Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Soumya
Are you looking for the best museums in Mexico? You’re at the right place.
In this epic Mexico Museums bucket list, we talk about the ten best Mexican museums, some famous and others lesser known.
There’s a bonus Mexican museum for you at the end, too. Remember to check that out.
From the unending galleries of the Mexico City Anthropology Museum and the vibrant blues of Casa Azul to the creepy displays of Guanajuato’s Mummy Museum and childlike curiosities of San Miguel de Allende’s Toy Museum, museums in Mexico have a lot to offer.
I am hoping this list will help you choose your favorite Mexico museum for your next trip.
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Top 10 Museums in Mexico
National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
The National Museum of Anthropology is one of the best museums in Mexico.
Located within the Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum features an extensive collection of pre-Hispanic art and artifacts, providing an in-depth picture of Mexico’s indigenous civilizations.
Mexico City Anthropology Museum’s exhibits span 23 rooms.
Every room is dedicated to a different cultural region or era, such as the Mayans, Aztecs, and Toltecs.
Highlights at the Anthropology Museum include the Aztec Sun Stone, the giant Olmec stone heads, Chac-Mool figures, Mesoamerican ball game hoops, and a replica of a Tomb of Pakal (an illustrious Mayan king) from Palenque.
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. You can buy online tickets here.
Find more information about the museum, including special events and exhibitions, on their official website here.
Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City
Also known as Casa Azul or the Blue House, the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City is a vibrant tribute to one of Mexico’s most iconic artists.
The museum is located in the former residence of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and provides an immersive journey into their personal life and creative world.
You can explore the space where Kahlo created some of her most famous works, spend time in her beautiful garden, and admire a collection of her paintings and sketches.
The museum also displays fascinating pre-Hispanic artifacts and traditional Mexican folk art pieces from Kahlo and Rivera’s collections.
Special events, temporary exhibitions, and art workshops happen regularly here.
The Frida Kahlo Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, with varied hours: Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Wednesday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
For more information, visit the official website here.
✦ Pro Tip: Frida Kahlo Museum tickets sell out very fast. It is one of the most famous museums in Mexico, after all. If they are sold out, you can still get them (through reliable third parties) by following the hacks in our Frida Kahlo ticket article.
Toy Museum, San Miguel de Allende
The Toy Museum, locally known as “Museo La Esquina,” is a hidden gem in San Miguel de Allende.
San Miguel de Allende’s Toy Museum showcases Mexico’s art and culture through its vast collection of over 1,000 handcrafted toys.
Exhibits range from miniature houses and beautifully dressed dolls to intricate animal figures and colorful vehicles. Do not miss the carnival with its giant wheels, carousels, and jugglers.
A section also depicts Lucha Libre, a Mexican form of wrestling.
Even though Museo La Esquina is one of the lesser-known museums of Mexico, it is unique because it gives us a sneak peek into Mexican art and culture, albeit in a fun way.
The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Visit the official website to learn more about La Esquina’s heritage preservation and craft promotion initiatives.
✦ Pro Tip: Spend at least a couple of days in San Miguel de Allende to see its best attractions and hidden gems.
MUCHO Chocolate Museum, Mexico City
One of the best museums in Mexico City is the MUCHO Chocolate Museum.
An absolute delight for chocolate lovers, the MUCHO Museum allows visitors to embark on a sensory-filled journey while exploring chocolate’s history, cultural significance, and production process.
Housed in a 20th-century mansion in the Colonia Juarez neighborhood of Mexico City, the museum showcases the history of chocolate production with pieces from Mexico, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Highlights include displays showcasing the transformation of cacao beans into chocolate, chocolate-filled rooms, a shop, and a cafe.
Visitors can even participate in chocolate-making workshops, sign up for tastings, and join courses.
The museum is open from Monday to Sunday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. They also offer guided tours every hour, Friday through Monday.
Check out their official website for details.
National Museum of Viceroyalty, Tepotzotlan
The National Museum of Viceroyalty, located in Tepotzotlan, is remarkable because it is the only Mexican museum in this list to be part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Filled with ornate artifacts, the National Museum of Viceroyalty or Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlan is one of the 55 sites included in the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro UNESCO site.
The museum is set in a 16th-century Jesuit college and provides a fascinating insight into Mexico’s viceregal era.
An impressive collection of artwork, artifacts, and exhibits spanning over three centuries takes you through the history and culture of colonial Mexico.
The displays range from religious art and intricately carved furniture to everyday artifacts.
What makes this Mexico museum unique is the meticulously restored Chapel of San Francisco Javier with its exquisite Churrigueresque architecture.
The chapel features an astonishing display of ornate, gold-covered altarpieces dating back to the 18th century.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:45 pm.
✦ Pro Tip: If you’re interested in visiting the National Museum of Viceroyalty, be sure to check out Tepotztlan Travel Guide for tips on what to see and how to get there.
National Museum of Mexican Railroads, Puebla
You’ll be surprised to find a railway museum on the Mexico Museum bucket list. But Mexico does have a good railway museum in Puebla.
Even though Mexico does not have an active train network today (the only ones I can think of are the local railway in Mexico City and the Copper Canyon Railway), it did have one before 1997.
Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos, or the National Museum of Mexican Railroads in the heart of Puebla city, showcases Mexico’s long railway history and industrial heritage.
