Ciudad Universitaria on Foot: UNAM's Murals, Museums and the Lava Field

Start with the murals

Why it's here. The University Museum of Sciences and Arts sits on the central campus, a few minutes' walk from the buildings that made Ciudad Universitaria famous. Come early and walk around them before you go in: the Central Library, covered on all four sides by Juan O'Gorman's stone mosaic, and the Rectorate tower, with Siqueiros's mural on its side.

Don't miss.

• The Central Library's mosaic, one of the most photographed buildings in the city.
• Siqueiros's mural on the Rectorate tower.
• Inside the museum, its exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.

Plan for about an hour in the museum, plus as long as you like on the campus.

Nearby. Across Insurgentes is the University Olympic Stadium, with Diego Rivera's relief over the entrance.

Next: head south to the University Cultural Center, about 2 km. Walk through the campus or take the Pumabús.

Contemporary art on the lava

Why it's here. MUAC is UNAM's contemporary art museum, a glass-fronted building by Teodoro González de León that opened in 2008. Its nine galleries hold some of the most ambitious contemporary art exhibitions in the country, along with a room built for sound installations.

Don't miss.

• Whatever exhibitions are on: MUAC changes its galleries several times a year.
• The Sound Experimentation Space, designed for artists to work with sound.

Plan for about two hours.

Nearby. The Espacio Escultórico, a huge ring of concrete blocks around an open field of lava, is a short walk away in the same cultural center. It's one of the best places to see the Pedregal up close.

Next: the Biodiversity Pavilion is about 400 m away.

All of Mexico's life in six rooms

Why it's here. Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth, and this pavilion is devoted to that: six permanent rooms on its ecosystems and species, how human societies have changed them, and the points of no return in environmental damage.

Don't miss.

• The permanent rooms, which explain what makes Mexico so biodiverse.
• The research side of the building: the pavilion is also a working space for UNAM scientists.

Plan for about an hour.

Next: Universum is next door, about 300 m away.

The university's science museum

Why it's here. Universum is UNAM's science museum, with seventeen rooms that go from physics and chemistry to the brain, the ocean and the universe. It's made for touching, so it's the best stop on the route for children.

Don't miss.

• The José de la Herrán planetarium.
• The Mathematical Imaginary room.
• The children's area, if you're traveling with little ones.

Plan for two hours or more.

See also. Universum is also on our Banorte Stadium route, if you're in the area for a match.

Next: walk about 1.2 km south to Cuicuilco, crossing Insurgentes.

The city the volcano buried

Why it's here. Cuicuilco was one of the first cities in the Valley of Mexico, long before Teotihuacan. Its great circular platform, often called a pyramid, is one of the oldest large structures in the region. The eruption of the Xitle volcano, roughly two thousand years ago, covered the area in lava, and that same lava field is the ground the university stands on.

Don't miss.

• The circular platform, and the layer of lava you can still see around it.
• The site museum, with objects excavated here, including skulls with deliberate cranial shaping.

Plan for about an hour.

To end the day. If you still have energy, the old towns of Coyoacán and San Ángel are a short ride north: our Coyoacán to San Ángel walk starts there.