Coyoacán and San Ángel are gorgeous, leafy, and walkable neighborhoods in south central Mexico City with cobblestone streets, terrific parks, outdoor markets, and dining options.
Because they are further away and separated from most of the areas we recommend in central Mexico City, you can expect a 20- to 30-minute Uber ride from 🌳Condesa or 🏠Roma Norte, or even longer from other places.
But this trek is worth the time and effort. It’s possible to see both of these neighborhoods in a single day if you plan accordingly and like to walk. But some top sights, like Museo Frida Kahlo—which requires you to reserve tickets in advance—will eat up a lot of time. And Coyoacán and San Ángel are distant enough from each other that we recommend using Uber to get between them, rather than walking. If your schedule permits, consider dedicating at least part of one day to each neighborhood.
Coyoacán offers one of our favorite local experiences in Mexico City, a street fair on Saturdays and Sundays that runs into the night, with amazing street food options filling the streets between the 🛍️Mercado de Coyoacán and 🌳Jardín Hidalgo. This is not about tourists, though everyone is welcome: It’s a local event held by locals and for locals, and you will see families of all ages and sizes strolling through the food stands and enjoying live entertainment in the parks.
This is an excerpt from our downloadable book, Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City, which is designed to work seamlessly on your phone, e-reader, tablet, or computer. Use it to plan your itinerary, and refer to it any time you need to when you’re in Mexico City.
👁️ See and do
Coyoacán and San Ángel each have some of the best museums in the city. And they both host art fairs in their respective parks on weekends: Saturday and Sunday in Coyoacán and Saturday in San Ángel.
On the museum front, you will find 🎨Museo Frida Kahlo and 🎨Museo Casa de León Trotsky in Coyoacán, and the often overlooked 🎨Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo in San Ángel. Each is interesting and engaging in its own way, and the latter two don’t require reservations. So you can walk in to either at any time.
We’re not avid shoppers, but we almost always visit these neighborhoods on weekends and have spent countless hours browsing the outdoor art markets. San Ángel has other related markets that are open throughout the week, too, which also offer high quality handmade gifts and mementos.
These are some of the best neighborhoods in Mexico City for shopping, whether you’re seeking a gift or something for yourself. We have several local paintings in our apartment now, and a few rugs, and each was bought at these markets.
🛍️ Bazar San Ángel 📲
San Ángel. This artisanal indoor market sits at the west end of 🌳Plaza san Jacinto and houses numerous interesting local boutiques, galleries, and other stores with handmade goods of all kinds. Note that many of the stores have their own entrances on the east and north side of the building. And there is a terrific outdoor bazaar next door to the north in Plaza Tenanitla on Saturdays.
⛲ Fuente de los Coyotes
Coyoacán. Arguably the most iconic spot in Coyoacán that doesn’t require a paid ticket reserved in advance, this beautiful fountain in the center of 🌳Jardín Centenario features a bronze statue of two coyotes. (Coyoacán is an indigenous word that translates to “place of coyotes.”) It’s an obvious photo op.
🌳 Jardín Centenario
Coyoacán. This beautiful park sits to the west of the Parroquia San Juan Bautista, a 16th century cathedral, and is divided by Avenida Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The larger section furthest from the church is tree-filled and shady, and it is there you can find the ⛲Fuente de los Coyotes. There are decent restaurants along its northern, southern, and western sides, perfect for a quick drink or bite, and street performers of all kinds.
🌳 Jardín del Arte Allende
San Ángel. This tiny park across from the 🛍️Mercado de Coyoacán offers a Saturday art fair with dozens of local artists and artisans hawking their hand-made creations. But it really comes alive at night, when dancing—and impromptu dancing classes—break out in its southwest corner.
🌳 Jardín Hidalgo
Coyoacán. The bigger of Coyoacán’s two main parks sits at a kitty corner from the other, 🌳Jardín Centenario.
There is a notable gazebo at its center—look for the stained-glass cupola and bronze eagle at its top—a colorful set of letters spelling out Coyoacán for a photo opportunity, and many street performers and vendors.
To the park’s north, you can see Casa de Hernán Cortés, with a museum and pretty courtyard. And there are often indigenous performers at its south, next to the Parroquia San Juan Bautista.
