Recently Viewed
LGBTQ+ History Walk: Mexico City's Hidden Rainbow
4.7
48 Ratings
Ciudad de México
Uncover the hidden stories of Mexico’s LGBT+ history on our exclusive tour. From Aztec temples to the Spanish Inquisition, join us for a captivating three and a half hour walk through the city’s historic center.
Uncover the hidden stories of Mexico’s LGBT+ history on our exclusive tour. From Aztec temples to the Spanish Inquisition, join us for a captivating three and a half hour walk through the city’s historic center.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Librería Porrúa - A rooftop balcony with views of the Palace of the Royal Duty, Frida Kahlo’s Hideaway Rooms, and the ruins of the Great Aztec Temple.
- Museo del Templo Mayor - The Templo Mayor, meaning “Great Temple” in Spanish, was the principal temple of the Mexica (formerly Aztec) people in their capital city.
- **Catedral Metropolitana de…
- Librería Porrúa - A rooftop balcony with views of the Palace of the Royal Duty, Frida Kahlo’s Hideaway Rooms, and the ruins of the Great Aztec Temple.
- Museo del Templo Mayor - The Templo Mayor, meaning “Great Temple” in Spanish, was the principal temple of the Mexica (formerly Aztec) people in their capital city.
- Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de Mexico - The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven serves as the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.
- Zocalo - The central plaza, known as the heart of both the city and the country, has been a gathering place since the 16th century.
- National Palace - The National Palace (Spanish: Palacio Nacional) is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico and has been the official residence of the President of Mexico since 2018.
- Centro Cultural Espana en Mexico - The Centro Cultural de España (Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico) is situated at 18 Guatemala Street in the historic center of Mexico City. In the late 1990s, this old mansion, located just behind the Cathedral, was in ruins until the Mexico City government transferred it to the Spanish government. After restoration, the new Centro Cultural de España was inaugurated by the King of Spain and the President of Mexico in 2002.
- Ex Old Customs - The Old Customs Building is positioned on the east side of Santo Domingo Plaza, between Republica de Venezuela and Luis Gonzalez Obregon Streets, just north of Mexico City’s main plaza.
- Plaza de Santo Domingo - Plaza Santo Domingo is bordered to the west by the Portal de Evangelistas, a Tuscan colonnade with round arches. Scribes with typewriters and antique printing machines operate in this Portal.
- Antiguo Palacio de la Santa Inquisición - The Spanish Inquisition was the civilian institution responsible for executing convicted homosexuals between 1521 and 1821.
- Santo Domingo - The Church of Santo Domingo is located on the north side, facing the Santo Domingo plaza. It marks the starting point of El Camino Real, a trading route from Old Mexico to New Mexico, and served as a safe haven for gay male couples.
What's Included
- Digital LGBT+ map of the Historic Center and extra resources
- Local guide
- Downloadable PDF copy of e-book RAINBOW MEXICO: Bridging Forgotten Pasts and Vibrant Futures
- Bottled water
- Tea and coffee
- Digital LGBT+ map of the Historic Center and extra resources
- Local guide
- Downloadable PDF copy of e-book RAINBOW MEXICO: Bridging Forgotten Pasts and Vibrant Futures
- Bottled water
- Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
It connects the overlooked past with the lively future of Mexico City’s hidden rainbow history!
Join an enlightening journey through the rich LGBTQ+ history of Mexico City with the exclusive “Gay Side of History, Plazas and Temples” tour.
This is not just any walk - it’s a time-traveling experience that will transform your understanding of Mexican…
It connects the overlooked past with the lively future of Mexico City’s hidden rainbow history!
Join an enlightening journey through the rich LGBTQ+ history of Mexico City with the exclusive “Gay Side of History, Plazas and Temples” tour.
This is not just any walk - it’s a time-traveling experience that will transform your understanding of Mexican culture and history!
- Minimum age is 18 years
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- You will walk for 1 mile in 3 hours.
