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Free things to do in Mexico City on a rainy day

Official sources checked Oct 5, 2026

Everything here is under a roof and costs nothing. Check the free day on each card: some of these museums are free only at certain hours.

Mexico City

Always free in Mexico City10

Open to everyone, every day they are open. No ticket to buy.

Illustration: Metropolitan CathedralFREE

Metropolitan Cathedral

Centro Histórico
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitecture

The first cathedral built in the Americas, begun in the 16th century and finished in 1813, with five naves and fourteen side chapels open to visitors. Walking in is free. Only the bell tower and guided tours are charged.

  • Altar of the Kings, the gilded wall behind the main altar
  • The visible tilt of columns along the central aisle
  • Sagrario chapel next door, with its carved stone facade
Free when
Always · daily 8:00–20:00. Visitors are asked to stay at the back during Mass.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed. Tower visits are sold on the spot and cost extra.
Time needed
30–45 min
How to get there
Metro Line 2 to Zócalo/Tenochtitlan, north side of the square
Worth it? Yes.Look at the floor and the columns. The building sinks unevenly into the old lakebed and you can see the lean from the central aisle. Go before 10:00 on weekdays, when the gilded Altar of the Kings at the far end has no tour groups in front of it.
Source: Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
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: Palacio Postal (Central Post Office)FREE

Palacio Postal (Central Post Office)

Centro Histórico
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArchitectureHistory

A working post office from 1907 by Adamo Boari, the architect of Bellas Artes across the street. The double staircase in bronze cast in Florence and the marble counters are open to anyone who walks in, and there is a small postal museum upstairs.

  • The double bronze staircase, cast in Florence
  • Stand on the first landing and look down the hall
  • Postal museum and philately room on the upper floor
Free when
Always · Monday to Friday 8:00–16:00, Saturday 8:00–12:00. Closed Sundays.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
20–30 min
How to get there
Metro Line 2 or 8 to Bellas Artes. Tacuba 1, on the corner with Eje Central
Worth it? Yes.Ten minutes of your day and one of the best interiors in the centre. Go up the staircase to the first landing and look back down. Buy a stamp and post a card from the brass counters if you want an excuse to linger.
Source: Mexico City tourism office (Secretaría de Turismo CDMX) · 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
Illustration: Basilica of GuadalupeFREE

Basilica of Guadalupe

La Villa (north)
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryLocal lifeArchitecture

The most visited Catholic shrine in the Americas. The round modern basilica from 1976 holds the cloak with the image of the Virgin, which you pass on a moving walkway under the altar, and the sinking old basilica stands beside it.

  • Moving walkway that passes under the cloak of Juan Diego
  • The old basilica, visibly leaning on its sinking ground
  • Chapel and viewpoint at the top of Tepeyac hill
Free when
Always · every day 6:00–21:00, with Masses through the day.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1h–1h30
How to get there
Metro Line 6 to La Villa-Basílica, then 5 minutes along the pedestrian Calzada de Guadalupe
Worth it? Yes.Even if you are not religious, the scale of devotion here is something to see. Take the walkway under the image, then climb the stairs of Tepeyac hill behind the old basilica for a view over the north of the city. Avoid 11 and 12 December unless the crowd of millions is what you want.
Source: Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Biblioteca VasconcelosFREE

Biblioteca Vasconcelos

Buenavista
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArchitectureLocal life

A public library from 2006 where the bookshelves hang from the ceiling in steel cages over a hall as long as two city blocks. Everything it offers is free, from walking in to the guided visits and concerts.

  • Hanging steel bookshelves seen from the upper walkways
  • Gabriel Orozco's whale skeleton in the central hall
  • Garden around the building, a quiet place to sit
Free when
Always · open daily, usually 8:30–19:30. Hours are not posted on the library's site, so check its social media on holidays.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed. Free guided visits for groups are booked ahead.
Time needed
45 min
How to get there
Metro Line B to Buenavista. Metrobús Lines 1, 3 and 4 to Buenavista. Suburban train terminal next door
Worth it? Yes.Go up to the top walkways and look back along the hanging stacks, that is the photo. The painted whale skeleton by Gabriel Orozco hangs in the central hall. Bags go in the free cloakroom at the entrance.
Source: Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Secretaría de Cultura · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: La Ciudadela (Biblioteca de México)FREE

La Ciudadela (Biblioteca de México)

Centro (Balderas)
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitectureLocal life

A low fortress-like building from 1807, built as the royal tobacco factory and later used as barracks and prison. It now houses the Biblioteca de México and the Centro de la Imagen, and most of the ground floor is free to walk through.

  • Writers' personal libraries, each in a separately designed room
  • Saturday afternoon danzón in the square outside
  • La Ciudadela crafts market one block north
Free when
Always · the building is open daily during library hours. The square outside is open at all times.
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
45 min–1h
How to get there
Metro Line 1 or 3 to Balderas, the exit is beside the building
Worth it? Yes.The roofed courtyards and the personal libraries of Mexican writers, each in its own designed room, are the surprise. On Saturday afternoons the square outside fills with older couples dancing danzón, free to watch or join. The crafts market of the same name is a block north.
Source: Mexico City tourism office (Secretaría de Turismo CDMX) · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: National Palace and the Diego Rivera muralsFREE

National Palace and the Diego Rivera murals

Centro Histórico
Always freeBooking requiredIndoorGood with kidsArtHistory

The seat of the federal government fills the whole east side of the Zócalo. Inside, Diego Rivera painted the history of Mexico up the main staircase and around the first-floor courtyard. Entry is free, but only on a guided visit.

  • Rivera's 'Epic of the Mexican People' on the main staircase
  • The bell from Dolores above the central balcony
  • Bring your passport, they hold ID at the door
Free when
Always free · guided visits only, on the days the palace is not closed for official events. Slots are limited and the schedule changes without much notice.
Free for whom
Everyone, with ID. Foreign visitors need a passport.
Reservation
Required. Write to visitas_guiadas@hacienda.gob.mx, or ask in person at the entrance of the Museo de Arte de la SHCP at Moneda 4, around the corner.
Time needed
1h
How to get there
Metro Line 2 to Zócalo/Tenochtitlan. The visit desk is on Calle Moneda, on the north side of the palace
Worth it? Depends.Worth the effort if you can spare a morning, because the staircase mural is Rivera's biggest work. Do not plan a tight day around it. If no slot is available, the Rivera murals at the Education Ministry four blocks north need no booking at all.
Source: Mexico City tourism office (Secretaría de Turismo CDMX) · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

Free on certain days, or for certain people6

Mostly museums. The free window, who it applies to and the booking rule are on each card.

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

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