🛍️ Mercado de Coyoacán
Coyoacán. This traditional Mexican market is over 100 years old and stocked to the rafters with vendors, restaurants, and food and drink sellers of all kinds. It’s chaotic and busy, and a tight space. But it’s also one of the most authentic markets in Mexico City, a spot where you can find locals buying fruit, vegetables, and meat alongside tourists browsing for homemade goods to bring home as gifts. Don’t be shy or intimidated: Just push your way through the thin, crowded aisles like a local and find a spot at an eatery for an inexpensive meal or a quick drink. You’ll be happy you did.
🎨 Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
San Ángel. This fascinating and yet little-known museum is right across from the entry to 🍴San Angel Inn. It consists of three “functionalist” buildings commissioned, designed, and built in the 1930s. One was a house for Diego Rivera, one was a house for his wife Frida Kahlo, and the third was a shared studio space and photo lab.
Each building is a different color, and while they are physically independent and separate buildings, the two homes are connected by a small bridge between the rooftops. Visitors can walk between the two houses, and on the rooftop of the smaller blue house, using the bridge.
As you might expect, the museum houses works from both artists, but it also serves as a showpiece for the architect, Juan O’Gorman. And there are preserved living spaces, studios, and Rivera’s collections of pre-Hispanic art, Mexican crafts and more.
Kahlo lived in this space for about six years before moving into Casa Azul, which is also preserved as the more famous 🎨Museo Frida Kahlo. But Rivera lived here for the rest of his life—he passed away in 1957, about three years after Kahlo—and this museum is no less impressive or unique, to our minds.
🎨 Museo Casa de León Trotsky
Coyoacán. While 🎨Museo Frida Kahlo is understandably beloved by tourists, this museum is in many ways just as interesting, and it’s much easier to get in. Indeed, you can simply walk in at any time, pay a small admission fee, and browse through the indoor and outdoor exhibits in what used to be León Trotsky’s home during his exile from Russia. The history here is fascinating and it involves worldwide intrigue and, infamously, multiple assassination attempts.
🎨 Museo Frida Kahlo ⭐️
Note: 🎟️Reservations required in advance.
Coyoacán. The home of artist Frida Kahlo is called la Casa Azul, or the Blue House, for its deep blue exterior walls, and it remains much as it was when she passed away in the 1950s. It contains collections of art created by Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, plus photos and other personal items from Kahlo’s life and other mementos.
The house is really a compound of sorts, with high exterior walls for privacy and a central, colonial-style courtyard that’s open to the air. The buildings that make up the house line the exterior walls and each has two floors and was built over time.
Museo Frida Kahlo is the most popular tourist attraction in Coyoacán, so it requires reservations: You can’t walk up to the museum and expect to get in immediately, or even that day. It’s also closed on Monday, like many places in Mexico City.
🌳 Plaza del Carmen
San Ángel. This tiny triangular park is located one block northeast of 🌳Plaza san Jacinto and though it is much smaller, it, too, hosts an artists’ fair on Saturdays.
🌳 Plaza san Jacinto
San Ángel. This beautiful park sits at the center of the San Ángel art scene, geographically and metaphorically. It’s bordered by the 🛍️Bazar San Ángel to its west and restaurants on its other sides, including two of our favorites, 🍴Oxa and 🍴El Carmen. The park has a beautiful fountain, Fuente San Jacinto, at its center. And it hosts an impressive art fair on Saturdays, as do nearby Plaza Tenanitla to the northwest and 🌳Plaza del Carmen to the northeast.
👁️San Juan Bautista Church and Monastery
Coyoacán. Be sure to take a look inside this beautiful church when you’re in Coyoacán center. It’s one of the oldest churches in Mexico City, reportedly completed in 1552. Check out the detailed paintings, intricate displays, and collections of art.
We’ve peeked in the back of the church several times and seen young women celebrating their quinceañera, or 15th birthday, in their lavish dresses, surrounded by family and friends.
We’d love to get your feedback as we build out our guidebook. Please ❤️ if you like what you see here or 💬 with any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks! I’ll be in Coyoacán next week!
Great article! I’m saving this for my next trip to MC!