Best Things to Do in Coyoacán: Frida Kahlo Museum, UNAM and Local Food

The neighborhoods of Mexico City each possess their own personality, but few are as charming as Coyoacán.

Coyoacán

San Juan Bautista Church

Located south of the historic center, Coyoacán feels worlds away from the frenetic pace of downtown CDMX. Cobblestone streets wind past colorful buildings, leafy plazas fill with families and musicians, and centuries-old churches stand alongside cafés, galleries, and bookstores. It is easy to understand why generations of artists, writers, and intellectuals have been drawn here.

Most visitors come for one reason: the former home of Frida Kahlo. Yet Coyoacán offers much more than its most famous resident. During my visit, I discovered historic churches, world-renowned murals, excellent street food, and one of the most beautiful university campuses in Latin America.

Jardín Centenario

Jardin Centenario

At the heart of the neighborhood lies Jardín Centenario, a lively public square shaded by mature trees and surrounded by restaurants, shops, and historic buildings.

La Fuente de los Coyotes

La Fuente de Los Coyotes

Its centerpiece is La Fuente de los Coyotes, a fountain crowned by two bronze coyotes. The sculpture references the neighborhood's name, which comes from the Nahuatl word Coyoacán, often translated as "place of coyotes."

Like much of the neighborhood, the square feels distinctly local. Rather than functioning as a tourist attraction, it serves as a gathering place where residents meet friends, families stroll in the evenings, and musicians often perform beneath the trees.

Parroquia San Juan Bautista

Just steps away stands the Parroquia de San Juan Bautista, one of the oldest churches in Mexico City.

Originally established by Franciscan missionaries during the sixteenth century, the church and former monastery played an important role in the early colonial history of New Spain. Its Baroque façade is impressive, but the interior is even more striking. The soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling is covered in religious artwork that draws the eye upward and reminds visitors just how much craftsmanship went into the construction of these early colonial churches.

Frida Kahlo Museum

Frida Kahlo Museum

While Coyoacán is beautiful in its own right, most visitors eventually make their way to Casa Azul, the cobalt-blue home where Frida Kahlo was born, lived much of her life, and ultimately died.

Before visiting, I knew Frida primarily as an artist. After visiting Casa Azul, I left with a much deeper appreciation for the extraordinary resilience that shaped both her life and her work.

The museum is not simply a collection of paintings and artifacts. It is a portrait of a woman who endured unimaginable physical suffering while creating some of the most recognizable art of the twentieth century.

Frida resided in this home for 36 of her 47 years of life. In fact, this is the home that Frida lived in with her parents and sisters during her childhood, starting from her birth in 1907.

It was in this house that Frida was first introduced to art by her father. Fascinated by watching him paint, she began borrowing his materials to paint boxes with still landscapes.

Due to economic problems stemming from the Mexican Revolution, the home was later mortgaged. (More to come shortly on how the debt was eventually paid.) In addition to this financial challenge, Frida encountered other difficulties, the greatest of which impacted her health.

Frida's Accident

At eighteen years old, Frida's life changed forever.

While riding home on a bus, she was involved in a catastrophic collision with a streetcar. A metal handrail pierced her pelvis, while the impact shattered her spine, collarbone, ribs, and leg. Doctors doubted she would fully recover.

The injuries ended her dream of becoming a physician. They also condemned her to decades of chronic pain, repeated surgeries, and long periods of confinement.

Yet it was during this difficult recovery that Frida began to paint seriously.

Confined to bed for months, she used a specially designed easel and a mirror mounted above her bed to create self-portraits that would eventually make her one of the most celebrated artists in history.

Standing in the room where this transformation occurred makes her story feel remarkably personal.

Day Time Bedroom

One of the most moving parts of Casa Azul is seeing the spaces where Frida spent so much of her life.

The museum preserves both her daytime and nighttime bedrooms. Above the bed hangs the mirror she used while painting. Nearby are the easels, brushes, wheelchairs, and orthopedic devices that became part of her daily existence.

These objects transform Frida from an iconic artist into a real person whose determination becomes impossible to ignore.

Among the museum's most fascinating exhibits are Frida's orthopedic corsets.

Far from being purely fashion statements, these braces were medical necessities designed to stabilize her damaged spine and relieve chronic pain. Frida transformed them into works of art, decorating many of them with paint, symbols, and personal imagery.

Like much of her work, they reveal her remarkable ability to transform suffering into creative expression.

Frida and Diego

At 22 years old, Frida reconnected with the famous painter and muralist, Diego Rivera, whom she had initially met when she was 15. When they reunited in 1928, Diego was 41. Despite the 20 year age difference, they married one year later in 1929.

