Finding Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City

Besides being important Mexican artists, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were also compelling personalities with interesting public and private lives. The legends come to life when you visit these sites in Mexico City. You can learn more about them and their work, see the sites where their personal lives full of drama played out and get to know the places where they lived and see their art up close and in person.

These are the sites that no fan of Frida and Diego (or Mexican art in general) should miss on a visit to Mexico City.

01 of 07

Casa Museo Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo's family home in the southern Coyoacán borough of Mexico City is known as the Casa Azul, or "Blue House" (for reasons that will be obvious to any visitor). This was the Kahlo family home where Frida spent her childhood. She returned following her divorce with Diego in 1940, and remained until the end of her life in 1954. The home has been turned into a museum where visitors can admire many of the rooms in the state they were at the time of Frida's death, decorated in her unique style.

Londres 247, on the corner of Allende in Coyoacan. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.

02 of 07

Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

Diego Rivera House Museum — Benito Hernández

Designed by Mexican architect and painter Juan O'Gorman in 1931, this avant-garde home is made up of two separate houses which are joined by a walkway. Frida and Diego lived here between 1934 and 1940, and Rivera returned here to live after Frida's death. As one of the earliest examples of Mexican functionalist architecture, it is one of the architectural monuments of the area. The building houses temporary exhibits and also contains some of Rivera's art as well as some of the couple's personal belongings.

Diego Rivera 2, corner of Altavista in Colonia San Ángel Inn, Delegacion Álvaro Obregón. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

03 of 07

Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli

Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum — Benito Hernández

This museum houses Diego Rivera's extensive collection of Prehispanic art. The building was designed by Rivera in the form of a pyramid but was not completed until after his death. The name Anahuacalli means "house surrounded by water." The building's design is full of symbolism,with each of the levels representing a different plane of existence and containing mosaics and art referent to each one. Your ticket from the Frida Kahlo house museum gives you admission to this museum as well.

Calle Museo 150, Colonia San Pablo Tepetlapa, Delegacion Coyoacan. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

04 of 07

Palacio Nacional

The Palacio Nacional contains several walls of murals by Diego Rivera, entitled the "Epic of the Mexican People in their Struggle for Freedom and Independence," which depicts over two thousand years of Mexican history. He painted these murals in several different time periods, beginning in 1929 and finishing in 1935.

Palacio Nacional, east side of the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square. Open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday 9 am to 2 pm.

Continue to 5 of 7 below.

05 of 07

Secretaría de la Educación Pública

SEP Mural Frida Distributing Arms — Suzanne Barbezat

The building that houses the Ministry of Public Education contains many murals by Diego Rivera that he painted between 1923 and 1928. The murals cover three levels of the building and surround two patios. Be sure to make it to the top floor where you can see the mural pictured here that shows Frida as a young revolutionary distributing arms to the people.

Avenida Républica de Argentina 28 in the Historical Center, a few blocks north of the Zócalo. Open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

06 of 07

Museo Mural Diego Rivera

This is a small museum that was built specifically to house Rivera's mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park." The mural was originally painted on a wall in the Hotel Prado, which was damaged in the 1985 earthquake and later demolished and (in a feat of engineering) the mural was moved here. The mural is 45 feet long and 12 feet high and contains numerous historical figures.

Corner of Balderas and Colón in the Historical Center near Alameda Park. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

07 of 07

Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño

This museum houses a large selection of both Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's work. Located in the former home of Dolores Olmedo Patiño, who at one time posed for Diego Rivera, and later became his mistress and an important patron.

Avenida México 5843, Colonia La Noria, in Xochimilco. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.