I made plans to visit Museo Frida Kahlo because it’s been noted as a popular place in Mexico City to visit, but leading up to the trip and even the day before our visit, I wasn’t convinced. I heard about the long lines even if you had already bought a ticket. I read accounts saying the place was overrated. I learned from other travelers that the museum didn’t feature a lot of her art.

I hadn’t thought the museum would have an impact on me, and I hadn’t planned to write its own post about it before visiting. But here we are. Read on for more thoughts!

Museo Frida Kahlo Tickets, Lines, and Audio Guides

The museum opened at 10 a.m. on a Sunday and we arrived at 9:45 a.m. to get into an already growing line. There were two lines. On the left is the line for people with tickets and the right is the line for people without tickets. We had bought our 10:30 a.m. entrance tickets online in advance, which is highly recommended unless you want to wait in the ticket-less line for at least two hours. The ticket-less line works as standby, letting people through based on how many who have already bought tickets show up. We saw plenty of people show up, figure out they were out of luck, and leave.

Tickets are $235.40 pesos ($11.50 USD) and you can purchase one for a specific day and time two months in advance. I couldn’t get a credit card to work on their website but a debit card worked fine. Be sure to bring a print out of your ticket.

If you want to take photos with any type of camera (even phones) inside, you’ll pay $30 pesos ($1.47 USD) at the entrance and they’ll give you a special sticker.

They also have audio guides for $75 pesos ($3.66 USD) available at the entrance. They have detailed panels in English and Spanish throughout the museum that gave plenty of information. The audio guide would have provided even more details but I learned a lot at the museum without it.

Frida Kahlo, Artist

I wouldn’t say I was a strong Frida Kahlo admirer. I knew she was a Mexican artist famous for her self-portraits. I knew feminists rallied around her. I knew she married artist Diego Rivera. I knew she had an eclectic, bohemian style.

I didn’t know her life had so much physical pain. She had polio as a child that left one leg shorter and thinner than the other. She was nearly killed in a bus accident at 18 years old. She was impaled through her pelvis and had fractures in her ribs and legs. Her injuries caused her physical and mental pain throughout the rest of her life. She turned to paintings as a way to discover a new passion and she expressed her emotions in her paintings, especially those of wanting to be free from pain and constraints.

Even with her pain, she didn’t seem to care what others thought when it came to what she wore, did, or believed in. She was a fashionista. If you picture Frida Kahlo in your mind, it’s likely similar to how most people picture her. Braids on top of her head, colorful jewelry, long skirts. One exhibit in the museum features her clothing and accessories, highlighting how she honored her culture and made political statements. She decorated her corsets with political symbols. She wore mixed patterns and statement pieces.

La Casa Azul and How She Lived

The museum is La Casa Azul, where Frida was born, grew up, and lived the last 13 years of her life. (She died at 47 years old.)

The museum takes you through room after room. The first two rooms you go through are galleries of her art with a few unfinished pieces. The next rooms are art she collected and photographs taken of her by her photographer father and photographer friends. Throughout the museum you’ll see art she collected or was gifted by artist friends and admirers.

After visiting the museum, I realized that much of the museum’s focus was about how she lived. Her life was considered art and we have come to hold every piece of her life as an inspiration. Can you imagine your life being immortalized by the books on your shelf, the trinkets on your dresser, and the art on your walls?

One of my favorite parts of the museum was the kitchen. This colorful room seemed like a place I’d want to cook with my family and host friends at the table.

It was strange walking around the house, imagining what Frida Kahlo’s life was like and analyzing her every possession. Much of it was left as it was when she died (as they say). Her studio had a mirror used for her self-portraits.

Her ashes are held in the brown toad-shaped urn in her bedroom. No big deal. Read all the description signs carefully and you’ll find interesting details.

Should You Visit Museo Frida Kahlo?

While the museum shows some dark and painful sides of her life, it also omits details to put more focus on the beauty Frida’s life evoked. The museum honors her life, her artistry, the importance she has in Mexico, and her romantic relationship with Diego Rivera (minus the hard times in their relationship and all the affairs both of them had). It perpetuates the “Fridamania” after her death caused by the fascination with her life, the recognition her art has received, and the idealization we’ve held of her as a fighter and a tragic hero.

Visiting the museum was a unique way to get to know Frida Kahlo, and I left feeling very inspired by her life and the art of her life. I can see why she is so dear to Mexico. That said, while the museum made me intrigued by the impact she has had, Boyfriend was indifferent to the museum.