Location
República de Argentina 15
República de Argentina
We meet outside Number 15, República de Argentina Street, curbside, right at the door marked with #15. It is the main door and it is not at the corner. It is at the heart of Mexico City's Historic Center.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(48 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Hwe2953ux
Oct 9, 2025
Looking forward to more tours! - Carlos led us on two amazing tours over two days-- the gay plazas tour and the african walking tour (not listed here in the dropdown). Starting with a super informative and grounding introduction to the history of the United Mexican States, to the lasting impacts of that history on society and culture today. The tours were engaging and time flew by! My friends and I are coming back to take more tours to continue our exposure and learning!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rob
Oct 4, 2025
Awesome history lesson - My husband and I really loved meeting Carlos. He is an amazing teacher and a walking encyclopedia of gay, Mexican, and world history. I even learned so much about the US that we were never taught in school. A very worthwhile tour. Five stars
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D4306wxsaraht
Feb 26, 2025
Carlos fan club - Carlos is a great storyteller, the tour is paced really well -- breaks at cantinas are well-incorporated into the whole experience (and tasty!). Priced a little high but well worth the investment!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Johannesr967
Feb 14, 2025
Great tour in Mexico City - Carlos was excellent guide and very knowledgeable about Mexican history. He took us around various sites and was great at explaining Mexican culture and history. We will recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan
Nov 29, 2024
Fantastic tour - Carlos was a fantastic tour guide! His knowledge about Mexican history and Mexican gay history was impressive. Will definitely take more tours from him when we return to CDMX.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancy_m
Nov 25, 2024
Excellent tour. Excellent guide. - This is an excellent walking tour and Carlos is a great guide. He's knowledgeable, entertaining, and engaging. He is serious about the subject and there's serious history here, but the tour is never dry. I've studied Mexican history and I've visited CDMX many times, but this tour brought me to places I'd never been and I learned a lot from an LGBTQ perspective. I will definitely take another of his tours on my next visit to Mexico. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Critic94107
Sep 30, 2024
Fabulous experience at a historic time - My tour with Carlos was unforgettable. Essentially a full semester university class, if you could find one this specific. It put me, an eager student of Mexican-US history, right in the middle of what I was learning: walking the streets, looking up at horrifying drawings on the sides of buildings (which i would have never noticed on my own), getting behind-the-scenes views of clubs, and best of all, Carlos tweaking the tour to include my specific interest, the 1930s and '40s. He even took me to a historic cafe (back then a cantina) from the time period, and introduced me to a muralist currently painting murals in Centro! I have been on many TripAdvisor tours, most recently in Spain, and I can say that I have only had two other guides who have had the level of expertise that Carlos has and have been as enthusiastic about teaching it.
An added bonus was having this tour in the exciting month of Mexico's Independence, with the upcoming change of power to Mexico's first female president, and its November celebrations of its Revolution which freed workers of many aspects of their suffering and gave them a voice. The voices of the workers were apparent each day in marches in Centro, often to the Zocalo. You never knew exactly when a street would be closed to accommodate them but I always go with the flow when I have the privilege of being a guest in an international capital city at such a historical time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brian_s
Sep 23, 2024
Best Tour of CDMX - Carlos was very personable and knowledgeable. He inquired about our personal interests and incorporated them into the tour. We really enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about LGBTQ+ history of the city and history of CDMX in general. This tour is a must do!
Review provided by Viator
Lindamaybear
Mar 12, 2025
Highly recommend! - Carlos was such a fantastic and knowledgable guide! The tour is very well thought out with lots of fun reveals and great use of location. Over the tour he gives not only an overview of how LGBTQ+ life was perceived and experienced, but also wove the story of Mexico itself. We learned as much about the development of the Mexican empire, economy, and architecture as we did LGBTQ+ life!
I would have preferred more up-front clarity abut the length and scope of the tour. I was under the impression the tour would go until about 1/1:30 but it ended at 2. It also was unclear from the description what year range would be covered by the tour content, we went from the formation of the Mexica empire through the 19th century.
We definitely recommend this experience to anyone considering it, you'll get both a foundational and unique perspective on Mexico's history and be left with an excitement for more!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tallertwentyfive
Feb 11, 2025
Misleading Instructions. Aggressive Customer Service. - Wow. This went sideways real quick. We actually missed the tour because the confirmation and ticketing emails were misleading, which led us to the wrong meetup location. The location on the actual ticket/QR code is not actually the meet up location. Turns out that is just an advertisement for another tour they offer. I am not sure why an ad for other tours would include very specific meetup instructions, including a picture of the wrong door. Turns out, there is another email you receive the day before the tour that has the actual meetup instructions. Shame on me, I did not see that because I don't check email on vacation. Again, I had a downloaded ticket/QR code, so I thought I was set. Why not include the real meetup location on the actual tour confirmation and ticket? It's confusing.
I realized things were off when no one was gathering or host at the meet up location. That's when I dug thru email and found the updated instructions. We were 30 mins away and already late. So, we bagged it and just did other sites. Not the end of the world. However, when I asked for a refund, I got this very aggressive, condescending, defensive response. Please see attached photos, and you can decide if this is quality customer service or not. I run a service business too, and I would never treat a client like this. Refund and move on, but no, this company will call you a lier. Fun!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
More activities from this operator
