Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts, in Mexico City

The Palace of Fine Arts is one of the flagship monuments of the centre of Mexico City, a sumptuous building of white marble with an Art Nouveau style on the outside and Art Deco on the inside. The Mexico City audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this great cultural centre that shelters frescoes by Diego Rivera, Tamayo and Siqueiros, and hosted the greatest artists, from Maria Callas to Frida Kahlo.

The white marble palace of the arts

Here you are in front of one of the flagship monuments of the city centre, the sumptuous Palace of Fine Arts. It took more than thirty years to build this masterpiece, of Art Nouveau style on the outside and Art Deco on the inside. Built from white marble imported from Italy, it shelters some of the greatest works of the country, notably monumental frescoes by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the great masters of Mexican muralism. Endowed with a vast performance hall, it has hosted over its history some of the greatest artists, including the singer Maria Callas or the famous painter Frida Kahlo, who exhibited her works there several times; it is moreover in this palace that her remains were watched over, at her death. It shelters, in addition to its performance hall with a glass curtain representing the volcanoes of the valley, the museum of the Palace of Fine Arts and the national museum of Architecture. It is thus a true cultural centre that you have here, revealing the works of Mexican artists, theatrical and musical performances, ballets and pieces of architecture that retrace the history of the city. Its light silhouette, capped with ceramic domes, is reflected in the neighbouring pools and stands out against the sky of the capital. An emblematic monument and a temple of the arts, the Palace of Fine Arts is a fine stop of the discovery of Mexico City.

What to see

Here you admire one of the flagship monuments of Mexico City, a sumptuous palace of white marble, Art Nouveau on the outside and Art Deco on the inside, whose construction lasted more than thirty years; it shelters monumental frescoes by Diego Rivera, Tamayo and Siqueiros, a great performance hall with a glass curtain and the museums of Fine Arts and Architecture, and hosted Maria Callas and Frida Kahlo. The Palace of Fine Arts is the temple of the arts of Mexico City. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Palace of Fine Arts lies on the edge of the Alameda Central, in the heart of Mexico City, reachable on foot or by metro. You admire its façade and its domes from the outside; the museums and the performance hall can be visited according to the hours and conditions in force, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

What to see at the Palace of Fine Arts of Mexico City?

Its monumental frescoes signed by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the great masters of muralism, as well as its great performance hall with a glass curtain representing the volcanoes of the valley, and the museums of Fine Arts and Architecture; built in white marble, Art Nouveau outside and Art Deco inside, this palace also hosted Maria Callas and Frida Kahlo.

Where is the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City?

On the edge of the Alameda Central, in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City, in Mexico.