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Free museums in Mexico City, and when

Official sources checked Oct 5, 2026

Museums run by INAH (Anthropology, Chapultepec Castle, Templo Mayor) and by INBAL (MUNAL and the other national art museums) are free on Sundays only for Mexican nationals and foreigners with Mexican residency. In 2026 INAH's general ticket for the big sites is MX$210. Tourists should look instead at the museums that are free for all: Soumaya every day, Jumex, Los Pinos and the Museo Vivo del Muralismo. A few others open free to everyone on one day: San Ildefonso on Sundays, the Chopo on Wednesdays, MUAC on Thursday evenings.

Mexico City

At a glance

MuseumFree whenFor whomBooking
Colegio de San Ildefonso (free Sundays)Sundays · 11:00–17:30. Open Tuesday to Sunday, paid on the other days.EveryoneNot needed
National Museum of Anthropology (Sundays, residents only)Sundays · 9:00–18:00, for Mexican nationals and foreign residents with a valid residency card. Open Tuesday to Sunday.Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico (valid migration document). Under-13s enter free on any day. Foreign tourists do not qualify.Not needed. Paid tickets are sold at the desk or on the INAH online ticket site.
Chapultepec Castle (Sundays, residents only)Sundays · 9:00–17:00, for Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico. Open Tuesday to Sunday, never on Mondays.Mexican nationals and foreign residents, with proof. Children under 13 and over-60s enter free. Foreign tourists pay.Not needed. Tickets at the booth at the foot of the ramp or on the INAH online ticket site.
Museo Nacional de Arte, MUNAL (Sundays, residents only)Sundays · 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:30, for Mexican nationals and foreign residents with a valid migration document. Open Tuesday to Sunday.Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico. Foreign tourists pay the general ticket.Not needed
MUAC, University Museum of Contemporary Art (Thursday evenings)Thursdays · 18:00–20:00. Ticket desk closes 30 minutes before closing. Open Tuesday to Sunday.Everyone. Under-12s are free at any time.Not needed
Museo Universitario del Chopo (free Wednesdays)Wednesdays · 11:00–18:00. Open Wednesday to Sunday.Everyone. Under-12s are free on any day.Not needed
Museo Vivo del Muralismo (Education Ministry murals)Always · Wednesday to Monday 10:00–18:00. Closed Tuesdays and national holidays.EveryoneNot needed
Museo Soumaya (Plaza Carso)Always · every day 10:30–18:30.EveryoneNot needed
Museo JumexAlways · Tuesday to Friday 10:00–17:00, Saturday 10:00–19:00, Sunday 10:00–17:00. Closed Mondays.EveryoneNot needed. Free guided visits Tuesday to Friday at 12:00 and 16:00.
Los PinosAlways · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00.EveryoneNot needed

Museums with a free day or free hours6

Illustration: Colegio de San Ildefonso (free Sundays)MX$50FREE

Colegio de San Ildefonso (free Sundays)

Centro Histórico
Free on certain daysIndoorGood with kidsArtHistoryArchitecture

A Jesuit college from the 1700s where the mural movement started. José Clemente Orozco painted the three floors of the main courtyard, and the galleries hold changing exhibitions.

  • Orozco's 'The Trench' on the ground floor of the main courtyard
  • Stairwell mural of Cortés and Malinche
  • Pair it with the Education Ministry murals two minutes away
Free when
Sundays · 11:00–17:30. Open Tuesday to Sunday, paid on the other days.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Line 2 to Zócalo/Tenochtitlan, then 5 minutes. Justo Sierra 16, behind the Templo Mayor
Worth it? Yes.Orozco is darker and angrier than Rivera, and seeing both on the same morning shows the difference. The Education Ministry murals are two minutes away, so do them together. At MX$50 on other days it is cheap enough that the Sunday crowd is the only reason to wait.
Source: Colegio de San Ildefonso · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: National Museum of Anthropology (Sundays, residents only)

National Museum of Anthropology (Sundays, residents only)

Chapultepec
Free on certain daysResidents onlyIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArt

The country's great museum, with the Aztec Sun Stone, the Olmec heads and a full Maya hall. Sundays are free, but only for Mexican citizens and foreigners who hold Mexican residency. Tourists pay full price every day.

