National Museum of Anthropology

Why go

within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from the pre-Columbian heritage of Mexico, such as the Piedra del Sol (the Aztec calendar stone) and the 16th-century Aztec statue of Xochipilli. Architecture Designed in 1963 by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Jorge Campuzano and Rafael Mijares, it has an impressive architecture with exhibition halls.

What to look for

• Notice how National Museum of Anthropology relates to the surrounding streets and skyline.
• Look for surviving details that reveal the site's principal historical layer.

The full story

surrounding a patio with a huge pond and a vast square concrete umbrella supported by a single slender pillar (known as el paraguas , Spanish for the umbrella ) around which splashes an artificial cascade. The halls are ringed by gardens, many of which contain outdoor exhibits. The museum has 23 rooms for exhibits and covers an area of 79,700 square meters (almost 8 hectares) or 857,890 square feet (almost 20 acres). Exhibits Opened in 1964 by President Adolfo López Mateos, the museum has a number of significant exhibits, such as the Stone of the Sun (depicted on the right), giant stone heads of the Olmec civilization that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz, treasures recovered from the Maya civilization, the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza, a replica of the sarcophagal lid from Pacal's tomb at Palenque and ethnological displays of contemporary rural Mexican life. It also has a model of the location and layout of the former Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, the site of which is now.

Useful to know

• Allow enough time to see National Museum of Anthropology and its immediate setting without rushing.
• Check current official access information before entering any managed interior.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.