Off The Beaten Path Mexico City

In my ultimate and complete Mexico City Guide, I made sure to include things to do, restaurants, and places that I love to do and are not flooded with foreign tourists but mostly with locals. I did include the must see which tend to be more popular so this guide will focus on off the beaten path Mexico City.

Unique Activities Mexico City

1) Lucha Libre en Arena Mexico

Lucha libre is a Mexican institution with even movies made about some famous luchadores like Blue Demon and Santo. The fight show is great for the whole family, even if the arena is located in the Colonia Doctores which is on my list of dangerous places in the city. My mother-in-law before passing away, went there on a weekday with a nephew who was visiting. You cannot miss a night at the luchas even though there may be some chicken bone throwing.

Lucha Libre is basically wrestling with its same theatrics, good and bad luchadores doing acrobatics but they all wear masks. It is such a big deal that no one can see the luchador without its mask, EVER! You can buy your own mask and enjoy the fun! Visit on a tour to make it easier to understand everything that is going on and some of the Mexican slang they may be shouting.

2) Game at Estadio Azteca

The Estadio Azteca is Mexico’s largest soccer stadium with a capacity of 87,000 spectators. It is the official home of the Aguilas del America as well as Mexico’s National team. It has hosted some of the most iconic games with Maradonna’s “Hand of God goal” in 1986 and the “Game of the Century” when Italy defeated West Germany in the 1970 semifinal match.

If there are games, try to make it out and see a match here. It is incredible to see the fans at the stadium and excitement around soccer, Mexico’s most famous sport. Best visibility in 200 and 300 plus, and 300 cabecera or laterales, try to avoid 400, 500 and 600 laterales as the visibility is bad.

3) Walk around Kiosco Morisco

A beautiful Kiosk close to the Biblioteca Vasconcelos that has sparked rumors about where it comes from, some believe that it was a gift of China, others that a sheikh gifted it. It is a beautiful place to sit down and enjoy a nice conversation.
Kiosco Morisco, Calle Salvador Díaz Mirón S/N, Cuauhtémoc, Santa María La Ribera, Mexico City, Mexico.

4) Day Trip

Take an amazing day trip from Mexico City to great nearby places like Las Estacas (natural spring surrounded by forest), Tepoztlan (a magical city with a pyramid on top of a mountain you can hike) , or even Puebla City. You can even hike up to the summit of Nevado de Toluca, but always make sure to do it with the right equipment and guide! For ideas on complete day trips

Off the Beaten Path Museums Mexico City

A) Museo Dolores Olmedo

This hidden gem in Mexico houses the personal collection that its founder Dolores Olmedo donated to Mexico. This includes works by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Angelina Beloff and Pablo O’Higgins, as well as pre-Hispanic art, popular art, and novo-Hispanic art. The museum will reopen when quarantine ends, you can check out updates on their here.

B) Palacio de Iturbide (Fomento Cultural Banamex)

This building dedicated to the arts and culture is in the old Iturbide Palace filled with cultural artworks collected by the Banco Nacional de Mexico, Banamex. The palace was built between 1779 and 1785 and later shortly used by the first Emperor of Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide, in 1822. It later changed hands, but in 1964 Banamex bought it and restored it to its original beauty, with some adaptations to the inside to accommodate spaces for art and cultural diffusion.

I remember going to FONART trying to find award winning folk art pieces, only to be told that the best ones were bought by Banamex. They are incredible patrons of the arts and promote traditional art forms so they don’t disappear.

C) Museo Experimental El Eco

This contemporary art museum is devoted to interdisciplinary art, to experiment new artistic practices and emotions. The museum itself is a work of great architecture from its founder Mathias Goeritz, built in 1953. The National Autonomous University of Mexico bought it and restored the museum in 2004 and reopened it in 2005 as an experimental art space. You can find program and exhibitions on its website.

D) El Anahuacalli

To gain furthermore appreciation of Diego Rivera’s artistry, The Anahuacalli is a must. Designed and built by the artist in 1941, it holds 2,000 pieces of indigenous artifacts from his private collection. This beautiful museum manages “to spark continuity between modern art and pre-Columbian aesthetic.” Opened Tuesday-Sunday from 11am to 5:30pm.

E) Galería OMR

Contemporary art gallery with exhibitions from artists like Pia Camil, Gabriel Rico, Jorge Mendez Blake, and Troika. This is another Mexico City hidden gem for art lovers. Opened Tuesday-Saturdays different hours, but closed for now due to Covid.

F) Kurimanzutto

kurimanzutto was founded in 1999 by Mónica Manzutto y José Kuri as a way to support the new generation of artists so they could consolidate their careers both in Mexico and internationally. Today, the gallery represents 33 artists, both national and international, and is a space for open research and critique, for risky projects rarely seen in commercial galleries. It is definitely an interesting and unique gallery to visit in Mexico City. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays.

G) Museo Franz Mayer

This museum is a cultural trust administered by the Bank of Mexico, dedicated to preserve, research and present the extensive pieces by collector Franz Mayer. We also find among the permanent collections, the Collection of Pupular Art by Ruth D. Lechuga and William Spratling, and Marguerite Rostan’s traditional Mexican attire collection. The museum itself is in a historic building in Mexico City’s Historic Center.

