Things to do · Oaxaca · Mexico
17 best things to do in Oaxaca
17 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Comisión Mexicana de Filmaciones from México D. F., México, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Quick answer
The essential sights in Oaxaca are Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca and Monte Albán. Of the 17 picks below, 6 are free, 7 work on a rainy day and 1 suit children. Allow about 5 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
- Free sights
- 6
- Good on a rainy day
- Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
- Time to see the highlights
- 5 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán | Santo Domingo and the Andador | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca | Santo Domingo and the Andador | 2 hours | Low cost |
| Monte Albán | Monte Albán | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Zócalo and Cathedral | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Free |
| Mercado 20 de Noviembre | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca | Santo Domingo and the Andador | 1–2 hours | Low cost |
| Mercado Benito Juárez | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Andador Macedonio Alcalá | Santo Domingo and the Andador | 1 hour | Free |
| Museo Textil de Oaxaca | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Basílica de la Soledad | Barrio de la Soledad | 45 minutes | Free |
| Jalatlaco street walk | Jalatlaco | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Cerro del Fortín | Barrio de la Soledad | 1–1.5 hours | Free |
| Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca | Santo Domingo and the Andador | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Árbol del Tule | Santa María del Tule | 30–45 minutes | Low cost |
| Mezcal tasting | Centro Histórico | 1–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Oaxacan cooking class | Centro Histórico | 4–6 hours | Expensive |
The 17 best things to do
Religious site · Santo Domingo and the Andador
1.Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Oaxaca's most spectacular church was built by Dominican friars from the late 16th century and is covered inside with gilded and polychrome stucco. Look for the genealogical tree of Saint Dominic's family on the ceiling beneath the choir, and the Rosary Chapel, a riot of gold leaf, to the right of the nave. The plaza and agave beds outside are the city's favourite meeting point.
Visit in the late afternoon, when the sun lights the façade, and step inside quietly if a service or wedding is under way.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Free
- Photo spot
Museum · Santo Domingo and the Andador
2.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. Its star exhibit is the treasure of Tomb 7 at Monte Albán: Mixtec gold, jade, turquoise and carved bone found in 1932. Upper-floor windows look down over the Ethnobotanical Garden.
Go before visiting Monte Albán to understand the site, and leave time for the window views of the garden and the church dome.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
- Architecture
Historic site · Monte Albán
3.Monte Albán
The Zapotec capital was built on a levelled mountaintop about 400 metres above the valley, around 9 km west of the city, from roughly 500 BC. Its Great Plaza is ringed by pyramids, a ball court and the Danzantes, carved stone figures among the oldest monuments in the site. Views stretch across all three arms of the Oaxaca valley.
Go early, when it is cooler and the light is soft; there is little shade, so bring a hat and water.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Views
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Landmark · Centro Histórico
4.Zócalo and Cathedral
Oaxaca's main square is shaded by old laurel trees around a wrought-iron bandstand, with café terraces under the arcades and a constant stream of balloon sellers, marimba bands and families. The cathedral, with its green-stone baroque façade, faces the adjoining Alameda de León.
Take a coffee under the arcades in the early evening, when the square is at its liveliest and the marimba players set up.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- History
- After dark
Market · Centro Histórico
5.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. Fondas around the edges serve mole and hot chocolate.
Pick the meat first, then sit at a shared table; vendors will bring tortillas, guacamole and chiles to you, each paid separately.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Garden · Santo Domingo and the Andador
6.Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca
Laid out in the former convent orchards behind Santo Domingo, this garden displays plants native to Oaxaca, one of Mexico's most biodiverse states: columnar cacti, agaves used for mezcal, cochineal-hosting nopal and dye plants. The planting is striking against the church walls, and guides explain each plant's traditional use.
Book the English-language tour if you need it; Spanish tours run more often, and the content is excellent either way.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Visits are by guided tour only; reserve a place at the entrance a day or two ahead, especially for English tours.
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
Market · Centro Histórico
7.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. It is the best place to try tejate, the frothy cold maize-and-cacao drink served from painted gourds.
Buy mole paste here to take home; stallholders will let you taste the negro, rojo and amarillo before choosing.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Street · Santo Domingo and the Andador
8.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. In the evenings, street musicians and wedding processions with giant puppets (monos de calenda) and brass bands often pass along it.
Walk it twice: in the morning for galleries and shops, and after dark when calendas and street performers take over.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
- Architecture
Museum · Centro Histórico
1.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. Its shop sells pieces bought directly from weavers in the state.
Check the shop before buying textiles elsewhere; it is a reliable benchmark for quality and fair prices.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Shopping
Museum · Centro Histórico
2.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. Figurines and vessels from across Mexico are shown as sculpture.
