Museums · Oaxaca · Mexico
4 best museums in Oaxaca
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Nsaum75, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Start with Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Museo Textil de Oaxaca and Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 5–5 hours across 2 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 5–5 hours
- Areas
- Santo Domingo and the Andador and Centro Histórico
Museums in Oaxaca
Museum · Santo Domingo and the Andador
1.Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
The former Dominican convent beside Santo Domingo now houses the state's main history museum, spread over cloisters and vaulted halls.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
- Architecture
Museum · Centro Histórico
2.Museo Textil de Oaxaca
A restored colonial building near the Andador houses rotating exhibitions of Oaxacan and international textiles, from backstrap-loom weaving and natural dyes such as cochineal and indigo to contemporary work.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Shopping
Museum · Centro Histórico
3.Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo
The Oaxacan painter Rufino Tamayo collected more than a thousand pre-Hispanic pieces and displayed them for their artistic rather than archaeological value, in colour-washed rooms of a colonial house on Avenida Morelos.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Santo Domingo and the Andador
4.Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca
Founded by the Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo opposite Santo Domingo, IAGO is a graphic-arts centre with print exhibitions, a large art library and a quiet courtyard.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Santo Domingo and the Andador | Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca and Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca | 2 hours + 45 minutes |
| Centro Histórico | Museo Textil de Oaxaca and Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo | 1 hour + 1 hour |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 4 low cost. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Santo Domingo and the Andador and Centro Histórico): Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca → Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca → Museo Textil de Oaxaca, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Centro Histórico): Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo, at least 1 hour.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 29°C (84°F), about 1 rainy days, quiet crowds. Warm days, cool nights and clear skies; one of the most pleasant and least crowded months.
- May: highs of 32°C (90°F), about 8 rainy days, quiet crowds. Hot, with the first storms arriving later in the month and the valley starting to green.
- June: highs of 29°C (84°F), about 15 rainy days, quiet crowds. The rainy season begins: sunny mornings, afternoon or evening downpours and green hills.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Centro Histórico — Zócalo, cathedral and markets in the colonial grid
- Santo Domingo and the Andador — The pedestrian street, galleries and the gilded church
More of Oaxaca
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Oaxaca?
Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca. The former Dominican convent beside Santo Domingo now houses the state's main history museum, spread over cloisters and vaulted halls.