Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul)

Nothing is absolute.
Everything changes,
everything moves,
everything revolves,
everything flies and goes away.
—Frida Kahlo

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that one woman’s house every year competes with the National Museum of Anthropology for the title of “most visited museum” in Mexico City. And yet, here we are.

The Frida Kahlo Museum is at 247 Calle Londres in the colonia Del Carmen of Coyoacán. The property belonged to the Kahlo family since 1904 and four years after the painter’s death, in 1958, it was converted into a museum.

Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo – Hungarian-German by birth – had the house built in 1904. The historian Beatriz Scharrer, “in the style of the time: a central courtyard surrounded by all the interior rooms, and the exterior totally French.”

The home was the meeting place for many of the great personalities who lived or met with Diego and Frida. Among them, Leon Trotsky, Henry Moore, Remedios Varo, and André Breton.

The House as Museum

It’s not just the personal nature of Kahlo’s work that drives the current fascination with her life and her person. The Casa Azul lets visitors discover more of the deep relationship between Kahlo and Rivera, how they lived, and how they perceived the times in which they lived.

The kitchen has been preserved in its original condition, and remains an important part of the entire house. All the objects within it, including dinnerware and cookware, reflect the impact of Mexican culture on the artists’ daily lives.

While the largest and most important public collection of Kahlo’s original works is at the Dolores Olmedo Museum, the Casa Azul remains exceptionally popular because the artist’s work is not just about paintings.

The purchase of tickets in advance is highly recommended, in part, because the museum is so very well-attended.

Guests often combine a trip to the Frida Kahlo Museum with a visit to the center of Coyoacán or to the market, both of which are within easy walking distance.

The Southbound Turibus stops at the corner of Calle Tres Cruces, one block west of the museum, on the southbound route. North-bound Turibus will stop outside of the museum (or very nearly).

The Capital Bus Center-South Route stops here between its two stops in the Coyoacán Center. From  Coyoacán, buses continue to San Ángel and then south to the UNAM CU campus.