So let’s look now at the Mérida museums, what they offer and how to find them. 

​

Museums in Mérida  – Centro & Plaza Grande

Palacio de Gobierno de Estado de Yucatán

The Government Palace is a working governmental building, however, the upstairs balcony and upper floor are dedicated to murals by artist Fernando Castro Pacheco (see below for information about a museum dedicated to his work) depicting the struggle of the Mayan people against not only the Spanish conquistadors but also later the Mexican ruling classes. Prepare to be extremely moved as you learn about the history of Mérida and Yucatán through these murals.

Museo Casa de Montejo

This restored colonial home was built in the mid 16th century at the orders of Francisco de Montejo, the Spanish conqueror of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is thought to be the oldest colonial house in Mérida.

This interesting museum consists of four rooms restored in the style of the late 19th century. There are also regular art exhibitions at the back of the museum that are a true highlight of the cultural scene in Mérida. 

I recommend that before you visit this Banamex restored house, you take a free walking tour and learn more about the fascinating history of the building and its facade.

📹 You can also watch a free video mapping on the house every 8.30 pm on Wednesdays

Palacio de la Musica

This modern building can’t be missed when you’re strolling around Mérida, so different is it from the buildings surrounding it.  Basically, this place is everything everyone needs in a museum: for the kids, there are buttons and screens aplenty and for the adults and music lovers, there is enough information and music to listen to that you can cope with the kids jabbing at things for hours. It is truly a great musuem. Visitors will really enjoy learning about the history of Mexican music. 

➕ If you’re exploring Mérida with children, you could use this scavenger hunt to make it more fun for them. 

Museo de la Ciudad de Mérida (Museum of the City of Merida)

This small museum, housed in the former post office, is well worth visiting. Downstairs has two rooms: one is a history of the city including an entertaining anecdote about why the region is called Yucatan but I will leave you to discover that little gem yourself.  The second room is an odd history of notable locals.

The next two floors are home to art exhibitions, some contemporary, some less so, all of it by local artists. There is a series of paintings by the bathrooms depicting Merida over the last 100 years or so.

Centro Cultural Municipal Olimpo

This is a modern cultural centre that is home to a planetarium, as well as art exhibitions and film screenings. There are plenty of free cultural events here but the building itself worth checking out too – with open-air courtyards and stunning arches, it’s really a special building.

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Fernando Garcia Ponce-Macay (Contemporary Art Museum of Mérida)

This free art gallery is housed in a former colonial palace next door to the city’s main cathedral on Plaza Grande. We eagerly await its reopening. Prior to closing, it was home to temporary exhibits of modern Mexican artists as well as a permanent exhibition by Fernando Garcia Ponce. 

There are regular interesting exhibitions in the Paseo de la Revolucion, the covered walkway between the cathedral and the art gallery. Even when the gallery is closed I recommend you check out what’s happening here. 

Pinacoteca de Juan Gamboa Guzman

This small museum exhibits paintings from the pre-Hispanic era to the 19th century. 

Filux Lab

This small gallery of light based exhibitions is well worth a visit.

Museo de la Gastronomía Yucateca (MUGY)

🍴 This is a restaurant rather than a museum but I believe there is a guided tour offered and if you’re interested in learning more about local foods then this is a great option. 

Museums in Mérida – Around Paseo de Montejo

Museo Regional de Antropología, Palacio Canton (Anthropology Museum)

This excellent museum is home to a  permanent collection pertaining to the region’s cultural heritage. The exhibitions on the top floor change regularly. The building itself is worthy of note: it is absolutely magnificent. Sadly you’re not permitted to explore the grounds or its beautiful gardens.

Quinta Montes Molina

This beautiful museum is a house has been deliberately kept in the style of its day. Take a step back in time to the early 20th century when henequen was making Mérida rich beyond its wildest dreams and the lucky few could afford to import treasures from Europe. 

The same family that built the house still own it. There is no hidden area for them so if the family are around, you see them too. 

Montejo 495 (Casas Gemelas)

One of these twin houses was opened to the public in 2021. Like the Casa Quinta Molina, touring this house will help you get a better idea of life in henequen rich Mérida. Note, there is no access to the upper floor granted.  

😢 The day I tried to visit I was alone with 5 children so to save my sanity & wallet I ended up not visiting.

Centro Cultural Fernando Castro Pacheo

This small gallery displays the gorgeous works of Fernando Castro Pacheo, a world renowned 20th century artist from Mérida (in fact, his works include the murals in the Mérida Palacio de Gobierno).

El Pinar

Built during the henequen boom between 1898 – 1904, this strangely iconic Mérida dolls’ house of a building has intrigued locals and visitors alike for many years. In 2024 it opened its doors to the public, allowing people to finally see inside.

Visits are with an extremely knowledgeable tour guide (in English or Spanish) who imparts information about both the history of the house and the lives of the families who lived there.

On the tour you’ll learn cool facts such as: every other chair around the 17th century table is lower than those next to it to accommodate the large wigs women wore during that period.

➕ Casa Manzanero – opposite El Pinar is this small museum dedicated to Armando Manzanero, a bolero singer, composer & pianist who was born in Mérida. The museum is located inside the Paseo 60 shopping centre.

➕ La Casona – this is a newly opened restaurant in a similarly historic house that’s easy to miss because it’s a little set back from the road. Good for a drink as you explore the city.

