Things to Do at Templo Mayor

Complete Guide to Templo Mayor in Mexico City

About Templo Mayor

Electrical workers found it in 1978 - a massive stone disc carved with the dismembered body of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui, buried under a colonial-era building steps from the Zocalo. They'd stumbled onto the main temple of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that the Spanish demolished and built Mexico City on top of. Today you walk on metal platforms above the excavated ruins, looking down into layers of civilization: seven successive temples built one on top of another over 200 years, each larger than the last. Admission is MXN 85 (free on Sundays for residents). The outdoor ruins take 30-40 minutes, but the attached museum is where the real shock lives. Eight halls organized by theme: death, war, tribute, agriculture. The tzompantli (skull rack) display - real skulls set in mortar - is genuinely chilling. The jade masks, obsidian knives, and sacrifice stones are displayed without sanitization. This museum does not make the Aztec empire cuddly. What most people miss: Room 3 on the upper floor contains the original Coyolxauhqui stone - the one that started the entire excavation. It's massive (3.25 meters across) and the carving detail is extraordinary for a culture without metal tools. Best time is 9:00-10:00 AM on a weekday when you can hear the guides without crowd noise. Allow two hours for ruins plus museum. Only a local would know: the small viewing window on the museum's top floor shows ongoing excavations that the public can't access yet - new discoveries are still being made. Worth it? If you visit one museum in Mexico City, make it this one. It rewrites everything you thought you knew about this city's foundations.

What to See & Do

The Main Temple Ruins

Walk on elevated platforms above seven layers of successive Aztec temples, the earliest dating to around 1325. The twin staircases led to shrines for Tlaloc (rain) and Huitzilopochtli (war) at the summit. The scale hits you when you realize this was once a 60-meter pyramid in the center of a city of 200,000 people

Coyolxauhqui Stone

The 3.25-meter carved disc depicting the dismembered moon goddess that triggered the entire excavation in 1978. Found at the base of the temple staircase exactly where Aztec mythology placed her after being thrown from the sky by her brother Huitzilopochtli. The carving detail - severed limbs, bells, serpents - is extraordinary

Eagle Warriors Room

Life-sized clay statues of Eagle Warriors in full regalia, discovered in a chamber adjacent to the main temple. The warriors wear eagle-head helmets, talons, and feathered suits. They're among the finest ceramic sculptures from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica - and they were buried underground for 500 years

Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli Shrines

The twin shrines that crowned the pyramid - Tlaloc (rain god, painted blue) on the north side and Huitzilopochtli (war god, painted red) on the south. Only the bases survive, but the carved frogs (Tlaloc) and serpent heads (Huitzilopochtli) are clearly visible. The duality of water and blood defined the Aztec worldview

Offering Chambers

Over 7,000 objects recovered from buried offering boxes around the temple: jade masks, gold ornaments, shells from the Pacific and Gulf coasts, crocodile and jaguar skeletons, and human remains. The offerings reveal trade networks spanning thousands of kilometers. The obsidian sacrificial knives are displayed alongside

Practical Information

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed Mondays

Tickets & Pricing

Around 85 pesos for adults, 60 pesos for students and seniors. You can buy tickets on-site, though weekends tend to get busier

Best Time to Visit

Weekday mornings are ideal - you'll have more space to explore and better lighting for photos. The site can get pretty crowded after 11 AM, especially on weekends

Suggested Duration

Plan for about 2-3 hours if you want to see both the ruins and museum properly, though you could easily spend longer if you're really into the history

Getting There

The entrance is on Seminario Street, one block northeast of the Zocalo - you can see the ruins from the cathedral steps. Metro Zocalo (Line 2) Exit G puts you closest, a 3-minute walk. Walking from Palacio de Bellas Artes takes 10 minutes east along Madero street. Uber from Roma/Condesa costs MXN 40-70. The museum entrance and ruins entrance are the same - the ticket booth is on Seminario street.

Things to Do Nearby

Mexico City Cathedral
Literally next door - the massive cathedral built partly with stones from the Templo Mayor itself

Zócalo (Main Square)
One of the world's largest city squares, often hosting cultural events and surrounded by historic buildings

National Palace
Houses Diego Rivera's famous murals depicting Mexican history, and you can tour the presidential offices

Casa de los Azulejos
A striking blue-tiled palace that now houses a Sanborns restaurant - worth seeing even if you don't eat there

Palacio de Bellas Artes
About a 10-minute walk away, featuring incredible Art Nouveau architecture and rotating exhibitions

Tips & Advice

Visit the ruins first (30-40 minutes), then the museum. The ruins give you physical context for the artifacts, and you'll understand the museum displays better having walked the site. Morning light is best for photographing the ruins

Pair this with the Metropolitan Cathedral next door - the cathedral was literally built using stones from the demolished Aztec temple. The juxtaposition is the entire story of Mexican history in two buildings

Free admission on Sundays draws long queues. Weekday mornings (9:00-10:00 AM) are ideal. The museum closes at 5:00 PM - last entry at 4:15 PM

The gift shop has excellent reproductions of Aztec art and the best archaeology books in the city. The Coyolxauhqui stone reproduction (MXN 150-300 depending on size) is a better souvenir than anything on the Zocalo