shared with La Malinche. See more in my “Detours” section below!)

Coyoacán’s Ghosts, from Spanish Monks to Revolutionary Soldiers

The rest of Coyoacán’s striking central square is equally packed with stories. There’s endless details to see in Coyoacán — the challenge is what to focus on. In fact, it’s quite literally a walk through centuries of Mexican history, from ancient times to the modern-day. Peek at the traditional colonia‘s parish church, the somber, stone-facade of the Parroquia San Juan Bautista.

Inside, it’s quite lovely, and more lavish than you might expect from outside. Built in 1522, the impressive structure once held a large colonial monastery as well. The entire grounds of the Coyoacán plaza, in fact, were once part of the monastery’s gardens. Today, it remains a thriving center for community worship. Outside its doors, street performers like clowns, magicians, and indigenous dancers often share their gifts with delighted crowds — especially on the weekends.

A Historical Eye-Spy: Stories Stretching Out in Every Direction

Right in the middle of the square, you’ll spot a pretty wrought-iron gazebo. Depending on the season, it may be adorned with a nativity scene, patriotic banners, or even marigolds during Day of the Dead. A detailed rendition of the national symbol — an eagle with a serpent in its mouth perched on a cactus — is always at the very top. French-made, the Kiosko de Coyoacán, as locals know it, was built by dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1900 to commemorate Mexican independence. Just a decade later, though, Mexicans across the country would rise up against the president and end his Porfiriato (as the leader’s reign is known) for good, initiating ten years of the bloody, civil war-like Mexican Revolution.

That takes us to the colorful facades of two classic Mexico City cantinas, La Guadalupana and La Coyoacana, just behind the church. These old-school drinking halls will take you right back to their glory days nearly 100 years ago! Squint, and you can almost see soldiers of bygone conflicts standing in the shadows, tequila and rifle in hand. La Coyoacana remains open, and while La Guadalupana closed for a while, it appears to have reopened in a limited capacity.

Finally, if you look straight ahead, you’ll see a lovely stone archway. Remember when I said that this entire plaza was once part of the San Juan Bautista church and monastery? Those arches are what remain of the monastery’s garden walls. Try to spy the figures of shadowy monks out of the corner of your eye. In Part 2 of this guide, it’ll be time to walk through those arches and continue the journey through time!

Getting There

Even if you’re not walking to downtown Coyoacán from the Frida Kahlo or Trotsky museums, it’s still pretty easy to get to the plaza. Take the subway, Line 3 (Green) towards Universidad and exit at Viveros/Derechos Humanos. Alternatively, you can take the Line 2 (Blue) towards Tasqueña and get off at General Anaya. Either way, you’ll have a 20 to 30 minute walk to the neighborhood’s lively center.

Of course, you can also take an Uber, Didi, or taxi. Just be aware that on the weekends, downtown Coyoacán’s traffic gets bad. You might actually want to get out and walk before reaching the main plaza.

Where to Eat

Central Coyoacán in bursting with food options, from casual street eats to some of Mexico City’s most elegant restaurants. On the weekends, Ignacio Allende and Aguayo streets are packed with stands, selling street food classics like elote and pambazos. For consistently excellent street-style classics, I love the Mercado de Antojitos. I’ve always had great experiences with the talented cooks at this small market — try the Michoacán-style pozole! Bring cash (pesos, of course) just in case.

When I want to show my guests a real fine-dining gem, I take them to Los Danzantes. This restaurant may have the best location and ambience in Coyoacán. It’s situated right on the main square, and candlelit evenings there are truly romantic. The menu is a mix of Oaxacan, other regional Mexican specialties, and great mezcals and wines. Just be aware that if your outdoor table’s right next to the plaza, there will be plenty of vendors and buskers.

Detours

If you have more time and want to stick around this area, there’s plenty more to see in central Coyoacán. Just off the main square, you can pop into the Museo Nacional de las Culturas Populares (Museum of Popular Culture). This small, charming building features rotating exhibitions on Mexican folk art, and often hosts festivals or bazaars on the weekends.

If you continue to the east and south, you’ll come across two more treasures of Coyoacán. First, the Centro Cultural Elena Garro is a spectacular, modernist brick-and-glass bookstore and cultural center. You (well I, at least) could spend hours exploring its collection and enjoying the in-house café. Then, just a block further south, you can visit the Plaza de la Conchita. This tiny neighborhood square is lost in time, centered by a lovely, delicate colonial church. The chapel is considered the oldest European religious building in Mexico. Historians also suspect that Malintzin (La Malinche), the indigenous translator and mistress of conquerer Hernán Cortés, once lived in a house on this plaza.

Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of what to see in Coyoacán! Remember, this was just Part 1. (I got a little carried away with the details, so decided to split this guide in two.) Next time, stay tuned for a deep-dive into the neighborhood’s oldest street and a stroll through its lush, sprawling park-nursery.