This guide is for you if the south of Mexico City is on your list: the university library with the mosaic walls, Coyoacán, Frida Kahlo's Blue House and a boat on the canals of Xochimilco. It covers the decisions that matter before the day, above all the museum ticket, which you need to sort out yourself and early.
The one thing to book first
The Frida Kahlo Museum sells entry for a set time, on its own official ticket website. You choose your slot, pay and download the ticket. During checkout the site holds your tickets for 25 minutes, so have your card ready before you start. Children under six enter free.
Book your slot to match the tour. The day reaches the Blue House at 10:00, the museum's opening time from Tuesday to Sunday except Wednesday, when it opens at 11:00. On a Wednesday the tour goes to Xochimilco first and comes back to the Blue House after 11:00, so book a later slot. The museum is closed on Mondays. If Monday is your only free day, this is the wrong day to choose, though Coyoacán and Xochimilco still make a full day without the museum.
Photography inside has its own rules. You can take photographs freely in the patios and the garden. Inside the rooms, photographs are allowed without flash and only with a photo permit bought at the ticket office. Video is not allowed anywhere in the house.
What you are seeing
The day starts at the Central Library of the national university, UNAM. Juan O'Gorman designed the building and its mosaic, which opened in 1956. Each wall shows a different period: the pre-Hispanic world on the north side, the colonial era on the south, the modern age on the east and the history of the university on the west. Walk all four sides before you leave. In 2007 UNESCO listed the library and the central university campus as a World Heritage site.
The Blue House is where Frida Kahlo was born and where she died. She lived there with Diego Rivera, and it has been a museum since 1958. Your visit takes in her studio, her garden and her paintings.
Xochimilco is part of the same World Heritage listing as the historic centre. Its canals and artificial islands are what remains of the way the Aztecs farmed the lake. UNESCO calls the chinampas, the cultivated plots between the canals, the only surviving example of traditional pre-Hispanic land use in the lagoons of the valley. Parts of the area are now an ecological reserve.
How the day fits together
Everything is in the south of the city, so less of the day goes on the road than on our trips out of town. You are collected at 07:00 and reach the library at around 07:45. From there it is Coyoacán at 09:00, for the Jardín Centenario, the church of San Juan Bautista and a coffee, then the Blue House at 10:00. You board the trajinera at Xochimilco at around 11:45 and spend two hours on the canals, with lunch from the boats that come alongside. The drive back takes about an hour, and you are at your hotel at around 15:00.
The car and the driver are yours, so the order can change. Skip the museum if you prefer, and spend the time in Coyoacán's squares instead. Or give more time to the library if the mosaic catches you.
The boats at Xochimilco
The trajinera is not part of the price. You hire it at the jetty, and the whole boat is yours: the price is the same for two of you or ten.
The fares for the boats are set officially by the hour and apply at all ten of the tourist jetties in the borough. Food and drink sold on the canals has an official tariff too. In busy seasons some boatmen and sellers raise their prices. Before the day, look up the current official rate so you recognise it, and agree the time and the fare before you step aboard.
The jetties keep longer hours on weekdays than at weekends and on public holidays. Our arrival just before midday falls inside both, but check the official information before you go if you are planning your own visit.
On your own, or with a driver
Coyoacán is pleasant to wander on foot, and if you only want the Blue House and the squares, a taxi there and back works. Fitting all four stops into one day on your own is harder, since they are spread across the south of a very large city.
A private day adds the hotel pick-up, and a car waiting between each stop. You still buy your own museum ticket and hire your own boat. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- Your Frida Kahlo Museum ticket, downloaded on your phone, with the time slot that matches the day.
- Local cash for the trajinera, food from the boats, coffee in Coyoacán and small purchases. A card helps at the museum.
- A hat and sun cream for two hours on an open boat, and a light layer for the early start.
- Comfortable shoes. Coyoacán's squares and the library are best on foot.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits art lovers, families and anyone who wants a day in the city without long drives. The boat is good with children, and a group fills it for the same price as a couple.
- Your only free day is a Monday. The museum is shut. Consider our Teotihuacan and Guadalupe day, since the site opens every day.
- The museum tickets for your date have gone. The day still works without it: Coyoacán and Xochimilco make a full day on their own.
- You have only half a day. Our historic centre tour takes four hours.
To compare all five of our days, read our guide to day trips from Mexico City.
Questions people ask
Is the boat shared with other people?
No. You hire the whole trajinera for your group.
Can we go inside the library?
The mosaic is on the outside walls, which is what you come to see. The library is a working university building, so check its official site before you go if you want to go in.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. See our cancellation page.
Booking the day
Choose a day from Tuesday to Sunday, book your museum slot as soon as you have the date, and bring cash for the boat. The timings and what is included are on the Coyoacán, Blue House and Xochimilco private tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