If you’re interested in Frida Kahlo as an artist, have a few hours to spare, and are able to get tickets ahead of time, it’s worth a visit. Maybe it’ll inspire your artistic side or make you re-examine the details of your life.

Near the Frida Kahlo Museum

The museum is in the Coyoacán neighborhood, south of downtown and about a 15-20 minute drive. A few blocks away is the Coyoacán market where you’ll find souvenirs and food stalls. Nearby the market you’ll find the main square with the Coyoacán Cathedral and a line of bustling restaurants. It’s a nice neighborhood to walk around in.

Conclusion

After a 30-minute wait in line, we spent about an hour walking through the museum. It was a perfect, slow morning activity in our bustling weekend in Mexico City and I’m glad we did it!

Museo Frida Kahlo
Entrance fee: $235.40 pesos ($11.50 USD)
Highly recommended to buy tickets online ahead of time
Website: http://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/

P.S. Did you see my post about another popular Mexico City sight – Teotihuacan?

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One of the most riveting art pieces I’ve ever seen involved a naked man playing his guitar while taking a bath.

That man, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, also happens to be the creator of The Visitors, the riveting art piece. It’s an installation video art piece that features nine different videos playing simultaneously on different screens. Each video features an artist or musician, located inside a different part of the same house, playing their part in the performance of a song. The 64-minute performance repeats the words “Once again, I fall into my feminine ways.” You can watch a snippet of it to get an idea of the set-up (here’s one the San Francisco Museum of Art made), but it is nothing compared to walking around the dark room, catching glimpses of each person’s performance and being surrounded by the haunting song.

Ragnar Kjartansson’s art varies by medium and many feature repetitive performances, showcasing artists’ endurance and providing the audience a strange and cathartic experience. My experience with The Visitors captivated me and was the main reason why I knew I would be seeing The Contemporary Austin’s latest exhibit.

S.S. Hangover featured a hand-painted and restored Icelandic fishing boat, a captain, and a six-piece brass band playing a dreamy, elegant looping tune over a few hours. At The Contemporary Austin’s Laguna Gloria location by the lake, the boat was towed to the middle of the lagoon and anchored for the performance, each set about an hour.

The exhibit didn’t move me as much as The Visitors did, but it enticed the audience to stop, listen, and focus. Hearing the slow repetition, you wonder if there will be more than this melody. Pulling in a metaphor about life, maybe there isn’t more than this simple tune, but it asked you to slow down and enjoy the moment for what it is. The performance could be a basis for meditation, and if you let go enough, you’d find something you weren’t expecting.

Coming to see S.S. Hangover was the perfect opportunity to wander the museum, especially since it was a perfect spring day in Austin. The Contemporary Austin has a handful of permanent and visiting exhibitions at its sculpture park at Laguna Gloria. (Pictured below are Elmgreen & Dragset’s Watching on the far left and Ai WeiWei’s Iron Tree Trunk on the far right.)

Laguna Gloria is a beautiful historic landmark with lake views, the Driscoll Villa, and a short trail with sculptures to discover along the way. Walking along the trails is an ideal way to see art, and map in hand, it felt like a treasure hunt.

My favorite sculpture there is a permanent exhibit called Water Woman by Wangechi Mutu. It also looks beautiful from behind because she looks out into the lagoon.

The whimsical sculpture of Crying Miffy by Tom Sachs is fun. Miffy came from a children’s book and later became a cartoon character on TV and in a movie.

Liam Gillick’s Raised Laguna Discussion Platform is a colorful exhibit near the water.

Art challenges what you know and think. Some art pieces don’t speak to me or I don’t understand them, but I can appreciate the imagination of the artist and his courage to put ideas into the world. You never know what you’ll be drawn to, and it’s similar to specific chords or lyrics of a song or a mesmerizing dance performance.

Terry Allen’s Road Angel

Carol Bove

When I do like art pieces, it sparks my imagination. It makes me want to create. It reminds me that everyone is creative if she allows herself the time and space. (Photos of sculptures left to right: Paul McCarthy’s White Snow #3, Tom Friedman’s Looking Up, Monika Sosnowska’s The stairs.)

If you feel like you’re lacking creativity, go visit a new museum and see what you discover. In Austin, we’re lucky to have a handful of museums and art exhibits around town, and they are fairly accessible in location and cost. Austin appreciates and fosters art, and I hope that’s something residents and visitors take advantage of here!

What’s your favorite art piece you’ve discovered in your hometown or in your travels?