It is a great and fun museum to visit if you’re in Mexico City, with a cheap entrance fee of $70 pesos ($3.5 USD) despite it being amazing, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

H) Centro de la Imagen

This center has a very vast collection of the photography history of Mexico and Latin America. They also hold amazing contemporary exhibits around photography. This center is in the Historic Center of Mexico City, inside the Biblioteca Nacional.

I) Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros

In the old house of the master David Alfaro Siquerios, famous Mexican painter and muralist, is the SAPS museum where his works and archives are exhibited as well as a space for expositions and educational opportunities about contemporary art.

Architecture

1) Casa Luis Barragán

Architects and art lovers worldwide will tell you that visiting one of Luis Barragan’s works of architecture is a definite must while in Mexico City. Barragan, the only Mexican to have ever won a Pritzker Prize (the architectural equivalent to a Nobel Prize), built some of his most iconic landmarks in, and around, the city. 

The artist’s own home, Casa Barragan, is as stated by the UNESCO: “a masterpiece in the development of the modern movement that merges traditional and vernacular elements, as well as diverse philosophical and artistic currents throughout time.” The property remains just as his owner left it after his passing in 1988.

You can book a tour but spaces are limited, so if you’re keen on seeing the place of work of this great artist plan ahead.

Some other must-see edifices by him are the Casa Giraldi, Casa Pedregal, la Cuadra San Cristobal (probably the most visually stunning spaces ever designed for equine purposes), and the Convento de las Capuchinas (a convent where his use of color and light will permeate religious belief into any heretic, myself included).

2) Casa Pedregal by Luis Barragán

Casa Pedregal was built between 1947 and 1950 by the famous Mexican architect Luis Barragán and Pritzker. The pink house following sober, square and a modernist line, while the inside shows protruding light and Barragán’s incredible attention to detail. Barragán fuses nature with tradition, creating his own, unique style.

This amazing architecture work was extensively restored and opened to the public. In what were the equestrian headquarters, stands Tetetlan, a community center and one of Mexico City’s hidden gems with yoga studio, restaurant, and a library with Luis Barragán‘s style of visualizing the volcanic rock underneath. To visit the house you need to make an appointment at visitas@casapedregal.com.

3) Casa Cuadra San Cristobal By Luis Barragán

Another masterpiece built by Luis Barragán is Casa Cuadra San Cristobal in the northwest of Mexico City. It is an equestrian estate with a white house and a water fountain framed by a pink wall. Definitely one of the most visually stunning spaces designed for equine purposes. Contact cuadrasancristobal@gmail.com to make an appointment.

4) Convento de las Capuchinas By Luis Barragán

Luis Barragán oversaw the renovation of the Convento Y Capilla de las Capuchinas in Tlalpan. Call (52) 55 5573-2395 to make an appointment.

5) Casa Gilardi By Luis Barragán

This is the last project completed by Luis Barragán before he died for a pair of bachelors. The indoor pool inside a bright blue room, looks into the home’s courtyard. To visit make an appointment at casagilardi@gmail.com.

6) Estudio de Frida y Diego de San Angel

Two other iconic forces within Mexican culture, are Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. To get further insight into these artists’ lives one should visit their house-study in San Angel, a colonial neighborhood in the south of the city. Designed by contemporary artist and architect Juan O’Gorman.

Within this sanctuary of art, the visitor can see some of their personal belongings and inspirations, including a vast collection of regional and pre-Columbian art. Frida Kahlo’s blue house is much more visited, making this museum an off the beaten track gem to visit.

The Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm and costs $35 pesos ($1.5 USD).

7) Biblioteca Vasconcelos

This incredible ’megalibrary’ in downtown Mexico City , stands at 38,000 square meters (409,000 sq ft). You will find yourself at a loss for words seeing its futuristic design of mismatched blocks floating above the lobby, transporting you to different worlds.

Alberto Kalach and Juan Palomar designed this great architectural feat, surrounded by a botanical garden providing green and educational spaces within Mexico City. It is not normally included in must visit lists in Mexico City guides, but it is definitely one of the hidden gems in Mexico.

Murals

UNAM Murals

The Central Library of the National Autonomous University Of Mexico is truly a masterpiece by Juan O’Gorman opened in 1956. The huge block juts out with an amazing rock mural. The impressive mural created with reds, greens, blues, yellows, and other colored stones from Mexico never fade away and turn this institutional building into an artwork of Mexico’s rich artistic history. The mural of UNAM’s Central Library is a non-touristy gem you cannot miss, definitely off the beaten path Mexico.

In the Rectoría building’s northern and southern walls, David Alfaro Siqueiros painted mixed sculpture and mural pieces with another mural on the western wall.

In the Estadio Olímpico we find Diego Rivera’s inconclusive mural with a raised painting in rocks of the Mexican eagle and Andean condor, a family with a mestizo child, athletes, and Quetzalcóatl.

José Chávez Morado’s glass mosaic of Quetzalcóatl’s return in the Architecture Faculty’s “Luis Unkel” Library, and the vinyl mural and glass mosaics in the auditorium Alfonso Caso in the Facultad de Ciencias.

Francisco Eppens glazed murals are in the faculties of Odontología and Medicina.

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