Review: Xochimilco Canals & Frida Kahlo Museum Tour (Amigo Tours)

For my first proper trip to the current culinary and cultural hot-spot that is Mexico City, I made the conscious decision to see some of the city’s main attractions via tour rather than do it “on my own” as I would normally do.

This decision was made primarily for two reasons: safety and laziness. As I’m sure most people are well aware, Mexico – and Mexico City in particular – has had some serious safety issues in recent years. However, much of this has subsided recently and Mexico City is once again seeing a major influx of foreign tourists.

Review: Xochimilco Canals & Frida Kahlo Museum Tour (Amigo Tours)

Having already booked my first full day tour through Expedia (the Teotihuacan Pyramids & Guadalupe Shrine Full-Day Tour) with service provider Amigo Tours, I decided to continue my tour of Mexico City with another popular tour, the Xochimilco Canals & Frida Kahlo Museum Tour (again with Amigo Tours).

The Xochimilco Canals & Frida Kahlo Museum Tour would include a full day visiting the canals and museum, witht the added attractions of a visit to Coyoacan and the National Univeristy of Mexico.

The Pick-up and the Tour Bus:

There were three possible pick-up points for this tour, I chose the middle one at the NH Hotel. The tour rendezvous with other buses near the Historic Center of Mexico City.

The tour bus coach was a newish bus that was clean and appeared to be in good shape. It was very standard (which was a good thing)  as it came with working A/C, clean seats with overhead space and working window shades.

The Tour Guide(s):

Amigo Tours usually provides two tour guides, one for the English speakers and one for the Spanish speakers. That was the case on this tour. Both guides were college educated millennials, both were bilingual, and both were funny.

1st Stop: Coyoacan

Coyoacan means the “place of the coyotes”. Historically, this section of Mexico City has been historically important as the one time historic center and the headquarters of the Spanish Empire during the war with the Aztecs before that.

Later, Coyoacan was the home to the infamous artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Today, it is a popular hangout for tourists and locals alike. The neighborhood is an artsy enclave with lively nightlife filled with awesome cafes, bars, and restaurants.

Jardin Centenaria (Central Garden)

Fuente de los Coyotes (Fountain of the Coyotes)

Chocolate stuffed churros!

Parroquia San Juan Bautista

2st Stop: The Frida Kahlo Museum

Just walking distance from the central garden square is the infamous “blue house” which now houses the Frida Kahlo Museum. As this is the most popular part of this tour, I cover the Frida Kahlo Museum in depth in this separate post.

3rd Stop: The Xochimilco Canals

Xochimilco is a UNESCO World Heritage site and another extremely popular place to visit in Mexico City. Xochimilco is one of the oldest parts of the city, and is made up of the remnants of the once great lake and canal system upon which Mexico City was originally built.

Colorful gondola-like boats called “trajineras” dominate the canals, each large enough to hold entire families or large parties and a full Mariachi band!

Cocktails, beers, and lunch is also served on the trajineras from lunch boats passing by. I can honestly say the lunch was pretty good, as there was a large variety of food available – all made better with king-size micheladas to wash it all down!

4th Stop: The National University of Mexico

After a big lunch we headed about 45 minutes north in traffic to the last stop of the day – the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria (or National University of Mexico in English), another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This was another quick stop, having about 30 minutes to walk the campus and take some pictures of the giant murals on the architecture.

The Central Library’s iconic mural the “Historical Representation of Culture” by Juan O’Gorman

The Drop-off:

The ride back to Mexico City from University took about 1 hour, which was perfect for a quick nap. This time, I asked to be dropped off at the Bosque de Chapultepec as I wanted to try the El Califa Reforma, a popular restauraunt I had heard so much about.

Yes, the food is bomb!

Yet another Mexican beer to love