National Palace, Mexico City

I had a wonderful afternoon here looking at the Diego Rivera murals so craftily displaying the history of Mexico from Pre-Colombian times. Our guide, Angelica, was one of the best guides I’ve ever had. She knew everything, answered every question with patience, kept a great pace, was lovely, intelligent, and interesting. The murals themselves are among the best works of art in the entire world, in my opinion. This place should not be missed. Logistically, make sure to make a reservation in advance, they only allow people in in groups of 15 on guided tours a few times a day. I got lucky and somehow got in on a cancellation on a Spanish speaking tour but the English ones were all full. My only criticism is that they don’t allow videos at all. Not even with iPhone. I would love to go back and make some nice videos of these stunning murals to share with others who may never make it here. Maybe they can offer a video tour for a fee? I wouldn’t mind paying it. Anyway, don’t miss this place!!!

Beautiful palace, but I was unable to visit it during my time in Mexico City as I learned that tickets have to be reserved online from a week to a day in advance, and then collected in-person from the security desk on the day of your visit. Only a limited number of visitors are granted admission each day, so reserve early! This information was not displayed on the monument website at the time of my visit, but hopefully this review will be of benefit to future visitors.

Be careful, the entry is effectively limited to some organised tours for international tourists now. If you do not want to join those paying extra and want to go independent, you need to apply for entry on the official website by sending a form (or send an email). The official tourist info person said "if you are lucky, you might be granted a visit on the same day, but it is not promised.". It is better to prepare well in advance :(

You can’t see Diego’s Mural without guided tours which you have to book in advance and in person not online. Very inconvenient. They also don’t have same day slots as it gets full quickly. Unless you really want to see the Mural, and frequent Zocalo often, not sure if the hassle is worth it.

Terrible customer service. We booked 8 tickets, 4 adults and 4 kids, entry time 4pm. We arrived 5 mins before but we were refused entry claiming that we should have arrived 20 mins before entry time. Since we were flying back home that same night we begged the reception manager to let us in, to no avail. While we were discussing with the manager, an old, stiff-lipped lady, clearly relishing the situation, we could see our guide arrive and leave with our group without us. A perfect waste of our time and money...