Mexico City

The National Anthropology Museum consists of permanent and temporary exhibitions of Mexican art, life and culture. Description texts and audio guides are available both in Spanish and in English making it easy for international travellers to learn about pre-Hispanic and contemporary history. Plan at least two hours to explore the thematic halls of this museum. There are enough exhibits to keep you coming back for days, though.

The Old Toy Museum of Mexico offers a vast, rambling and eclectic collection of toys spanning 4 floors. Everything from Barbie to old, rustic hand-made toys, plus a souvenir shop. The presentation appears random at first, but there is intent behind every composition — to peak your attention, overwhelm with the sheer amount of detail, surprise and pluck at the strings of your nostalgia. It's strange and wonderful and totally worth the admission.

The Museum of Folk Art in the historical center of CDMX promotes and preserves part of the Mexican handcrafts and folk art. The old fire house building is filled to the brim with textiles, pottery, glass, piñatas, alebrijes (brightly colored sculptures of fantastical creatures), furniture and much more. Great for a quick visit, but you could also spend hours here exploring all the minute details of artisanal works.

Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art is Mexico City's quintessential art museum where you get to see the genius of Rufino Tamayo plus whatever temporary exhibition is on at the moment. Rufino Tamayo was one of the most renowned artists of the second half of the twentieth century who sought to create paintings in "the Mexican tradition" while distancing himself from the political and nationalist movements. Another big draw of the museum is the brutalist building itself, designed by Teodoro González de León and Abraham Zabludovsky who drew their inspiration from pre-Hispanic architecture. The core of the Museo Tamayo's collection consists of more than 300 works by 170 artists. The collection includes examples of the most renowned artists of the second half of the 20th century.