A visitor’s guide to the enchanting Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City

Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as La Casa Azul (The Blue House) is one of the most visited museums in Mexico. I am not Mexican but when I was young, my mother would always dress up like Frida and have Frida-themed parties with her friends.

I always wondered who this person was and why the world imitates her extremely strange outfits and flowers around their head.

Where I am from, this is a very popular Halloween costume. Even though people have no idea who Frida was, her portrait is famous in my country – an image of love, art, fear, suffering, and the joy of being alive.

Finally, I moved to Mexico and was able to visit the Frida Kahlo blue house. In this guide, I will share with you some of my experiences including Frida’s colorful life history.

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???? Frida Kahlo Museum history

Born in 1907 in La Casa Azul in Mexico City, Frida is considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists. The blue house was built by his father Guillermo Kahlo in 1904 and this is where Frida grew up and died.

During the Mexican Revolution, the Kahlo family was financially challenged and they were not able to pay the mortgage, including Frida’s medical care.

This is when Frida’s husband, Diego Rivera came into the picture. He purchased the home which paid off the mortgage and debt that Frida’s father accumulated, both in building the house and paying for Frida’s accident.

At age 6, Frida contracted polio which crippled her right leg. It grew shorter than her left leg which made her limp.

When Frida was 18, the bus she was riding collided with a trolley car which made her paralyzed for most of her life.

As she experienced poor health at a very young age, Frida’s revolutionary work inspired many of us today – that one’s life should not stop because of these ‘pains.’

Frida continued to live the life she always imagined by doing what she loved most: art. Little did she know that one day, she will be a big icon not just in Mexico but all over the world.

Inside the Frida Kahlo house

Frida Kahlo’s house is exaggeratedly blue, an iconic color in Mexico. There is a massive courtyard with a souvenir shop with seating areas surrounded by plants.

But part of this visit that I enjoyed the most was Frida’s collection of clothes. You’ve seen how Frida expressed herself through her clothing. This is called Tehuana traditional clothing, a fascinating matriarchal society based in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca State, Mexico.

The name Tehuantepec was given by the Aztecs. It signifies the corridor of land on which the people reside.

For Frida Kahlo, the Tehuana traditional dress is not only an object that she adopted to her body to hide her imperfections but something she fused with and wore like a second skin.

The Tehuana matriarchal society is administrated and dominated by women, and as such, their traditional attire is a strong symbol of female power and independence.

It has been said that Frida adopted this image to please her husband, Diego Rivera who was fond of the powerful Zapotec women from this region of Mexico.

Nonetheless, this exhibition of Frida’s dresses proposes that far from being a simple act of love, her use of a hybrid dress was a calculated stylization.

Frida Kahlo was able to perceive the semiotic quality of clothing, which lies within its role as a metaphorical vehicle, and is also easily understood by the eye of the onlooker.

Frida’s use of this traditional dress to strengthen her identity, reaffirm her political beliefs, and conceal her imperfections also built on her own sense of heritage and personal history.

These wardrobes were only discovered in La Casa Azul in April 2004. It was hidden in the upper part of the house, in a tiled bathroom adjacent to Frida’s room.

Her clothes were kept for more than 50 years at the request of her husband, muralist Diego Rivera. Around 300 dresses and jewelry, including her orthopedic wardrobes were discovered.

Another interesting thing is the display of her orthopedic devices in the Frida Kahlo Museum. Below is a text by author Hayden Herrera, published Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo.

Disability: a body less than perfect

Frida started identifying clothes as tools to create her own identity and conceal her physical imperfections at a very early age.

Two tragedies that were to befall Frida, even before she reached what is today considered the age of adulthood, would inform her wardrobe as much as they were to later form the bedrock of her existence and her art.

At the age of 6, Kahlo contracted polio: “it all started with a terrible pain at the upper part of my right leg.” As a result, she was left with a withered and shorter leg for life.

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???? Frida Kahlo Museum visitor’s guide

Where to buy Frida Kahlo museum tickets

I purchased the tickets online because the tickets sold at the ticket booth in the museum itself are limited. Meaning, if you go there without a ticket reservation, there is a 95% chance that you won’t get in.

The line at the Frida Kahlo Museum is ridiculously long. When facing La Casa Azul, you will see 2 lines: the left side is for people who are waiting and the right for those who have reservations either from tour agencies or third-party ticket sellers.

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Booking Frida Kahlo Museum tickets

They said they don’t sell tickets online to ensure the conservation of the artworks but when I was already inside, there were really a lot of people but enough space to walk around.

If you want to purchase tours, you can check the packages above, which also include nearby Xochimilco and Coyoacan tours.

You don’t need a whole day in the Frida Kahlo Museum so it’s better to mix it with other tours.

How much do Frida Kahlo museum tickets cost?

Below are the prices for weekdays:

• $230 MXN ($12 USD) general admission/foreigners
• $100 MXN $(5.26 USD) for Mexican citizens with an official ID
• $45 MXN ($2.37 USD) for Teachers and students with valid ID
• $20 MXN ($1.05 USD) for Elementary and high school students
• $20 MXN ($1.05 USD) for Senior citizens 65 years old and above

Weekend prices are different so please refer to the list below:

• $270 MXN ($14.20 USD) general admission/foreigners
• $130 MXN ($6.84 USD) for Mexican citizens with an official ID
• $50 MXN ($2.63 USD) for Teachers and students with valid ID
• $25 MXN ($1.32 USD) for Elementary and high school students
• $25 ($1.32 USD) for Senior citizens 65 years old and above

Frida Kahlo Museum offers free entrance to children ages 6 and below, persons with a disability, and even people who want to see the museum but don’t have money to pay as long as they request it in advance.

Frida Kahlo Museum virtual tour

If you are not in Mexico City and you want to see the blue house, the museum also offers virtual tours where you can freely navigate the museum on your own!

Click here to view Frida’s house from the comforts of your home. It’s FREE!

????️ Top Frida Kahlo Museum tours

Many visitors wonder if they need to sign up for a tour to visit Frida’s house in Mexico City. You can definitely do it on your own but note that because of COVID, there is no guarantee that you will be able to enter.

To maximize the experience, it’s best if you combine it with other places to visit in Mexico City. See some suggestions below:

Xochimilco & Coyoacan Full-Day Tour with Frida Kahlo Museum

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Coyoacan is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Mexico City. I actually stayed here for a month but it didn’t work out long-term as all my projects are in the Roma/Condesa area.

This full tour combined with the blue house and Xochimilco starts from $35 USD per person which is actually a good value for the combined tour.

Teotihuacan and Frida Kahlo Museum Tour

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Teotihuacan is known to be the “City of the Gods.” It’s one of the most beautiful and historical places that I visited in this country because up until today, its discovery is still a mystery.

You will start the day in Teotihuacan as it is very hot to visit after midday. After which, you’ll proceed to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum in the afternoon.

???????? Is it worth visiting Frida Kahlo Museum?

I enjoyed the whole tour and the only negative thing I can say about it is that the number of people seemed to be uncontrolled.

They say that they are monitoring the people entering every hour and that there’s a certain number per day but I still found it very crowded inside.

I even missed the inside of the house because the line was just really long. On the other hand, the museum is worth visiting because, well, this is Frida’s house. That’s enough reason to visit!

✈️ Ready for your trip to Mexico City? If you need more information about the Frida Kahlo Museum, I’d be happy to update this post – just leave your questions below!