As a result of World War II, many surrealist artists from across Europe sought refuge in the Americas. Mexico City became an epicentre of surrealist collaboration for artists like Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horna. The eccentric trio, who adopted the name ‘las tres brujas’ (the three witches), made lasting impressions on the city. Carrington’s ‘How Doth The Little Crocodile’, an imposing yet playful sculpture, stands proud in one of the main commercial strips of the city; Varo’s grave can be located in Panteón Jardín, but her legacy is most alive in the Museum Of Modern Art’s permanent collection; and Horna’s photographic records of Mexico capture the frenzied period of creativity the surrealists unlocked when they reached this ‘dream land’ in the late 1930s.

Conversely, Mexico City native Frida Kahlo once declared ‘they thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.’ Given her social and political affiliation with members of the surrealism movement, her painterly style is often described as surrealist in the European record. But this is not the case in Mexico, where her great masterpieces hang. Inside Casa Azul, the kaleidoscopic home of Kahlo and Diego Rivera, you’ll gain access to ephemera which paint a picture of Kahlo’s creative process and its integration with her vivacious personal and political life. Her famous plaster corset, decorated with the hammer and sickle, should educate visitors of her active involvement in the Mexican Communist Party; Kahlo would surely despise the mass commodification of her own image. In the same historic district (Coyoacán), you’ll also find Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky, a comparatively sombre abode where the Russian revolutionary lived before his assassination.

While Casa Azul buzzes with endless streams of visitors, Museo Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo offers a contrastingly tranquil viewing experience for the equivalent of just over £1. Designed by architect Juan O’Gorman, this museum is the first functionalist building in Latin America. Striking in crimson and cobalt, Rivera and Kahlo’s respective studios are charmingly connected by a bridge and guarded by lines of cacti. Eccentrically filled with larger-than-life cartonería (papier mâché sculptures), from a skeletal bride and groom to horned devils, this peek inside their studios will whet your appetite for a trip to Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela. The vibrant market boasts a maze of stalls brimming with homemade handicrafts and folk art. But be warned: you’ll require your best haggling skills and plenty of extra luggage space.  

Mexico City exemplifies the surrealist approach: it’s a city which revels in spontaneity, political resistance and chance. Through the artists’ homes which have been transformed into museums, art lovers will find an intimate route to follow in the footsteps of radical creatives and activists.