National Anthropology Museum:
The National Anthropology Museum, about four miles west of the Zocalo in Chapultepec Park, is, oddly, a very 20th-century place. Its artifacts, art, models and maps detail Mexico’s regional cultures and the clash of native and Hispanic civilizations that produced them. The histories are presented within a minimalist behemoth of a building, completed in 1964 with a grand fountain and pond in the middle of a central courtyard.
The Museo Soumaya, in the Nuevo Polanco district about seven miles west of the Zocalo, is shiny and curvy, with a skin of aluminum scales and a spiral walkway inside that may remind you of the one in the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The building was bankrolled in 2011 by Carlos Slim, the nation’s wealthiest man, and the collection aims to document 30 centuries of American and European art.
The Museo Frida Kahlo, also known as the Casa Azul for its striking blue walls, has become a tourist magnet in the suburb of Coyoacan, about seven miles south of the Zocalo. It was the artist’s home from 1929 to 1954. There’s often a line, and it gets crowded, so book in advance. (There are timespecific tickets.) Exhibits include works of art; her studio and colorful kitchen; a pleasant courtyard; a folk art collection; and a death mask of Kahlo. The mask rests upon her bed, staring up at a mirror she used when working on self-portraits — a spooky effect. Big, busy gift shop.
Xochimilco, where hundreds of red, yellow and blue boats ply miles of canals, is a reminder of the area’s pre-Hispanic days. The foliage along the water’s edge can get ragged and the water supply is dwindling, so this landmark may not last much longer in its current form.
There are piers, musicians, and vendors of food and beer. Rent a boat — they’re called trajineras — for about $21-$27 an hour, which gets you a boat, a captain and room for more than a dozen people. One trajinera company is Trajineras Xochimilco, trajinerasxochimilco.com.mx. Hire a band for a few songs, eat a lot, and raise a glass to the folks in the next boat.
I boarded at Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas, about 15 miles south of the Zocalo, which means about an hour of driving. Ask your boatman about the Isla de las Munecas.