--- title: "Palacio Postal, Mexico City: Hours, Entry, What to See and Sending a Postcard" description: "Mexico City's Palacio Postal: opening hours, whether it's free, how to mail a postcard, Boari's famous staircase and photo tips, 4 minutes from our hotel." canonical: https://www.hotelbellasartes.com/en/blog/palacio-postal-mexico-city datePublished: 2026-11-12 dateModified: 2026-11-12 --- # Palacio Postal, Mexico City: Hours, Entry, What to See and Sending a Postcard Mexico's Postal Palace, at Tacuba and Eje Central, has worked as a post office since 1907 and is one of Adamo Boari's masterpieces, by the architect of Bellas Artes. Hours, entry, what to see inside, how to send a postcard and where to take the best photos. The **Palacio Postal** (officially the Palacio de Correos de México, or Postal Palace) is the pale-stone, gold-trimmed building on the corner of **Tacuba and Eje Central**, at Tacuba 1, across from the Alameda. It has been a **working post office since 1907**, so walking into the main hall is **free**: just turn up while the counters are open, which Mexico City's official tourism guide lists as **Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to noon** (as of November 2026; check before you go). Inside you'll find a showpiece staircase, a small museum of postal culture, and counters where you can still buy stamps and mail a postcard home. From the door of Hotel Bellas Artes it's a **4-minute walk**. ## A post office built like a palace The first stone went down on **14 September 1902**, and the building opened on **17 February 1907**, during Porfirio Díaz's presidency. Díaz is said to have christened the service by dropping two postcards into the mailbox himself. It was the fifth building to house the capital's post office. The design is by Italian architect **Adamo Boari**, with Mexican military engineer **Gonzalo Garita** running the works. Outside, chiluca stone is carved into arches, gargoyles and cresting that blend Venetian Gothic, Plateresque and Isabelline Gothic; inside, a steel frame carries Mexican marble and bronze work cast at a foundry in Florence. Few buildings in the city wear so many styles so comfortably. The twentieth century was hard on it. Mid-century alterations added weight, and the 1985 earthquake caused serious damage. It was declared an **Artistic Monument** on 4 May 1987, and in the 1990s a restoration brought the interiors back to their original design using Boari's own plans and notes, donated by his daughter. Those plans are now held at the National Museum of Architecture inside the Palacio de Bellas Artes. ## Boari's other palace, across the street If you're staying with us, you already know Boari's other great building: the **Palacio de Bellas Artes**, right in front of the hotel. Boari worked on both at almost the same time, and Garita was involved in both too. The difference is speed: the Postal Palace took five years, while Bellas Artes, stalled by the Revolution, took three decades. Seeing them on the same day makes the contrast obvious. At the post office Boari indulged in an almost storybook Gothic; at Bellas Artes, the white marble and dome speak Art Nouveau. For the second half of your outing, our guide to the [Palacio de Bellas Artes: how to get there and what to see](https://www.hotelbellasartes.com/en/blog/palacio-de-bellas-artes-how-to-get-there-what-to-see) covers the murals, the glass curtain and performances. ## Hours, entry and guided tours - **Main hall and post office:** Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m.–noon, per Mexico City's official tourism guide (November 2026). - **Is it free?** Yes. The hall is a public post office, so there's no charge to walk in. The guided tours run by Correos de México have also been offered free of charge, with an online reservation and groups entering in hourly blocks. - **Museum:** published museum hours don't agree from one source to another, and one recent guide mentions a fee for visitors without Mexican ID. Call the Palacio Postal on **+52 55 5510 2999** before you go. - **Sundays and public holidays:** we couldn't confirm official hours, so plan a weekday visit. ## What to see inside ### The staircase This is what draws almost everyone in. Two flights climb separately, meet at a landing, **cross each other at the second landing** and split again, a mirror-image puzzle in marble and bronze. Stand in the middle of the hall and look up before you climb: from there the whole pattern makes sense. ### The details most people miss Look at the railings on the service counters, the ventilation grilles and the elevators, all finished with the same decorative care. The clock was imported from Germany and reassembled in Mexico. The reception rooms hold frescoes by **Bartolomé Gallotti**, painted over a 24-karat gold base and devoted to the history of written communication; ask whether they're open during your visit. ### Museum and library The second floor has a **permanent exhibition on postal culture**, including an interactive introduction to stamp collecting, plus historic objects and documents from the mail service. The building also keeps a library of about **8,500 volumes** and 240 documents dating from 1580 to 1900. ## How to mail a postcard from the Palacio Postal Few visitors do it, and it's the best souvenir you can bring home: a card stamped in the same building where Porfirio Díaz posted the first two. 1. **Bring your card already written.** Writing it at the hotel before you head out saves time at the counter. 2. **Buy the stamp at the counter.** Say which country it's going to and they'll charge the current rate. The philatelic shop also sells recent stamps and commemorative envelopes for collectors. 3. **Post it right there.** International mail can take weeks, so send it early in your trip if you want it to arrive before you do. ## Photo tips - **The staircase from below:** stand on the hall's center line so both flights sit symmetrically in the frame. - **From the first landing:** shoot upward to catch the flights crossing; a wide-angle lens helps. - **The façade:** the corner of Tacuba and Eje Central is tight. To fit it all in, step back toward the plaza in front of the Palacio de Minería, across Tacuba. - **Light:** the Eje Central façade faces west and gets the afternoon sun; inside, the early morning is usually the calmest time. - **Courtesy:** it's a working office. Don't photograph people at the counters or block the queues, and leave the flash off. ## Getting there from the hotel, and what to pair it with Step out onto Avenida 5 de Mayo, walk to Eje Central and continue one block north to Tacuba: the Palacio Postal fills the whole corner. It's **4 minutes on foot**, and you never have to cross Eje Central. From there, an easy half-morning plan: - **Palacio Postal** (45–60 minutes), as soon as it opens. - **Palacio de Minería** and Plaza Manuel Tolsá, directly across Tacuba. - **Palacio de Bellas Artes**, on your way back to the hotel, to finish with Boari's other masterpiece. - If you still have energy, the **Torre Latinoamericana** is 3 minutes from the hotel, and our [walk through the Alameda and Madero Street](https://www.hotelbellasartes.com/en/blog/alameda-central-madero-street-walking-tour) carries on to the Zócalo. For more museums within walking distance, see the [best museums in Mexico City](https://www.hotelbellasartes.com/en/blog/best-museums-mexico-city). And if you'd like all of this a few steps away, you can [book direct with Hotel Bellas Artes](https://www.hotelbellasartes.com/en/direct-booking), at Av. 5 de Mayo 10. ## FAQ ### How much does it cost to enter the Palacio Postal? Walking into the main hall is free because it's a public post office. Guided tours have been free with a reservation; confirm museum details on +52 55 5510 2999. ### Can you send a postcard from the Palacio Postal? Yes. It still works as a post office: buy a stamp at the counter and drop your card in the mailbox on the spot. ### Who designed the Palacio Postal? Italian architect Adamo Boari, who also designed the Palacio de Bellas Artes, working with engineer Gonzalo Garita. It opened in 1907. ### How far is it from the Palacio de Bellas Artes? The two buildings practically face each other across Eje Central. From Hotel Bellas Artes, the Palacio Postal is a 4-minute walk and Bellas Artes is 1 minute.