Museo del Taco

What’s there

Museo del Taco is a three-story, hands-on museum on Avenida Revolución that breaks the taco down into nine themed rooms, from the charcoal under the grill to the tortilla, the meat, the salsa and the onion. Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila and museum director Antonio Gamboa led the opening ceremony, ribbon-cutting included, on April 4, 2024, UnoTV reported; the museum occupies the building that once housed the Cine Tonalá. The San Diego Museum Council’s listing describes it as more of an experience than a traditional museum.

You start by trading your shoes for a locker and a pair of grippy neon socks. In the first room you lie on the floor, cast as the charcoal, while a short film plays on the ceiling; the Reader described a fog machine and a story about a grandfather teaching his granddaughter to arrange the coals. Later rooms let you press your own corn tortillas, pose with a cow statue in a pink room and wander a salsa-themed room of mirrors, and UnoTV described projection walls, giant sponge avocados, a carousel of hanging onions and a ball pit on the second floor. At the end you can ride a slide down a spiraling “throat” into a ball pit, as the Reader described it, or take the stairs, per the Museum Council listing.

What to expect

Each room has a QR-code plaque with more on its theme, and near the end you can rank your own top 10 Baja California taco shops, according to the Museum Council listing. One room maps famous Tijuana taquerías, including Tacos El Francés in Playas and Tacos El Franc in Zona Río, the Reader reported. Gamboa calls it “a place for the whole family,” and the Reader found several rooms suited to kids. Expect something playful and photo-friendly rather than academic.

The food

There’s a taco shop on the ground floor, and you pass it on the way to the ticket window. On its 2025 visit, the Reader found plenty of Tijuana favorites there, cheese-crusted vampiros and volcanes among them, and liked the adobada. Just before the museum opened, Time Out México mentioned carne asada, adobada and suadero, plus a bar called La Cantina with cocktails built on Mexican flavors. The Museum Council listing says the taco shop keeps later hours Friday through Sunday.

Prices and entry

Admission was 180 pesos when the museum opened, per UnoTV, and the Museum Council listing shows the same price; the Reader reported paying about 230 pesos, socks included, in 2025. The museum’s website doesn’t list prices, so check at the door. The website says it’s open every day: 2 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1 to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Getting there

The museum is at Av. Revolución 1317, in Zona Centro, on the same downtown strip as Black Box and Caesar’s, so it fits easily into a walk along Revolución. From the San Ysidro crossing it’s a short taxi or ride-hail trip.

Good to know

• Shoes come off at the start; the museum hands out the socks.
• With ball pits and a slide, wear clothes you can move in.
• For more tacos afterward, our directory has Tacos El Franc and Tacos Fitos.
• Website: museodeltaco.mx.

Plan the rest of your day with our guides, and see what’s on downtown on the calendar.