  • Sun Stone in the Mexica hall, straight across the courtyard
  • The umbrella fountain holding up the courtyard roof
  • Voladores perform on the pole outside most days
Free when
Sundays · 9:00–18:00, for Mexican nationals and foreign residents with a valid residency card. Open Tuesday to Sunday.
Free for whom
Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico (valid migration document). Under-13s enter free on any day. Foreign tourists do not qualify.
Reservation
Not needed. Paid tickets are sold at the desk or on the INAH online ticket site.
Time needed
3h
How to get there
Metro Line 7 to Auditorio, then 10 minutes. Metrobús Line 7 to Antropología
Worth it? Yes.If you are a visitor, forget the free Sunday and come on a weekday morning with a ticket. Sundays are packed with local families precisely because it is free for them. Start with the Mexica hall straight across the courtyard, then Oaxaca and Maya.
Source: Museo Nacional de Antropología, INAH · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Chapultepec Castle (Sundays, residents only)

Chapultepec Castle (Sundays, residents only)

Chapultepec
Free on certain daysResidents onlyIndoorGood with kidsHistoryViewsArchitecture

The castle on the hill, home of Emperor Maximilian and later of presidents, now the National History Museum with the best terrace view down Paseo de la Reforma. Free on Sundays for Mexicans and residents only.

  • Alcázar terrace looking straight down Paseo de la Reforma
  • Siqueiros mural 'From Porfirianism to the Revolution'
  • Stained-glass gallery on the upper floor
Free when
Sundays · 9:00–17:00, for Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico. Open Tuesday to Sunday, never on Mondays.
Free for whom
Mexican nationals and foreign residents, with proof. Children under 13 and over-60s enter free. Foreign tourists pay.
Reservation
Not needed. Tickets at the booth at the foot of the ramp or on the INAH online ticket site.
Time needed
1h30–2h
How to get there
Metro Line 1 to Chapultepec, then 15 minutes uphill on the ramp
Worth it? Yes.For a tourist this is a paid sight, and at MX$210 a pricey one. The park below is free and the walk up the ramp to the gate gives you some of the view. If you do pay, go at 9:00 and head to the Alcázar terrace first.
Source: Museo Nacional de Historia Castillo de Chapultepec, INAH · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Museo Nacional de Arte, MUNAL (Sundays, residents only)

Museo Nacional de Arte, MUNAL (Sundays, residents only)

Centro Histórico
Free on certain daysResidents onlyIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitecture

Mexican art from the 1500s to the 1950s in a palace built for the Ministry of Communications, with a marble staircase worth the visit alone. Like other national fine-arts museums, its free Sunday is for Mexicans and residents.

  • José María Velasco's landscapes of the Valley of Mexico
  • The curved marble staircase under a painted ceiling
  • El Caballito, the bronze equestrian statue in the square outside
Free when
Sundays · 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:30, for Mexican nationals and foreign residents with a valid migration document. Open Tuesday to Sunday.
Free for whom
Mexican nationals and foreigners resident in Mexico. Foreign tourists pay the general ticket.
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h30
How to get there
Metro Line 2 or 8 to Bellas Artes, or Line 2 to Allende. Tacuba 8, on Plaza Manuel Tolsá
Worth it? Yes.At MX$95 it is the fairest-priced big museum in the centre, so tourists should just pay. The square outside is free: Tolsá's bronze horseman, El Caballito, stands in front and the Palacio de Minería faces it.
Source: Museo Nacional de Arte, INBAL · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: MUAC, University Museum of Contemporary Art (Thursday evenings)MX$60FREE

MUAC, University Museum of Contemporary Art (Thursday evenings)

Ciudad Universitaria
Free on certain daysIndoorArtArchitecture

UNAM's contemporary art museum, a glass-fronted building by Teodoro González de León in the university's cultural centre. It stays open late on Thursdays and the last two hours are free for everyone.

  • The sloping glass facade reflecting the lava-rock plaza
  • Free from 18:00 on Thursdays, galleries close at 20:00
  • Sunday tickets are half price
Free when
Thursdays · 18:00–20:00. Ticket desk closes 30 minutes before closing. Open Tuesday to Sunday.
Free for whom
Everyone. Under-12s are free at any time.
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h–1h30
How to get there
Metrobús Line 1 to Centro Cultural Universitario, then 5 minutes. Metro Line 3 to Universidad and the free Pumabús
Worth it? Yes.Two hours is enough for the galleries. Come a little early and walk around the plaza and the big outdoor sculptures of the cultural centre first. On Sundays the ticket is half price, MX$30, if Thursday does not fit.
Source: MUAC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Museo Universitario del Chopo (free Wednesdays)MX$40FREE

Museo Universitario del Chopo (free Wednesdays)

Santa María la Ribera
Free on certain daysIndoorArtArchitectureLocal life

An iron and glass exhibition hall shipped from Germany in the early 1900s, now UNAM's museum for young and alternative art, with a fanzine library. The galleries are free on Wednesdays.

