Oaxaca
Mexico · Latin America
Zapotec weaving, colonial limestone.
The Sierra Juárez mountains ring the city on three sides, which means every road out climbs steeply and most visitors stay longer than planned, filling the 16th-century courtyards of the Centro Histórico for days rather than hours.
Oaxaca moves at the pace of its zócalo — the central plaza where vendors sell tlayudas until midnight and brass bands compete with conversation on Sunday evenings. The city's core is colonial limestone and stucco, most of it 16th- and 17th-century construction, with the jade-green façade of the Templo de Santo Domingo anchoring a pedestrian corridor of mezcal bars and textile markets selling Zapotec weaving from the surrounding villages. Commerce here runs almost entirely through independent hands: family-run chocolate mills on Mina, craft cooperatives in the Mercado Benito Juárez, and small-batch mezcaleros doing tastings off unmarked streets in Jalatlaco. Getting here requires a connection through Mexico City or Guadalajara, which filters the crowd and keeps the city's tempo unhurried even as international visitors have pushed prices upward along Macedonio Alcalá.
Essentials
The things every first-time visitor should know.
Deep cuts
What the locals know, and most visitors miss.
Day trips
Where to go when the city needs a break.