Mexico
Oaxaca is the Mexican city where the table, the loom and the ruins all still feel alive.
Its pedestrian historic centre of green-stone churches and arcaded streets sits in a high valley ringed by Zapotec ruins, weaving villages and mezcal country, and its markets are among the best places to eat in the country. This guide covers the essentials: Monte Albán above the valley, the gilded church of Santo Domingo and the Museo de las Culturas, the covered markets and their smoky grill hall, a hands-on cooking class, a family mezcal distillery, and day trips east to Mitla, the Tule Tree, Teotitlán del Valle and the petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua, plus craft workshops in the weaving, pottery and woodcarving villages, the Tlacolula Sunday market and cloud-forest hiking in the Sierra Norte. It describes Día de Muertos plainly, from late October to early November, so you can plan it a year ahead. Then it matches you to a hotel, from a former convent to a simple budget stay or a quiet pool-and-spa retreat on the hillside, and adds practical guides on timing, food and itineraries.
Oaxaca Markets: Benito Juárez, 20 de Noviembre and a Food Tour
Oaxaca's covered markets are where its food culture lives: mountains of chiles, chocolate, tlayudas and grasshoppers, and the smoky grill hall of 20 de Noviembre. A guided market and food tour turns the maze into a feast.
Oaxacan Cooking Class with Market Tour
Shop the market with a local cook, then grind, simmer and shape a Oaxacan meal from scratch, from handmade tortillas to a pot of mole. It is one of the most rewarding things you can do in the city and ends with a long, delicious lunch.
Hierve el Agua
Petrified waterfalls of white mineral rock frozen on a cliff edge, with natural turquoise pools on top and a sweeping valley view. It is the most photographed day trip from Oaxaca and a lovely contrast to the ruins and markets.
Mitla Archaeological Site
Mitla is famous for stone mosaics of geometric fretwork found nowhere else in Mexico, set in a village where a church was built on top of a ceremonial centre. It is a calm, atmospheric complement to the monumental scale of Monte Albán.
Hand-picked: every experience here has strong traveler reviews and a verified booking link.
The Zapotec capital on a levelled mountaintop above Oaxaca city, with a vast ceremonial plaza, carved Danzante stones and views over three valleys. It is the one archaeological site every visitor should see, and it is only a short drive from the centre.
A gilded Baroque church and the former convent beside it, now the museum that tells Oaxaca's story from the Zapotecs to today. The ethnobotanical garden behind it is one of the loveliest quiet spaces in the city.
The shaded Zócalo, the green-stone cathedral and the arcaded streets around them make up one of Mexico's best walking centres. It is free, endlessly lively and the place to start every day in Oaxaca.
Oaxaca's covered markets are where its food culture lives: mountains of chiles, chocolate, tlayudas and grasshoppers, and the smoky grill hall of 20 de Noviembre. A guided market and food tour turns the maze into a feast.
Petrified waterfalls of white mineral rock frozen on a cliff edge, with natural turquoise pools on top and a sweeping valley view. It is the most photographed day trip from Oaxaca and a lovely contrast to the ruins and markets.
Mitla is famous for stone mosaics of geometric fretwork found nowhere else in Mexico, set in a village where a church was built on top of a ceremonial centre. It is a calm, atmospheric complement to the monumental scale of Monte Albán.
A huge Montezuma cypress in the churchyard of Santa María del Tule, famed for having one of the widest trunks of any tree on Earth. It is a quick, charming stop east of the city and works well as a bike ride or as a first stop on a day trip.
See agave plants in the fields, watch it roasted in earth pits and distilled in clay or copper, and taste mezcals made by small producers. It is the best way to understand why Oaxaca is the home of this spirit.
Shop the market with a local cook, then grind, simmer and shape a Oaxacan meal from scratch, from handmade tortillas to a pot of mole. It is one of the most rewarding things you can do in the city and ends with a long, delicious lunch.
Oaxaca's Day of the Dead is one of the most moving festivals in Mexico, with home altars, flower-covered graves, parades of costumed comparsas and candlelit cemeteries. It runs from late October to early November, so plan a year ahead.
A Zapotec weaving village east of Oaxaca where families still spin, dye and weave wool rugs on treadle looms. Visit a family workshop, see natural dyes made from cochineal and indigo, and finish with a cup of local hot chocolate.
Paint your own alebrije, one of the fantastical carved wooden animals Oaxaca is famous for, in the woodcarving village of San Martín Tilcajete. A hands-on workshop with a pickup from the city.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Centro Histórico, Calle 5 de Mayo
Oaxaca's grand historic stay, set in the former Santa Catalina de Siena convent on Calle 5 de Mayo. Stone cloisters, gardens and refined rooms make it the choice for a special trip, a few minutes on foot from the Zócalo.
Check rates →Centro Histórico, Calle 5 de Mayo
A small hotel on Calle 5 de Mayo, about three minutes on foot from the Zócalo, the cathedral and Santo Domingo. A good mid-range base in the middle of the sights.
Check rates →Centro Histórico, near Santo Domingo
A design-minded boutique hotel on Tinoco y Palacios with a spa, a rooftop terrace with city views and a restaurant, only a few minutes' walk from Santo Domingo and the Zócalo.
Check rates →Centro Histórico, Armenta y López
A well-reviewed three-star hotel on Armenta y López, near the Templo de San Agustín, the Zócalo and the Textile Museum. A comfortable, practical mid-range base with a restaurant and terrace.
Check rates →Centro, Martiniano Aranda
A friendly budget hotel on Aranda street with a rooftop terrace and garden, close enough to the centre to walk to the markets and the Zócalo. Simple rooms and a good price.
Check rates →San Felipe del Agua, north of the centre
A four-star boutique hotel and art gallery in the quiet hillside district of San Felipe del Agua, with a pool, spa, two restaurants and breakfast included. A resort-style retreat a short taxi ride from the historic centre.
Check rates →San Felipe del Agua, north of the centre
A four-star hotel in San Felipe del Agua with a pool, spa, garden, on-site restaurant and free breakfast. Spacious suites and a calm hillside setting, a short drive from the historic centre.
Check rates →San Felipe del Agua, north of the centre
A small three-star guesthouse in San Felipe del Agua with a pool, garden, terrace and library, and breakfast included. A quiet, homely stay with views over the hillside and the city.
Check rates →What to book ahead in Oaxaca, how to get around, how many days to allow and where Monte Albán, the markets, mezcal and the valley day trips fit.
Choosing a base in Oaxaca city: the historic centre, the Santo Domingo and 5 de Mayo area and the markets side, with eight hotels from a convent splurge to a budget stay and a quiet pool retreat on the hillside.
A three-day plan for Oaxaca: the historic centre and Santo Domingo, Monte Albán and the craft villages, and a day in the eastern valley with weaving, the Tule Tree, Mitla and mezcal.
What to eat and drink in Oaxaca: the seven moles, tlayudas, market grills, chocolate and tejate, and how to taste mezcal, with ways to learn it in classes and tastings.
When to visit Oaxaca: the dry and rainy seasons, the Guelaguetza in July, Día de Muertos, the Night of the Radishes and Christmas, with weather and crowd tips for each period.
How to plan day trips from Oaxaca: the eastern valley with Teotitlán, the Tule Tree, Mitla and Hierve el Agua, the southern craft villages, Tlacolula market, the Etla Valley and the Sierra Norte.
