3 Best Performing Arts Venues in Greater Mexico City, Mexico City

A sprawling campus of exceptional museums, art spaces, and performance halls in the heart of Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM's cultural center is an excellent place to see concerts by the superb Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (OFUNAM), which take place in the acoustically renowned Sala Nezahualcóyotl. Neighboring venues include the Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT), Foro Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Sala Carlos Chavez, and Filmoteca UNAM–Sala Miguel Covarrubias. Among these beautifully designed modern buildings, there's virtually always some sort of interesting performance (or several) taking place (except during occasional school breaks), including ballet, modern dance, choral, film, lecture, and theater. Tickets to performances are very reasonably priced. 

Situated a little east of Coyoacán and adjacent to Estudios Churubusco, CENART is the largest and most important film studio in Latin America. It was built in 1994 by a group of acclaimed Mexican architects led by Ricardo Legorreta, who clearly had Luis Barragán in mind with the design, which relies heavily on bright colors and geometric shapes. Created by the country's National Council for Culture and the Arts, the huge campus consists of performing arts schools and several venues, and there's virtually always something interesting going on, from dance and theater to music of all kinds. Check out the terrific bookshop and hip little café on-site, and during the day, take a stroll through the surrounding gardens and walking paths. There's also now a satellite branch of the famed indie film center, Cineteca, on the east edge of the campus.

Constructed in 1968 for basketball and volleyball games during the Mexico City Olympics, this massive arena relatively near the airport still hosts occasional sporting events but is best known as a venue for major music concerts. In recent years, Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, and Madonna have performed here.