Fonoteca Nacional

The Fonoteca Nacional preserves and shares Mexico's sound heritage — not books, but audio. The archives themselves live in climate-controlled vaults and aren't on public display, but you can access the collection through a listening station with a computer in the audioteca: old radio commercials, vanishing trades like organ grinders, prehispanic music, animal sounds, and recordings of Mexico from decades past.

The building sits on Francisco Sosa, one of Coyoacán's most beautiful streets, and was once home to Octavio Paz in his final years. The gardens are peaceful and home to several cats. Free admission — just register at the door.