Attraction

1. Museo Maya de Cancún

Maya archaeology museumZona Hotelera

INAH's Maya museum in the Hotel Zone, opened in 2012, with Quintana Roo's key archaeological finds and the San Miguelito ruins in its grounds.

View details — Museo Maya de Cancún

Attraction

2. Museo Nacional de Antropología

Archaeology and anthropology museumChapultepec Polanco

Mexico's national museum of archaeology and anthropology, a 1964 building in Chapultepec whose 23 halls hold the Sun Stone and treasures from every Mesoamerican culture.

View details — Museo Nacional de Antropología

Attraction

3. MUSA Museo Subacuático de Arte

Underwater sculpture museumPunta Nizuc and Isla Mujeres reefs

More than 500 life-size underwater sculptures on the seabed off Cancún and Isla Mujeres, seen by snorkelling, diving or from a glass-bottom boat.

View details — MUSA Museo Subacuático de Arte

Attraction

4. Templo Mayor

Archaeological site and museumCentro Histórico

The excavated remains of the Aztecs' great twin temple in Tenochtitlan, beside the Zócalo, with a site museum built around the giant Coyolxauhqui stone found in 1978.

View details — Templo Mayor

Attraction

5. Palacio de Bellas Artes

Arts centre, theatre and museumCentro Histórico

Mexico City's great palace of the arts, begun in 1904 and opened in 1934, with murals by Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros and a Tiffany glass stage curtain.

View details — Palacio de Bellas Artes

Attraction

6. Zona Arqueológica El Rey

Maya archaeological siteZona Hotelera

A small Maya settlement in Cancún's Hotel Zone, run by INAH, where house platforms, altars and traces of murals line an ancient north-south avenue.

View details — Zona Arqueológica El Rey

Attraction

7. Castillo de Chapultepec

Historic castle and history museumBosque de Chapultepec

An 18th-century hilltop castle in Chapultepec forest, once home to Emperor Maximilian and later presidents, now the National Museum of History with terraces over the city.

View details — Castillo de Chapultepec

Attraction

8. Zona Arqueológica El Meco

Maya archaeological sitePuerto Juárez

A quiet Postclassic Maya site north of downtown Cancún, where El Castillo rises over a ceremonial plaza and a fig tree grows out of a temple.

View details — Zona Arqueológica El Meco

Attraction

9. Museo Frida Kahlo

House museumCoyoacán

The Casa Azul in Coyoacán where Frida Kahlo was born and died, kept with her studio, kitchen, garden and clothes; tickets are sold online only.

View details — Museo Frida Kahlo

Attraction

10. Playa Delfines and El Mirador

Public beach and viewpointZona Hotelera

Cancún's best-known free public beach, a long open stretch with no hotels on the sand and the colourful CANCÚN letters on the lookout above.

View details — Playa Delfines and El Mirador

Attraction

11. Catedral Metropolitana

CathedralCentro Histórico

The seat of the Archdiocese of Mexico on the north side of the Zócalo, built between 1573 and 1813, with the gilded Altar of the Kings and the baroque Sagrario.

View details — Catedral Metropolitana

Attraction

12. Playa Langosta

Calm public beachZona Hotelera

A sheltered public beach on the northern arm of the Hotel Zone, facing the Bahía de Mujeres, with shallow, calm water suited to children.

View details — Playa Langosta

Attraction

13. Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe

Basilica and pilgrimage siteVilla de Guadalupe

Mexico's great pilgrimage shrine at the foot of Tepeyac hill, where the 1976 basilica displays the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe beside the older baroque churches.

View details — Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe

Attraction

14. Playa Gaviota Azul

Public beachPunta Cancún

A free public beach at Punta Cancún, reached by an alley between Coco Bongo and Mandala Beach, with the Hotel Zone's nightlife strip a few steps away.

View details — Playa Gaviota Azul

Attraction

15. Museo Soumaya Plaza Carso

Art museumNuevo Polanco

A free private art museum in Nuevo Polanco, opened in 2011, whose six levels run from Old Masters and Impressionists to a top-floor hall of Rodin sculpture.

View details — Museo Soumaya Plaza Carso

Attraction

16. Parque Kabah

Urban nature reserveSupermanzana 53

A 41-hectare patch of protected jungle in mainland Cancún, open daily from early morning, with paths, a small museum, a Maya-style house and play areas.

View details — Parque Kabah

Attraction

17. Casa Luis Barragán

Architect's house museumTacubaya

The 1948 home and studio of architect Luis Barragán in Tacubaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited on booked tours, preserved as he left it in 1988.

View details — Casa Luis Barragán

Attraction

18. Parque Nacional Isla Contoy

Island national park and bird sanctuaryIsla Contoy

An uninhabited island bird sanctuary 30 km north of Isla Mujeres, limited to 200 visitors a day and reached only on authorised boat tours.

View details — Parque Nacional Isla Contoy

Attraction

19. Museo Anahuacalli

Pre-Hispanic art museumSan Pablo Tepetlapa, Coyoacán

Diego Rivera's dark volcanic-stone temple to pre-Hispanic art in southern Coyoacán, opened in 1964 and holding about 2,000 pieces from his collection.

View details — Museo Anahuacalli

Attraction

20. Parque de las Palapas

Town square and parkSupermanzana 22, Downtown

Downtown Cancún's main gathering place, a park in Supermanzana 22 where families come for snacks, crafts and events, renovated by the city in 2023-24.

View details — Parque de las Palapas