The Contemporary Austin
Two locations: Laguna Gloria (3809 West 35th Street, Austin, TX 78703) and Jones Center (700 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701)
Admission fee of $5 per adult covers entrance fee to both locations.
Website: https://www.thecontemporaryaustin.org/

P.S. Speaking of art, my other favorite pieces in Austin are Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin and James Turrell’s The Color Inside.

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Even though my favorite city in Spain was Barcelona, we saw amazing sights throughout our trip. Since we visited nine cities in the span of 2 weeks, we made sure to visit the must-see sights in those cities. Ten sights stand out as the most memorable of our trip.

1. La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
As I shared in my Barcelona post, La Sagrada Familia was a riveting sight of creativity and history. This is a must-see!

2. La Boqueria, Barcelona
When I go back to Spain, I want to indulge in fresh fruit more. That’s why La Boqueria, the market on La Rambla, is one of my favorites. I loved the fresh fruit and juices and all the food stalls.

3. Prado, Madrid
The Prado has an unbelievable number of famous masterpieces, and we spent a whole day indulging in it. Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez was my favorite, and I also loved several pieces by Rubens, Bosch, El Greco and Goya. Art history fans will love this museum.

4. La Mezquita, Córdoba
Not only does the La Mezquita have a beautiful, expansive and unique interior, but the history behind the interior fascinated me. It was built as a medieval Islamic mosque and then converted into a Catholic Christian cathedral.

5. Real Maestranza Bullring and Museum, Sevilla
I was hoping to see a bullfight because it is a traditional part of the Spanish culture but in actuality, I’m not sure I would have handled seeing the goriness! Since our schedules didn’t line up to see one, the bullring and museum in Sevilla was the next best thing. Sevilla and Madrid are the two most popular and passionate cities when it comes to bullfighting. We learned a detailed history and culture from our tour guide and we got to see behind the scenes, from where the bullfighters prayed before entering the ring to where the bulls were kept, in addition to the center stage.

6. La Casa del Flamenco, Sevilla
Another necessity in experiencing Spanish culture was a flamenco show. It’s a very emotional, technical and mesmerizing performance with singing, guitar, dance and handclaps.

7. La Alhambra, Granada
A palace and fortress, La Alhambra sits majestically above Granada. Islamic tradition, Arabic inscriptions and geometric patterns cover the interior. Room after room, La Alhambra is a place of details to discover and history to learn. Mirador de San Nicolas is a lookout point across town that gives a fantastic view of La Alhambra, as seen in the night photo.

8. Cathedral de Toledo
We saw many, many cathedrals but the one in Toledo was my favorite. The interior is incredibly elaborate. The gothic-style altar depicts the story of Jesus’ life and the another section of the cathedral is a huge marble altar with sculptures of the Virgin and Child and natural light shining down on it.

9. Burriana Beach, Nerja
I LOVED our beach day and this beach was pretty perfect. Nerja is on the southern coast of Spain and touches the Alboran Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea. The water was chill and crisp, the sand was hot, the crowds were manageable and the food and drinks were plenty. Our beach day was towards the end of our trip and a welcome day of relaxation in between packed days of sight-seeing.

10. Teatro Kapital, Madrid
I debated my final favorite sight for a while because listing a nightclub with all of these other historical sights just seemed wrong. But, when it comes to unique, fun and memorable places we went in Spain, this makes the list. We knew Spain, especially Madrid, was known for a vibrant nightlife, but our packed daytime schedule left us little time and energy to really experience it. Plus, it wasn’t a priority for us. On the last night we were all together, we decided to see what it’s all about, and we ended up choosing Teatro Kapital. It had 8 stories with different themes/music on each and it was packed! It ended up being a very fun night and experience. Our group matching in black was a coincidence!

As you can imagine, we saw tons more on our trip. In two weeks, we visited at least 20 well-known sights, landmarks, attractions! In addition to what I listed above and in my Barcelona post, here are some other sights we saw:

Barcelona
-Gothic Quarter
-Museu Picasso

Segovia
-Cathedral de Segovia
-Alcazar of Segovia

Toledo
-Casa de Santa Cruz

Córdoba
-Los Patios de Alcazar Viejo

Sevilla
-World Exposition Park
-Real Alcazar
-Cathedral de Sevilla (inside is the Tomb of Christopher Columbus)
-Metropol Parasol

Granada
-Cathedral of Granada
-Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella

What’s your favorite landmark or attraction you’ve experienced in your travels?

Want to read more about my trip to Spain? Check out:
Barcelona: My Favorite City in Spain
Eating and Drinking Through Spain
7 Lessons Learned About Spain and Travel

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