  • The twin iron towers and glass nave of the hall
  • Fanzine collection, open for browsing on Thursdays
  • Ten minutes on foot from the Kiosco Morisco
Free when
Wednesdays · 11:00–18:00. Open Wednesday to Sunday.
Free for whom
Everyone. Under-12s are free on any day.
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
45 min–1h
How to get there
Metro Line 2 to San Cosme, then 5 minutes. Metrobús Line 1 to El Chopo. Enrique González Martínez 10
Worth it? Yes.Go for the building as much as the shows, which swing between very good and baffling. It costs MX$40 on other days, so do not rearrange a trip for the free Wednesday. Walk ten minutes north afterwards to the Kiosco Morisco.
Source: Museo Universitario del Chopo, UNAM · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

Museums that are always free4

Illustration: Museo Vivo del Muralismo (Education Ministry murals)FREE

Museo Vivo del Muralismo (Education Ministry murals)

Centro Histórico
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArtHistory

The old Education Ministry building, where Diego Rivera covered three floors of two courtyards with more than a hundred fresco panels in the 1920s. It reopened as a free museum and is the easiest place in the city to see Rivera at full scale.

  • Top floor, second courtyard: Frida Kahlo handing out rifles
  • Ground floor panels of miners, weavers and sugar workers
  • Open Mondays, closed Tuesdays
Free when
Always · Wednesday to Monday 10:00–18:00. Closed Tuesdays and national holidays.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h–1h30
How to get there
Metro Line 2 to Zócalo/Tenochtitlan, then 6 minutes north. Metrobús Line 4 to República de Argentina. Entrance at República de Argentina 28
Worth it? Yes.This is the answer when the National Palace has no slots. Climb to the top floor of the second courtyard for the Ballad of the Revolution panels, including the one with Frida Kahlo handing out rifles. It is open on Mondays, when almost every other museum in the city is shut.
Source: Secretaría de Educación Pública · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Museo Soumaya (Plaza Carso)FREE

Museo Soumaya (Plaza Carso)

Polanco / Nuevo Polanco
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitecture

Carlos Slim's private collection in a windowless tower covered in 16,000 aluminium hexagons. Six floors run from colonial coins to European old masters, and the top floor is one open hall of Rodin bronzes. It is free every day of the year.

  • Sixth floor: Rodin's 'Gates of Hell' and 'The Thinker'
  • Start at the top and walk down the spiral ramp
  • Open on Mondays, unlike nearly every other museum
Free when
Always · every day 10:30–18:30.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h30–2h
How to get there
Metro Line 7 to Polanco or San Joaquín, then 15–20 minutes on foot. Bulevar Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra at Presa Falcón
Worth it? Yes.Take the lift to the sixth floor and walk down the ramp, the Rodin hall under the skylight is the reason to come and the lower floors are uneven. It is one of the few museums open on Mondays, and it shares a plaza with the Jumex, so do both.
Source: Museo Soumaya, Fundación Carlos Slim · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Museo JumexFREE

Museo Jumex

Polanco / Nuevo Polanco
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitecture

The contemporary art museum of the Jumex juice family, in a sawtooth-roofed travertine building by David Chipperfield. Three floors of changing exhibitions, usually one big international name at a time. General admission is free.

  • Top gallery lit by the sawtooth skylights
  • First-floor terrace looking across at the Soumaya
  • Free guided visit at 12:00 or 16:00 on weekdays
Free when
Always · Tuesday to Friday 10:00–17:00, Saturday 10:00–19:00, Sunday 10:00–17:00. Closed Mondays.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed. Free guided visits Tuesday to Friday at 12:00 and 16:00.
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Line 7 to Polanco or San Joaquín, then 15–20 minutes on foot. It faces the Soumaya across the plaza
Worth it? Yes.Check what is showing before you cross town, because the whole building is given to one or two exhibitions. When it is good it is the best contemporary show in the city. The third-floor gallery has the daylight, start there.
Source: Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Los PinosFREE

Los Pinos

Chapultepec
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitectureNature

The presidential residence from 1934 to 2018, opened to the public the day the last president moved out. You walk through the houses, offices and gardens where fourteen presidents lived, now used for exhibitions and weekend events.

  • Calzada de los Presidentes, a walk lined with bronze presidents
  • Casa Miguel Alemán, the main mansion and its offices
  • Cencalli, the free museum of maize, in the grounds
Free when
Always · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h–1h30
How to get there
Metro Line 7 to Constituyentes, entrance by Gate 1. Cablebús Line 3 starts at Los Pinos/Constituyentes
Worth it? Yes.More interesting for what it was than for what is on the walls. Walk the Calzada de los Presidentes with its row of bronze statues, then see the mansion's empty offices. Cencalli, the house of maize and food culture, is inside the grounds and also free.
Source: Secretaría de Cultura, Complejo Cultural Los Pinos · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

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