Day of the Dead Dates by City: The 2026 Schedule

Planning a Día de Muertos trip starts with a quirk of the calendar. The holiday sits on Nov. 1 and 2, but the festivals, parades and museum shows around it open weeks earlier in some cities and run past Nov. 2 in others.

In 2026, Toluca and Atlixco's celebrations are already under way. Aguascalientes has announced activities through Nov. 8, while Tucson's All Souls Procession is scheduled for that same day.

For travel planning, distinguish a festival's full run from the date of its parade or procession. A public program can span several weeks even when its main street event occupies only one evening.

The two days themselves

Families in Mexico, the United States and elsewhere remember their dead on Nov. 1 and 2. Family altars, flowers, pan de muerto, classic dishes and candles are the elements that welcome and honor them.

Family remembrance takes place in homes and cemeteries, alongside public programs organized by cities, museums and community groups.

Festivals that open in early October

Toluca's Feria y Festival Cultural Alfeñique runs through Nov. 2, 2026.

In Puebla, Atlixco's Valle de Catrinas runs through Nov. 9, 2026. The municipal announcement described figures inspired by pre-Hispanic deities, including Tonatiuh, Coatlicue and Quetzalcóatl.

Aguascalientes announced its Festival Cultural de Calaveras for Oct. 30 to Nov. 8, 2026. The Desfile de Calaveras is scheduled to travel through the historic center at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. The state's tourism office points visitors to the festival's official website for the full list of dates, hours, venues and costs.

In Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art presents Where Memory Lives as its 40th annual Día de Muertos exhibition. The museum page gives no opening or closing dates. It does describe a community ofrenda where visitors can leave a note, a drawing or a memory for someone they have lost.

Mexico City: a civic season and a village night

Mexico City has more than one event in 2026. Its government announced a free program across the city, and the parts you would plan around fall on different days.

The Gran Desfile de Día de Muertos is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, running from the Diana Cazadora to the Zócalo. It is the tenth edition of a civic parade, a public show that sits apart from the family rituals held in neighborhoods and cemeteries.

In the Zócalo, plans for the Ofrenda Monumental include a 32-meter-tall Catrina, cempasúchil from the city's conservation land, artist-decorated axolotl sculptures and thematic lighting. This is a civic installation, separate from household ofrendas.

Mixquic is a village in the Tláhuac borough, and its night is a different thing altogether. The city's tourism office calls it the most traditional Day of the Dead in the capital, with a community that has kept its customs for more than 500 years.

The village's 2026 ritual calendar culminates in La Alumbrada on the night of Nov. 2. The observance involves extinguishing the colonial cemetery's lights and lighting thousands of grave candles, accompanied by prayers and songs. It is a family and community ritual: visitors are guests there, and the graves belong to the families.

Mérida and San Miguel de Allende

Mérida's city government scheduled its Festival de las Ánimas from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2, 2026, in the city and its outlying comisarías, with more than 30 activities. The traditional Paseo de Ánimas is set for Friday, Oct. 30, walking from the Cementerio General to the barrio de San Juan.

A separate Catrinas parade, departing from the Plaza Grande, is on Mérida's Oct. 31, 2026, schedule. Both are civic programs run by the city, a separate matter from what families do at home.

San Miguel de Allende's municipal program is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2026, with workshops, music and dance shows, offering displays and film screenings. Venues include the Jardín Principal, Biblioteca Municipal and Casa de la Cultura Mesones. Outdoor screenings of Coco and Macario are planned for the space in front of the old San Antonio Abad cemetery.

The Desfile de Muertos y Catrinas is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, traveling from the Cardo to the Jardín Principal. The comparsas and catrinas in a parade like this are a public, festive tradition, and you are welcome to watch.

U.S. programs: San Antonio, San Diego and San Francisco

San Antonio's Day of the Dead River Parade is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, along the downtown River Walk, starting at 7 p.m. near Lexington Avenue and the Tobin Center.

At San Diego's Old Town state park, the 2026 celebration is scheduled for Oct. 31–Nov. 2. Daily hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. For Nov. 2, the Old Town Chamber of Commerce plans a 6 p.m. procession linking Twiggs Street with El Campo Santo Cemetery; a screen at the main stage will also show the procession.

San Francisco's Mission District procession is set for Monday, Nov. 2, starting at 7 p.m. The city's transit agency advises of multiple street closures and Muni reroutes that evening.

After Nov. 2: Tucson

Tucson's All Souls Procession stands on its own, a separate public event rather than part of the Mexican programs above. The 37th is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, on the city's Westside.

Marchers will assemble on Grande Avenue at 4 p.m. and depart at 6 p.m., ending in the Mercado District with a closing ceremony and the burning of an urn.

Before you go

Most of what is listed here is public: parades, civic altars, museum shows and festivals. The cemetery nights, Mixquic's Alumbrada among them, belong to families, and visitors are guests who may be told no.

Día de Muertos is a remembrance of the dead, not Halloween. San Antonio's 2026 parade terms make tickets nonrefundable and rule out exchanges. Before paying, check the current program and ticket terms. Aguascalientes and Mérida direct visitors to their official tourism sites for complete program information.