The museum is set in Puebla’s historic 19th-century train station. It has an extensive display of vintage steam locomotives, passenger carriages, and antique rail artifacts.
A small museum housed in a train carriage provides a detailed account of the evolution of rail transport in Mexico.
The museum’s outdoor display of trains in their original tracks makes this an excellent attraction for railway enthusiasts.
The National Museum of Mexican Railroads in Puebla is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
✦ Pro Tip: Need more reasons to visit Puebla? Check out post on the 10 best reasons why you should visit Puebla in Mexico.
Mayan Museum, Cancun
Cancun’s Mayan Museum provides rich insights into the fascinating world of the Mayans and the Yucatan Peninsula’s rich cultural heritage.
The museum is home to an awe-inspiring collection of Mayan artifacts, some dating back 2,000 years.
The exhibits are spread over three exhibition halls.
The first two halls have displays of ancient Mayan pottery, carved stelae, ritual objects, and pyramid models.
The third hall usually has a temporary exhibition depicting other indigenous peoples of Mexico.
If you want to dig deeper into Mayan history, there’s much to read.
The museum also houses an archaeological site called San Miguelito. It is home to a small pyramid, residential buildings, and public offices.
Dating to the 12th century, San Miguelito is one of the best Mayan ruins in the Cancun Hotel Zone.
Cancun’s Mayan Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. San Miguelito closes at 5:30 pm.
📖 Related Read: Check out our Ultimate Visitor’s Guide for Mayan Museum in Cancun before visiting.
Museum of Mummies, Guanajuato
Have you heard of Guanajuato’s Museum of Mummies? It is one of Mexico’s most unique and intriguing attractions.
Museo de las Momias, or the Mummy Museum of Guanajuato, is famous for its remarkable collection of over 100 naturally mummified bodies.
These mummies were exhumed from the local cemetery between 1865 and 1958 due to a local tax law.
According to the law, one had to pay a tax for permanent burial. If they or their families did not, they were exhumed.
Most mummies are still dressed in burial clothes and frozen in their final poses.
The mummies have had their fair share of controversy but provide a creepy and interesting glimpse into the past.
The Museum of Mummies is open from Monday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm.
✦ Pro Tip: If you are not traveling to Guanajuato but want to see naturally mummified bodies in Mexico at the El Carmen Monastery in the San Angel neighborhood of Mexico City.
Soumaya Museum, Mexico City
The Soumaya Museum in Mexico City is a new entrant to the list of the best Mexico museums, but it is a worthy one.
Located in the posh Polanco neighborhood, the Soumaya Museum is a cultural treasure trove, exhibiting over 60,000 works from all epochs of world’s civilization.
The museum is home to an extensive collection that ranges from pre-Hispanic art and European Renaissance pieces to modern 20th-century Mexican creations.
Highlights include creations by European old masters such as Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, sculptures by Auguste Rodin, and a version of the Madonna of the Yarnwinder.
The eye-catching architectural design of the museum, a silvery, futuristic structure, is an art in itself.
Soumaya Museum is open from Monday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. The best part about this museum is that it is free to enter.
Refer to their official website to learn more about the museum and plan your visit.
Cancun Underwater Museum
The Cancun Underwater Museum (MUSA) is one of Mexico’s most unique and fascinating museums.
Presenting art in a truly unusual setting, the museum features over 500 life-sized sculptures submerged under the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Each sculpture, made from materials that promote coral life, serves as an exhibit and an artificial reef, contributing to the ocean’s ecological restoration.
Visitors can explore this underwater gallery by snorkeling, scuba diving, or from a glass-bottom boat.
The museum is open to the public all year round, enabling visitors to experience the mesmerizing underwater spectacle at any time.
✦ Pro Tip: Book an exciting dive at the Cancun Underwater Museum here.
Bonus Mexico Museum – Robert Brady Museum, Cuernavaca
I had to include the Robert Brady Museum in Cuernavaca in this list, even though it is somewhat off the beaten path.
It is a quirky, colorful, and exciting place that has over 1,300 pieces from all over the world.
Housed in the historic Casa de la Torre, which was once owned by Robert Brady, an American art collector, this museum is a must-visit in Cuernavaca.
Visitors can marvel at Robert Brady’s personal art collection, which is massive. There are paintings, textiles, sculptures, furniture, and folk art from all around the world.
The Yellow Room is especially cute, with many African and Asian artifacts. A Frida Kahlo portrait also hangs on the wall.
The museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
For more information, refer to their official website.
✦ Pro Tip: Check our Ultimate Cuernavaca Travel Guide before visiting this beautiful Central Mexican city.
Mexico Museums FAQ
What is the most visited museum in Mexico?
The most visited museum in Mexico is the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. This museum features an extensive collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts that give rich insights into the indigenous civilizations of Mexico.
What is the most modern museum in Mexico?
The most modern museum in Mexico is the Soumaya Museum in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. Known for its sleek and futuristic design, the Soumaya Museum is home to over 60,000 pieces of art and sculpture from around the world.
Are there any famous museums in Mexico?
Yes, there are many famous museums in Mexico, including the Frida Kahlo Museum, the Mexico City Anthropology Museum, the Museum of Mummies in Guanajuato, and the Cancun Underwater Museum.
Are museums in Mexico free?
No, museums in Mexico are generally paid. Of all the museums I have visited in Mexico, only the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City was free.
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