Xochimilco

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Nativitas is one of the main embarcaderos where trajinera rides begin, Xochimilco, Mexico City

Music boats drift alongside trajineras so passengers can request songs, Xochimilco, Mexico City

Chinampas are artificial garden plots built up in the shallow lake bed, Xochimilco, Mexico City

The Island of the Dolls is a chinampa in the Laguna de Tequila covered in hanging dolls, Xochimilco, Mexico City

About Xochimilco

Xochimilco is a borough in southern Mexico City known for its network of canals, remnants of the lake system that once covered much of the Valley of Mexico. Here, farmers built chinampas, artificial plots of fertile land in shallow water, a technique dating to pre-Hispanic times that still survives. The canals and chinampas are part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing together with the historic center of Mexico City.

The classic experience is a ride on a trajinera, a brightly painted flat-bottomed boat, from embarcaderos such as Nativitas. On weekends the main canals fill with families and groups, while mariachi bands and food vendors float alongside, selling music, snacks and drinks. Longer trips head into quieter canals among working chinampas, where birdlife and farming offer a different view. The Island of the Dolls, draped with old dolls hanging from trees, is an eerie and well-known detour. Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco adds wetlands and walking paths.

On land, the San Bernardino de Siena church and the busy Mercado Xochimilco anchor the town center. The Museo Dolores Olmedo, in a historic hacienda, holds major works by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and the Cuahilama site displays ancient carvings. Weekends are festive, while weekdays are calmer.

Best seasonThe dry season from November to April is most comfortable; weekends are festive, weekdays calmer.

Ideal stayA half day to a full day, combined with the Dolores Olmedo museum.

ArrivingMost visitors take the Tren Ligero from Tasqueña Metro station, or a taxi or rideshare.

WiserMap travel guideXochimilco Mexico Trajinera Rides and Island of the DollsPlan Xochimilco with trajinera rides on UNESCO canals, the Island of the Dolls, the Dolores Olmedo museum, local markets, food, transit and seasonal tips.Read the guide

12 Things You Shouldn't Miss in Xochimilco

Entertainment 2

Trajinera Rides from Embarcadero Nativitas

Nativitas is the largest and busiest of the Xochimilco landings, where hundreds of flat-bottomed trajineras wait in a riot of pain...

Xochimilco Mariachi and Vendor Boats

Part of the fun of a trajinera ride is the floating market that comes to you. Smaller canoes pull alongside selling grilled corn,...

Nature 2

Xochimilco Chinampas

The chinampas are the real heart of Xochimilco: narrow farm plots built up from lake mud and plant matter over centuries, anchored...

Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco

Created to protect the remaining wetlands of the old lake, the Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco is a large green space of lagoons, r...

Landmarks 2

Island of the Dolls

Deep in the canals, the Isla de las Munecas is a small chinampa where the hermit Julian Santana Barrera spent decades hanging hund...

Pista Olímpica Virgilio Uribe

Built for the rowing and canoeing events of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, this long, straight course of about two kilometers at C...

History 2

Parroquia de San Bernardino de Siena Xochimilco

The church of San Bernardino de Siena was founded by Franciscan friars in the sixteenth century and still anchors the center of Xo...

Cuahilama Archaeological Site

On the slopes of Cerro Cuahilama above the village of Santa Cruz Acalpixca, this small archaeological zone preserves rocks carved...

Shopping 2

Mercado Xochimilco

The main market of Xochimilco, a few blocks from the church and the landings, is where locals shop for produce, meat, flowers, her...

Mercado de Plantas Cuemanco

Near the Cuemanco landing, the plant and flower market of Madreselva is a sprawling maze of stalls selling everything from potted...

Museums 1

Museo Dolores Olmedo

Set in the restored Hacienda La Noria, whose oldest parts date to the colonial era, this museum was created by Dolores Olmedo, a c...

Events 1

La Llorona Show in Xochimilco

The legend of La Llorona, the weeping woman who wanders the waterways crying for her lost children, is staged at night on the Cuem...

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