Mexico · Ciudad de México · Mexico City
Polanco, Mexico City — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Polanco is an upscale district of Mexico City on the northern edge of Chapultepec, known for museums and shopping.
About Polanco
Where to stay in Polanco
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Polanco keeps most of its beds near the museums. Hotels gather along the leafy blocks between Chapultepec and the shops, so guests wake within walking distance of the National Museum of Anthropology and the boutiques that give the district of Mexico City its name for luxury. Stay here for galleries and good tables.
The northern strip called Nuevo Polanco offers a newer alternative, its towers rising beside the Colección Jumex and the Acuario Inbursa. Chapultepec anchors the quieter southern side.
About Polanco
What are the main landmarks in Polanco?
Polanco wears its culture along the edge of a park. The National Museum of Anthropology stands where the district meets Chapultepec, and the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo sits close by among the trees. Design has a home here too, at the Luis Barragán House and Studio.
The contemporary galleries moved north into Nuevo Polanco, where the Colección Jumex faces the tanks of the Acuario Inbursa, and families climb the ramps of the Papalote Museo del Niño. The park draws the rest.
What is the history of Polanco?
Polanco grew from farmland into one of Mexico City's smartest colonias. It was laid out as a residential quarter beside Chapultepec, and its wide streets soon filled with embassies, shops, and the National Museum of Anthropology that opened along the park. The tone was always genteel.
In the north an industrial belt of factories fed the city until the plants closed, and that ground became Nuevo Polanco, where the Colección Jumex and the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo drew a new crowd. The park kept the district anchored throughout.
Where is Polanco?
Polanco is a district of Mexico City wrapped around the northern edge of Chapultepec, its older streets giving way to the towers of Nuevo Polanco.
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Updated July 2026