Allow an hour and combine it with lunch nearby; the museum is small enough to see without fatigue.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Religious site · Barrio de la Soledad
3.Basílica de la Soledad
The basilica of Oaxaca's patron, the Virgen de la Soledad, has a carved stone baroque façade like a folding screen and a richly decorated interior. On the terraced plaza outside, stalls have sold nieves for generations, with flavours such as leche quemada, tuna (prickly pear) and rose petal.
Order a scoop of leche quemada with tuna, the classic Oaxacan pairing, and eat it on the plaza steps.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Food
- Architecture
Neighbourhood · Jalatlaco
4.Jalatlaco street walk
A short walk east of the centre, Jalatlaco's cobbled streets are lined with brightly painted houses and some of Oaxaca's best street murals and stencil art. Its small church of San Matías, cafés and bakeries make it an easy hour's wander.
Go in the morning light for photographs and finish with breakfast at one of the barrio's cafés.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
Viewpoint · Barrio de la Soledad
5.Cerro del Fortín
The hill on the northwest edge of the centre holds the open-air auditorium where the Guelaguetza is staged and a long stairway that climbs past viewpoints over the city's domes towards the mountains. A monument to Benito Juárez overlooks the city from the slopes.
Climb in the late afternoon for sunset views, and come down before dark; take a taxi up if you want to save your legs.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Outdoors
- Active
Gallery · Santo Domingo and the Andador
6.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. Its shows range from historic engravings to contemporary Mexican printmaking.
Use the courtyard as a calm break from the Andador, and ask about other cultural centres Toledo founded in the city.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Santa María del Tule
7.Árbol del Tule
In the churchyard of Santa María del Tule, about 10 km east of the city, stands a Montezuma cypress with one of the stoutest trunks of any tree in the world, around 14 metres across. Local children with mirrors point out shapes in the bark said to resemble animals.
Stop on the way to Teotitlán or Mitla; the village market next to the churchyard is good for a tejate or a snack.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Kids
- Photo spot
Experience · Centro Histórico
8.Mezcal tasting
Oaxaca produces most of Mexico's mezcal, and the city's mezcalerías pour small-batch spirits made from espadín, tobalá, tepeztate and other agaves, often with orange slices and sal de gusano (worm salt). A guided tasting explains how roasting in earth pits gives mezcal its smoky flavour.
Ask for the agave type and the producer's village for each pour, and sip slowly; artisanal mezcal can be well above 45% alcohol.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Food
- After dark
- Couples
Experience · Centro Histórico
9.Oaxacan cooking class
Many local cooks run classes that start with a market visit to buy chiles, herbs and quesillo, followed by hands-on preparation of a mole, salsas made on a stone metate and tortillas on a clay comal. It is one of the best ways to understand the region's ingredients.
Choose a class that includes the market visit; seeing chilhuacle and pasilla chiles on sale helps you recognise moles afterwards.
- Time needed
- 4–6 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Popular classes fill up around Día de Muertos and the Guelaguetza; reserve a few weeks ahead for those periods.
- Food
- Couples
- Rainy day
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Museo de Arte Prehispánico Rufino Tamayo and Jalatlaco street walk |
| History | Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Monte Albán and Zócalo and Cathedral |
| Views | Monte Albán and Cerro del Fortín |
| Outdoors and nature | Monte Albán, Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca, Cerro del Fortín and Árbol del Tule |
| Food and markets | Mercado 20 de Noviembre, Mercado Benito Juárez, Basílica de la Soledad and Mezcal tasting |
| After dark | Zócalo and Cathedral, Andador Macedonio Alcalá and Mezcal tasting |
| With children | Árbol del Tule |
| On a rainy day | Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Mercado 20 de Noviembre, Mercado Benito Juárez and Museo Textil de Oaxaca |
What to book ahead
- Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca: Visits are by guided tour only; reserve a place at the entrance a day or two ahead, especially for English tours.
- Oaxacan cooking class: Popular classes fill up around Día de Muertos and the Guelaguetza; reserve a few weeks ahead for those periods.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Oaxaca?
Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Oaxaca's most spectacular church was built by Dominican friars from the late 16th century and is covered inside with gilded and polychrome stucco.
+What can you do for free in Oaxaca?
Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Zócalo and Cathedral, Andador Macedonio Alcalá, Basílica de la Soledad and Jalatlaco street walk. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Oaxaca when it rains?
Head indoors to Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, Mercado 20 de Noviembre, Mercado Benito Juárez and Museo Textil de Oaxaca.
+What is there to do in Oaxaca at night?
Zócalo and Cathedral, Andador Macedonio Alcalá and Mezcal tasting are best after dark.