Feel Playful at the Mexican Toy Museum, San Miguel De Allende
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We bet Santa would love to get his hands on these toys!
A precious black-and-gold train made from bull horns.
Colorfully dressed Frida Kahlo dolls with dark furrowed eyebrows.
Airplanes fashioned from Coke cans.
More than 3,500 beautiful hand-crafted toys from across Mexico are displayed at the Toy Museum: Museum of Popular Mexican Toys (Museo La Esquina: Museo del Juguete Popular Mexicano) in the fairy-tale city of San Miguel de Allende.
Each toy is a one-of-a-kind treasure – and you’ll love visiting this museum!
Toy Museum, San Miguel de Allende
We got our museum fix in the Mexican colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende and neighboring Guanajuato, a one-hour bus ride apart. (The country is full of amazing museums!)
In Guanajuato, we saw human mummies at the macabre Mummy Museum and cool art at the Diego Rivera Museum.
Of the museums in San Miguel de Allende, ceremonial ethnic Mexican masks grabbed our attention at the Mask Museum.
But the whimsical toys at the SMA Toy Museum grabbed our hearts.
Lots of colorful Mexican toys!
Surprisingly large, the light-filled Toy Museum has four rooms, housed within a renovated old casona sporting exposed stone and skylights.
The toys are made from all sorts of materials – vegetable fibers, metal, papier mache, ceramic, cloth and wood.
One room contains a collection of toys representing public transport.
There are little metal boats which, in days gone by, could be powered by placing a birthday candle at the back to make them move while floating on water. A large train on a track is made from clay (an art form not practised anymore today).
Another room is one giant doll house with dolls galore. Some wear rustic hand-woven dresses.
Moving carousels, Ferris wheels and carnival rides are found in the room devoted to toys displaying objects seen at a traditional Mexican fair.
Quite understandably, you can’t touch the toys. The museum could therefore be frustrating for small children.
The other visitors we saw were adults, getting in touch with their inner child (like us) just by looking.
Annual folk toy contest
Expect the museum’s collection to grow.
The Toy Museum now organizes an annual National Folk Toy Contest. Toy makers from 26 Mexican states competed in the last contest – their innovative creations are also showcased here.
If you visit Museo La Esquina, San Miguel de Allende
Hours
Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm; the museum is closed on Monday
Admission
80 pesos (about $4.50 USD) per adult; 40 pesos (about $2.25 USD) for seniors, students, teachers and children 12 and underAddress
Find the Museo La Esquina at Nunez 40, Centro, San Miguel de Allende
More information
See the Museo La Esquina’s website
See another toy museum in Mexico
There’s another Mexico toy museum – the Antique Toy Museum of Mexico (Museo Juguete Antiguo), located in Mexico City.
Created by a Mexican of Japanese descent, it contains more than one million pieces, including miniature toys the size of a pinhead. Some 40,000 classic toys are on display.
Have you visited this San Miguel de Allende toy museum?
Have you visited any toy museum in the world?
Let us know. We’d love to hear what you think of this toy museum (or any other toy museum you’ve visited). You can share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Experience more of Mexico!
Zihuatanejo: Want a great beach vacay? See the best beaches in Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa.
Mexico City: Spending three days in Mexico’s capital city? You’ll want to see our helpful itinerary covering the best museums, attractions and restaurants in this fabulous city.
Puerto Vallarta: Where to stay? Here are Puerto Vallarta’s best boutique hotels.
Our top travel tips and resources
General trip planning: TripAdvisor is a helpful starting point, offering loads of user reviews on hotels, restaurants and things to do.
Hotels: Booking.com is our go-to for scoring a “wow” hotel – or at least a decent one – often at lower rates than the hotel’s own website. We especially like Booking’s flexible cancellation policy! (You may prefer Expedia for booking hotels in the U.S. or Mexico.)
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Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.
Car rental: Renting a car is often a great way to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies so you get the lowest rates.
eSIMS: Stay connected affordably with Airalo eSIMS covering 200+ countries and trusted by 10 million+ users, including us! (No more huge roaming bills!)
Travel insurance: SafetyWing is designed for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads. It covers medical expenses, lost checked luggage, trip interruption and more. We also have and recommend Medjet for global air medical transportation.
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Photo credits: 2, 5, 8, 9 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 Museo La Esquina
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