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    Main façade of the round modern Basílica de Guadalupe with its green copper roof and large cross, Mexico City

    Photo by Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

    Basílica de Guadalupe

    Landmark Barrio Mágico Museums Churches and shrines Fiestas Gustavo A. Madero, Ciudad de México Municipality of Gustavo A. Madero Valley of Mexico

    Mexico's great Marian shrine at the foot of Tepeyac: the round 1976 basilica with Juan Diego's tilma, the tilting 1709 church and hilltop chapels.

    From Mexico City: 10 min by car (7 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Tour to Teotihuacan and Basilica de Guadalupe ★ 4.7 (13) · From US$68
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    How to get to Basílica de Guadalupe

    • From Mexico City: about 10 min by road (~7 km)
    • Nearest airport: Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), 48 min by car to Tepotzotlán
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    Popular tours to Basílica de Guadalupe

    Tour to Teotihuacan and Basilica de Guadalupe ★ 4.7 (13) 7–8 h From US$68

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    About Basílica de Guadalupe

    The Basílica de Guadalupe, officially the Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe, is the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the foot of the Cerro del Tepeyac, in the Gustavo A. Madero borough on Mexico City's north side. Catholic tradition holds that the Virgin appeared here to Juan Diego in December 1531 and left her image on his cloak, the tilma, which now hangs behind the main altar of the modern basilica. Around twenty million pilgrims come each year, about nine million of them in the days around 12 December, her feast day, which makes it one of the most visited Catholic sanctuaries anywhere.

    The complex is really a cluster of churches from four centuries. The older basilica, designed by Pedro de Arrieta, was begun in 1695 and opened in 1709, with four octagonal corner towers and a dome tiled in yellow and blue Talavera; it was redecorated in Neoclassical style in the early 1800s and raised to a basilica in 1904. Sinking ground damaged it so badly that a new church was built between 1974 and 1976, a huge round tent of concrete with a green copper roof by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and colleagues, set on 344 control piles. Because the space has no columns, the image can be seen from every seat, and a moving walkway beneath the altar carries visitors past it. The old church, restored by INAH, reopened around 2000 as the Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey.

    Beyond the two basilicas you can visit the Capilla de Indios (1649), where Juan Diego is said to have lived; the round Baroque Capilla del Pocito (1777–1791) built over a spring once thought miraculous; and the Capilla del Cerrito on top of Tepeyac, with murals by Fernando Leal and a colonial cemetery where Antonio López de Santa Anna is buried. The basilica museum, in the old Capuchin convent, holds about 4,000 pieces, including New Spanish painting by Villalpando, Cabrera and Juan Correa and more than 2,000 ex-votos. Masses run through the day, so expect worship in progress; outside, the Calzada de Guadalupe is lined with stalls selling religious souvenirs and food.

    How to get to Basílica de Guadalupe

    Drive from Mexico City: 10 min, 7 km

    By Metro: Line 6 (Martín Carrera–El Rosario) to La Villa-Basílica, about two blocks south of the main entrance; walk north up the Calzada de Guadalupe. Line 3 (Universidad–Indios Verdes) to Deportivo 18 de Marzo also works: walk about 15 minutes or change to Line 6 for one stop. From the Centro Histórico, ride from Zócalo to Hidalgo, change to Line 3 toward Indios Verdes and get off at Deportivo 18 de Marzo. From the airport, take the Metro from Terminal Aérea and change at Instituto del Petróleo to Line 6, or at La Raza to Line 3; the shrine reckons about 45 minutes. By Metrobús: La Villa (Line 6) or Garrido (Line 7). By car, the shrine's parking areas on Calzada de los Misterios and on Fray Juan de Zumárraga open from 6 am to 9 pm.

    Directions to Basílica de Guadalupe on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

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    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Before you go to Basílica de Guadalupe: hours, prices and tips

    Hours
    The basilica is open every day from 6 am to 9 pm, with Mass at the main altar roughly every hour. The Capilla del Cerrito opens 7 am to 6 pm and the crypt 9 am to 5 pm. Basílica de Guadalupe · checked Oct 2026
    Entry
    Free to enter the basilicas and the hilltop chapel; most people just leave a voluntary donation. The museum charges a small symbolic fee and public toilets cost a few pesos. Cestee · checked Oct 2026
    Time needed
    Allow 1 to 2 hours for the basilicas and chapels; the climb to the Capilla del Cerrito takes only a few minutes. Cestee · checked Oct 2026
    Best season
    12 December, the feast of the Virgin, brings millions of pilgrims and enormous crowds; for about two weeks before, dancers in elaborate costume process along the streets to the shrine. Sundays are also packed. Wikivoyage · checked Oct 2026
    Guide or tour
    You can visit on your own. The shrine runs guided tours in Spanish at 11 am and 3 pm, Monday to Saturday (English on request), lasting 1.5–2 hours; book ahead and give a donation. Tours: Viator GetYourGuide Basílica de Guadalupe · checked Oct 2026

    Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

    Visiting Basílica de Guadalupe: what to see and do

    See the tilma of Juan Diego behind the main altar of the round new basilica (1976), from the moving walkway beneath it.
    Visit the old basilica of 1709, now the Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey, with its Talavera-tiled dome and towers.
    Look inside the round Baroque Capilla del Pocito, built in 1777–1791 over a once-revered spring.
    Climb the Cerro del Tepeyac to the Capilla del Cerrito for Fernando Leal's murals, the colonial cemetery and views over the north of the city.
    See New Spanish paintings and more than 2,000 ex-votos in the Museo de la Basílica, in the former Capuchin convent.
    Come in the days before 12 December to see pilgrims and costumed dancers arriving along the Calzada de Guadalupe.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), about 48 min by road from Tepotzotlán, the base for Basílica de Guadalupe.

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    When to go to Basílica de Guadalupe cool

    Basílica de Guadalupe shares the climate of Tepotzotlán, 28 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Tepotzotlán

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tepotzotlán

    Churrigueresque facade and tower of San Francisco Javier with its atrium cross, Tepotzotlán, Estado de México cool
    Estado de México Tepotzotlán

    Tepotzotlán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Basílica de Guadalupe, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.