5 Best Sights in Polanco and Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City

One of Mexico City's most well-known architectural icons, Museo Soumaya houses the valuable art collection of billionaire philanthropist Carlos Slim, as well as visiting exhibitions. The museum's Plaza Carso branch sits just beyond the edge of Polanco and contains sculptures by Rodin and Dalí and paintings from old masters to modernists and impressionists, including works from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, El Greco, Tintoretto, Monet, and Picasso. But there are also many Mexican artists represented, including Diego Rivera. Each floor of the museum has a different layout, and you walk along curving ramps (not unlike those in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City) to get from one floor to another. Designed by the Mexican architect Fernando Romero, Slim's son-in-law, the $70 million building has a shape some have likened to a silver cloud, and is covered by thousands of hexagonal aluminum tiles.

This Mexico City attraction has been a hit since it opened, attracting long lines of people eager to see the largest aquarium in the country. A visit to the site starts four stories underground, at the "bottom of the ocean," and moves upward toward the surface. Thousands of species of fish, sharks, rays, eels, jellyfish, and more swim among the ruins of a sunken ship, vibrantly colored coral, and gracefully swaying kelp, all dramatically lit in huge tanks. The "rain forest" exhibit is home to reptiles and amphibians such as Mexico's endangered, curious-looking ajolote salamander.

Founded in 1988 by Alfredo Ginocchio as Praxis Mexico, this now-eponymous gallery promotes distinguished work from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Its relatively small but interesting collection features a different artist every couple of months, alongside a variety of sculptures and paintings by familiar names including Santiago Carbonell.

Founded by an heir to the Jumex juice fortune, this contemporary art museum is located just across the way from the Museo Soumaya, and though the subdued travertine building that houses it is not as eye-popping as Carlos Slim's shiny silver cloud next door, the exhibition design of the Jumex is arguably superior. Shows draw from the museum's 2,700-strong collection, which includes boldfaced names like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and Andy Warhol, as well as temporary exhibitions of work by international contemporary artists. There's also an on-site café and store.