Shopping · Oaxaca · Mexico
Shopping in Oaxaca
Shopping streets, markets and souvenirs worth the suitcase space.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Nsaum75, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Oaxaca is one of Mexico's best places to buy crafts: wool rugs, embroidered huipiles, black pottery, alebrijes, green-glazed ceramics, mezcal and mole. The best prices and widest choice are in the villages where they are made, but city cooperatives and galleries collect the best pieces. Best souvenirs: Mole paste, Mezcal and Wool rugs from Teotitlán.
Key facts
- Shopping areas
- 3
- Markets
- 4
- Top souvenir
- Mole paste
Where to shop
Andador Macedonio Alcalá
Galleries, design shops and textile boutiques between the Zócalo and Santo Domingo.
Around Santo Domingo
Craft cooperatives and fair-trade shops selling textiles and pottery from named villages and makers.
Calle Mina and 20 de Noviembre
Chocolate mills and shops selling mole pastes and cacao near the markets.
Markets
Mercado Benito Juárez
Food, mezcal, leather sandals, baskets and textiles in the city's main covered market.
Mercado de Artesanías
A covered crafts market a few blocks southwest of the Zócalo, with textiles and embroidered clothing from across the state.
Central de Abastos
Oaxaca's huge wholesale market on the western edge of the centre, busiest on Saturdays; keep valuables close.
Tlacolula Sunday market
The valley's biggest weekly market, for food, baskets, mezcal and everyday goods.
What to buy
Mole paste
Mole negro, rojo and amarillo pastes in jars or sealed bags travel well; check import rules for meat-free versions.
Mezcal
Bottles from small palenques, labelled with the agave type and producer's village.
Wool rugs from Teotitlán
Hand-woven rugs coloured with natural dyes; workshops can ship larger pieces.
Barro negro pottery
Burnished black pottery from San Bartolo Coyotepec; wrap it well, as it is fragile.
Alebrijes
Painted copal-wood creatures from San Martín Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola.
Oaxacan chocolate
Tablets of cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon, sold by the mills on Calle Mina.
Streets and markets worth a wander
Market · Centro Histórico
Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Two blocks south of the Zócalo, this food market is known for its Pasillo de Humo, a smoky corridor where you choose tasajo, cecina and chorizo from butchers, have it grilled over charcoal, then buy tortillas, grilled onions and salsas from the women walking the aisles.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Market · Centro Histórico
Mercado Benito Juárez
The city's main covered market, directly north of the 20 de Noviembre, sells everything from quesillo cheese, chapulines and moles by the kilo to mezcal, leather sandals, baskets and embroidered blouses.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Street · Santo Domingo and the Andador
Andador Macedonio Alcalá
The pedestrian street that links the Zócalo with Santo Domingo is lined with colonial façades, galleries, craft shops, cafés and the IAGO print institute.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
- Architecture
Museum · Centro Histórico
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
Food and drink to take home
Edible souvenirs travel best when they are dry or sealed: consider Quesillo, Chapulines, Oaxacan hot chocolate and Tejate. Cheese stalls in the Benito Juárez market; buy a small ball to eat as it is. Check your home country's rules on bringing food and drink back.
Shopping by neighbourhood
| Area | Price level | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Centro Histórico | $$ | Zócalo, cathedral and markets in the colonial grid |
| Santo Domingo and the Andador | $$$ | The pedestrian street, galleries and the gilded church |
| Jalatlaco | $$ | Cobbled lanes, murals and small cafés in an old barrio |
| Xochimilco | $$ | Old barrio beside the aqueduct arches north of the centre |
| Reforma | $$ | Modern residential district with restaurants and cafés |
| San Felipe del Agua | $$$ | Leafy foothills at the edge of the Sierra Norte |
| Barrio de la Soledad | $ | Western centre around the basilica and its ice-cream stands |
Paying and bargaining
Prices are in MXN. Tip about 10–15% in sit-down restaurants and a few pesos at market fondas. Guides and cooking teachers usually receive 10% or more.
- Greet people with 'buenos días' or 'buenas tardes' when entering shops, markets and taxis.
- Haggling is gentle and limited in markets; in artisan workshops, prices are usually fixed and reflect weeks of work.
- Buy crafts directly from workshops in the villages, where more of the price goes to the maker.
When to shop
Shops and markets are quietest in February, May–June and August–September; the busiest months are July and November.
- July: Guelaguetza — regional dance festival on the Cerro del Fortín (usually the last two Mondays of July)
- October: Día de Muertos altars, comparsas and markets (from late October)
Staying near the shops
$$$ · Best for couples, first-timers, culture, food lovers and shopping
Santo Domingo and the Andador
The pedestrian street, galleries and the gilded church
Questions travellers ask
+What should I buy in Oaxaca?
Mole paste, Mezcal, Wool rugs from Teotitlán and Barro negro pottery.
+Where is the best shopping in Oaxaca?
Andador Macedonio Alcalá: Galleries, design shops and textile boutiques between the Zócalo and Santo Domingo.
+What are the best markets in Oaxaca?
Mercado Benito Juárez, Mercado de Artesanías, Central de Abastos and Tlacolula Sunday market.