After marrying Frida, Diego Rivera paid the debt on Frida's childhood home and put the property in her name. It was at that time that they decided to paint the house this rich, cobalt blue. Thereafter, it came to be known as Casa Azul.

The home's kitchen offers a glimpse into the warmth of daily life shared by Frida and Diego Rivera. Bright yellow walls, traditional pottery, and handwritten recipes create a vivid picture of the couple's domestic world.

One wall even displays a recipe for mole, one of Mexico's most beloved dishes, offering a reminder that Casa Azul was first and foremost a family home.

You can also walk through common areas including a study where Diego worked.

Night Time Bedroom

Due to the bus accident, Frida suffered with lifelong pain that kept her bedridden for long periods of time. For this reason, the home has a daytime bedroom where Frida could lie down and paint (as mentioned above), as well as this night time bedroom decorated with overhead butterflies that were a gift from Isamu Noguchi (who was rumored to have had an affair with Frida).

Regarding her ongoing physical challenges, in one poem Frida wrote:

"To wait with hidden anguish

my spine broken and my gaze broad

Unable to walk on the great pathway

Moving through life

fenced in by steel."

Frida's Studio

Even when the pain would dissipate, she would often use a wheelchair to help her get around, as walking proved difficult much of the time. Frida's wheelchair, paints, an easel gifted to her by Rockefeller and the mirror she used to paint self portraits are preserved in the studio pictured above. They are in the same state in which she left them.

Frida's Fashion

Even Frida's fashion was influenced by her physical pain.

The corsets she was so famously known for wearing, were created to hold her spine in place and alleviate pain inducing pressure.

If you are in Coyoacán, I recommend a stop at the Frida Kahlo museum. My visit gave me a new appreciation for Frida as a person, as well as an artist.

Churros

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After an emotionally heavy visit to Casa Azul, a stop for churros felt appropriate.

Just a short walk away sits Churros Jordan, where fresh churros have been made for nearly four decades. The process is visible from the street — batter extruded directly into hot oil, pulled at exactly the right moment, rolled in cinnamon sugar while still crackling with heat. The exterior shatters when you bite in. The interior is soft and just barely doughy, with enough resistance to remind you these are made from something real rather than pre-frozen. They come with a cup of thick drinking chocolate that is less sweet than you expect and more intense than you are prepared for.

The only churros I've had that were better came from Madrid's Chocolatería San Ginés, which has been making them since 1894. That is very high company, and Churros Jordan belongs in it.

UNAM

Our final destination was the National Autonomous University of Mexico, better known as UNAM.

Even if you have no connection to the university, it is worth visiting. The campus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest examples of twentieth-century modernist architecture anywhere in the world.

 

La Universidad, La Familia y El Deporte en México

“La Universidad, La Familia y El Deporte en México” Mural

What makes UNAM particularly remarkable is the integration of art and architecture. Throughout the campus, massive murals transform ordinary buildings into cultural landmarks.

At the Olympic Stadium stands Diego Rivera's unfinished mural, "La Universidad, La Familia y El Deporte en México," one of the last major works of his career.

The most breathtaking work, however, is found on the Central Library.

Created by Juan O'Gorman, the enormous mosaic covers the entire exterior of the building. Unlike most murals, it is not painted. Instead, it is composed entirely of naturally colored stones gathered from across Mexico.

From a distance, the building resembles a gigantic illustrated history book. Up close, the scale and craftsmanship are astonishing.

By the end of the day, Coyoacán had become one of my favorite parts of Mexico City.

Where the historic center showcases the grandeur of Mexico's past and neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa embody its contemporary energy, Coyoacán feels more intimate. It is a place where history, art, architecture, and everyday life intersect in a way that feels uniquely Mexican.

Whether you come for Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul, the murals of UNAM, the colonial churches, or simply to wander its cobblestone streets, Coyoacán rewards curiosity.

And although my time exploring Mexico City by land was coming to an end, my adventures were not. Next, I'll leave the streets behind for the canals of Xochimilco and the skies above Teotihuacán, where one of the most unforgettable experiences of the entire trip awaited.

Practical Information

Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul): Book tickets in advance at museofridakahlo.org.mx — this is one of the most visited sites in Mexico City and frequently sells out days ahead. Photography inside the house is restricted; exterior and garden photography is permitted. Allow two hours minimum.

Churros Jordan: No reservation needed. Arrive early — the line builds through the morning. Cash preferred. A few minutes' walk from Casa Azul on Calle Aguayo.

UNAM Campus: Free to visit. The Juan O'Gorman library mosaic is visible from the exterior at any hour. The campus is large — allow at least two hours if you want to explore beyond the library and stadium. Take the Metro to Universidad station or use Uber.

Getting to Coyoacán: Metro to Viveros or Coyoacán station, or Uber from anywhere in the city. Allow a full day — the neighborhood rewards wandering.