CACAOMEX

This is more of a tour of an artisan chocolate factory than a true museum. For a truly fabulous chocolate museum I recommend visiting the Museo Choco-Story outside Uxmal.

→ Read the MexicoCassie guide to Uxmal & Choco Story

Museums in Mérida – Parque de la Plancha

Museo de la luz (de la Universidad Autónoma de Mexico -UNAM) 

This small interactive Museum of Light is all about colour via science and art. The current main exhibition, Diálogo en la Oscuridad, really isn’t suitable for children. There are a few other rooms children can visit and explore.

Museo de los Ferrocarriles (Train Museum)

Mérida’s new Train Museum is a true testament to modern museums. It’s interactive, & the information is provided in different formats including audio, written, Braille, movies and fully interactive experiences. For me, the highlight was the truly beautiful and mesmerising video mapping room.

If you ever went to the original train museum you will recognise the train carriages that have been fully restored to their former beauty but you might have to choke back a sob that no more will kids get to experience the wild wonder of running amok though decrepit old trains, climbing on their roofs, pretending to be engine drivers and having a wild old time. Things change. 

➕ At one end of Parque de la Plancha, by the Universidad de las Artes de Yucatán you’ll find a delightful, small, sculpture garden to wander through.

Museums in Merida – Parque de La Mejorada

Museo de Arte Popular de Yucatan

​⭐️ Temporarily housing its exhibits in the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya

This small and sweet museum is well worth a visit if you are interested in learning more about traditional arts from around Mexico. 

Museo de la Canción Yucateca

The focus of this tiny little museum is Yucatecan musicians. Each room is about a couple of famous locals and the music they made. Their music was playing in the room, which was lovely but I have to admit that as a non-afficionado of local music, the museum meant very little to me.

Everything is in Spanish but my non-Spanish speaking mother was handed a pile of laminated papers in English to help her out.

Museums in Mérida – other excellent museums

Gran Museo del Mundo Maya de Merida (Mayan World Museum of Mérida)

⭐️ Note that in late January 2025 it was temporarily closed so please check the website before visiting

This stunning nest style building is the home of the Mayan cultural museum. If you have want to in better understand the Mayan culture and world, you can’t go wrong with this museum. The museum is modern and uses all sorts of different technologies to share Mayan history with visitors. It’s really a wonderful place to spend a few hours.

Museo Conmemorativo de la Inmigración Corean

This is a small museum with photos, documents and artefacts related to Korean life & history in Yucatán. It outlines how Koreans were brought to the Americas to work in the early 20th century. People were promised safe and well paid work but it soon transpired that this was not true.

Sadly, when I tried to visit in Dec 2024 it was closed for remodelling but I was assured it would be open again in early 2025. The staff were extremely kind and welcoming and I spent a fascinating hour chatting with them about the history of Korean people in the region. If you want to learn about another side of Yucatecan and Mexican history, I highly recommend visiting here. 

Museo de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum)

This tiny natural history museum next to Parque Centenario focuses on regional ecology and dinosaurs. If you’re hoping for a large and modern Natural History Museum, then you’ll be sadly disappointed but if you go in hoping for nothing more than passing 15 minutes looking at some well-meaning exhibits then it’ll do just fine.

In a similar vein:

🌟 In Progreso there is the Museo del Meteorito that’s a good option and on the way to Chuburna there’s the Museo de Ciencias Chicxulub but this is only open to guided tours booked in advance (send a WhatsApp to get details – 0052 990 157 8695)

Museo Paranormal

Other historical / cultural experiences around Mérida

Visit the Maya ruins 

There are numerous Maya ruins in and around Mérida that are visitable when you’re in town. Some, like Chichén Itzá, Uxmal and Dzibilchaltun are well known and easy to visit. Less famous ruins include Ake, Mayapan, Xcambo and more.

→ Learn more about the ruins around Mérida in the MexicoCassie Guide to Maya ruins in Yucatán

Visit haciendas

➡️ Sotuta de Peon is the most famous living museum in the region. Book yourself onto a tour of this amazing place to learn about Yucatán’s history during the henequen days in this excellent museum hacienda. The hacienda is about forty minutes from Mérida.

🏨 You could even book a night or two in the hotel here and make use of their gorgeous facilities.

➡️ Hacienda Yaxcopoil – book a tour of the grounds and history museum of the former hacienda Yaxcopoil.

➡️ Hacienda Mucuyuche – most people think of this as somewhere to swim in beautiful cenotes and while that’s true, part of its appeal is the excellent tour around the ruined hacienda grounds. Highly recommended. 

Other nearby museums towns worth your attention

Valladolid – Yucatán second city. This is a delightful place to visit and there are a few gorgeous, small museums to visit

→ MexicoCassie guide to Valladolid

Progreso  – the main beach town in Yucatán & port for cruise ships. The new Meteorite Museum here is interesting

→ MexicoCassie guide to Progreso

Campeche – a beautiful colonial city with incredible museums to explore

→ MexicoCassie guide to Campeche

Motul – a small pueblo magico just outside Mérida with a fascinating museum to famous Yucatecans Felipe and Elvira Puerto Carril

→ MexicoCassie guide to exploring the pueblos magicos of the Yucatán Peninsula

Santa Elena – there is a small but interesting Mummy Museum in this pueblo