The contemporary-art museum in Plaza Carso, in a sawtooth-roofed David Chipperfield building facing the Soumaya, showing its own collection and strong touring exhibitions.
Current admission is on the museum's own ticket page.
Official tickets →Opens the museum's own website. Book on the official site; nothing is charged on this page.
Across the plaza from the silver Soumaya, the Museo Jumex hides its galleries under a row of sawtooth skylights, and the art inside changes every few months. This is the leading contemporary-art museum in the city, and it is not free, though it is cheap.
Jumex shows contemporary art, drawn from one of the most important private collections in Latin America and from major touring exhibitions. Because the program rotates, what hangs on the walls depends entirely on when you visit.
The collection was built by Eugenio Lopez Alonso, heir to the Jumex juice fortune, and it is strong in international contemporary names and in the conceptual art of the late twentieth century. The museum pairs its own holdings with ambitious loan shows, so a visit might land on a single-artist retrospective, a themed group exhibition, or a slice of the permanent collection. Checking the current show before you go is the difference between a great visit and a puzzling one.
David Chipperfield designed the building in pale travertine, and its sawtooth roof pulls even north light into the top-floor galleries. After the maximalist silver curves of the Soumaya opposite, the Jumex feels calm and precise, a quieter box built to let the art speak.
Jumex is not a free-entry museum, though the price is small. General admission is around 50 MXN, roughly $2.50, and entry is free on Sundays and for students and visitors under 15. You can pay at the door or through the museum's own site.
This is worth stating clearly, because the neighbouring Soumaya is free and the two are easy to confuse. At Jumex you do pay a modest fee, but the free-Sunday and free-student policies are the museum's own and open to everyone who qualifies, not the nationals-only rule that applies at the federal museums. For a contemporary museum of this standing, the admission is about as low as it gets.
There is no timed-entry pressure and rarely a long queue, so booking ahead is not usually needed. If a headline exhibition is running, weekends draw more people, and a weekday visit stays quiet.
An hour to ninety minutes suits most shows, since the galleries are focused rather than sprawling. The natural move is to combine Jumex with the free Soumaya directly across the plaza for a half-day of art at very little cost.
The two museums face each other across Plaza Carso, which turns them into an obvious pair: the Soumaya for old masters and Rodin, the Jumex for whatever is current in contemporary art. Between them, Plaza Carso has places to eat and sit, so the afternoon flows without a long walk.
Because the Jumex program changes, read up on the exhibition before you commit the trip out to Nuevo Polanco. A strong show here is one of the best contemporary-art experiences in Mexico City.
The Museo Jumex stands in Plaza Carso in Nuevo Polanco, directly opposite the Soumaya. The nearest Metro is San Joaquin on Line 7, about a ten to fifteen minute walk. It opens Tuesday to Sunday and closes on Mondays.
Because it shares the plaza with the Soumaya, the same trip reaches both. The table below covers the basics, and the current hours and the running exhibition are worth confirming on the museum's own site before you travel out.
| At a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where | Plaza Carso, Nuevo Polanco, opposite the Soumaya |
| Nearest Metro | San Joaquin (Line 7), about a 10 to 15 minute walk |
| Opening hours | Tuesday to Sunday; closed Mondays |
| Admission | Around 50 MXN; free Sundays, students and under-15s |
| Program | Rotating; check the current show before you go |
The best pairing is a few steps away, and the rest is a short ride downtown.
The Museo Soumaya across the plaza is free and open daily, the natural companion to a Jumex visit. For more art in the old city, the murals at the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the national collection at the Museo Nacional de Arte carry the story from muralism back through four centuries of Mexican painting.
Not for general admission, though it is cheap. Entry is around 50 MXN, about $2.50, and free on Sundays and for students and visitors under 15. The neighbouring Soumaya, which is free every day, is often confused with it.
No. Jumex opens Tuesday to Sunday and closes on Mondays. The free Museo Soumaya directly across Plaza Carso is open daily, including Mondays, if you are in Nuevo Polanco on a Monday.
Contemporary art, drawn from one of the most important private collections in Latin America and from major touring exhibitions. The program rotates every few months, so the experience depends on the show running when you visit.
About an hour to ninety minutes for most exhibitions. Pair it with the free Soumaya directly across Plaza Carso, and the two make an easy half-day of art in Nuevo Polanco at very little cost.
It sits in Plaza Carso in Nuevo Polanco, opposite the Soumaya. The nearest Metro is San Joaquin on Line 7, about a ten to fifteen minute walk, and the same trip reaches both museums on the plaza.
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