Coyoacán

What you will find. Coyoacán is full of history, charm and legend: from the time of Hernán Cortés to today, visitors have been drawn by it. It was a haven for artists —Octavio Paz walked these streets, Frida Kahlo was born here and León Trotsky spent his last years in the house that is now a museum.

How the centre is laid out. What people call "Coyoacán" is really three adjoining barrios —La Colonia del Carmen, Santa Catarina and La Concepción— around two squares that visitors constantly confuse: the Jardín Centenario, with the coyote fountain and the arcade cafés, and the Jardín Hidalgo, with the San Juan Bautista parish church. From there the cobbled streets fan out, Avenida Francisco Sosa being the handsomest.

Practical notes. Buy tickets for the Casa Azul online several days ahead; they sell out. Weekend afternoons are the liveliest and the most crowded, weekday mornings the calmest —and museums close on Mondays. Central Coyoacán has no metro: Coyoacán and Viveros-Derechos Humanos on Line 3 are both about twenty minutes on foot. Do not miss the tostada aisle at the Coyoacán market.