Oaxaca City
Oaxaca’s sentinel hill with stairs, statues, a park and – of course – views makes a robust early-morning run or walk. It starts on Calle Crespo at the…
Must-see attractions in Oaxaca
Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita
Bahías de Huatulco
Granted, it's no Monte Albán, but this pre-Hispanic site 600m north of La Bocana village is your only true glimpse of history in made-in-the-1980s…
Templo y Ex Convento de San Juan Bautista
Western Oaxaca
The Coixtlahuaca church's white-stone western and northern facades have wonderful detailed carving, including rose windows, and inside is a particularly…
Juchitán
Parque Juárez is the city's always interesting central square. This is where the city's vendors moved after the market was destroyed in the 2017…
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de La Asunción
Oaxaca City
Oaxaca’s cantera stone cathedral is suitably massive and old, but in a city as culturally rich as Oaxaca, it is arguably only the third most impressive…
Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
Oaxaca City
Oaxaca doesn’t lack distinguished churches, but many locals rate the Soledad as their favorite. The original baroque facade dates from 1690; while the…
Bahías de Huatulco
Just east of Bahía Maguey, this lush 250m beach has calm waters good for snorkeling, and no crowds because there's no vehicle access and no restaurants…
Mazunte
With a wonderful and very appropriate setting overlooking the ocean, this two-part turtle center ushers visitors on a walk around a collection of outdoor…
Templo y Ex Convento de Santo Domingo
Western Oaxaca
Yanhuitlán's church towers above Hwy 190, 14km northwest of Nochixtlán. Built over an old Mixtec religious site, it has beautiful carving on its north and…
Valles Centrales
Tlacolula's main church is notable for its ornate baroque side-chapel, known colloquially as the Capilla de la Plata (Silver Chapel), a dazzling riot of…
Monte Albán
Arrowhead-shaped Building J, constructed about 100 BC and riddled with tunnels and staircases (unfortunately you can’t go inside), stands at an angle of…
Valles Centrales
This rehabilitated former convent, previously a dilapidated jail, is now a first-class art museum and includes a room dedicated to the work of local magic…
Oaxaca City
A 19th-century wonder of marble and murals, the State Government Palace occupies the Zócalo's southern flank. The large, very detailed stairway mural …
Bahías de Huatulco
About 1.5km east of Playa Conejos, just before the Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita, lies Hutatulco's most low-key beach. Less pretty than other spots,…
Puerto Escondido
The sheltered bay of Puerto Angelito has two smallish beaches with shallow, usually calm waters: the western Playa Angelito and the eastern Playa…
Bahías de Huatulco
Tangolunda, 5km east of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is the site of most of the major top-end hotel developments. The long, wide, spotlessly clean beach is…
Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca
Valles Centrales
San Bartolo's excellent, modern, folk-art museum, with its bright pink facade, is on the south side of the main village plaza. It’s very nicely done and…
Valles Centrales
This family-owned distillery in San Baltazar Guelavila (about 9km southeast of Santiago Matatlán) produces top-notch mezcal made from wild agaves,…
Oaxaca City
The simple house of bookbinder Antonio Salanueva, who supported the great 19th-century Mexican leader Benito Juárez during his youth, is now an…
Monte Albán
Building P was topped by a small pillared temple and was probably an observatory of some sort. The sun shines directly down into a small opening near the…
Monte Albán
The stone terraces of the deep Ball Court, constructed about 100 BC, were probably part of the playing area, not seats for spectators. It’s thought they…
Monte Albán
About 300m long and 200m wide, the Gran Plaza is the heart of Monte Albán. Some of its structures were temples; others were elite residential quarters…
Oaxaca City
You’ll find art by leading figures such as Tamayo and Morales, plus a fine selection of handicrafts and rugs, at this commercial gallery founded by the…
Centro Cultural Comunitario de Teotitlán del Valle
Teotitlán del Valle
A new cultural center with exhibits focused primarily on, you guessed it, all things weaving. Definitely worth a peek if you want to learn more about…
Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca
Oaxaca City
In a beautiful colonial house and founded by Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo, IAGO offers changing exhibitions of graphic art as well as a superb arts…
Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo
Oaxaca City
With a taste for provocative social commentary, this contemporary gallery displays weird and wonderful work by local and international photographers.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca
Oaxaca City
Exhibitions of first-rate contemporary Mexican and international art in a beautifully revamped colonial house.
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
This panoramic old hillside Zapotec stronghold was where King Cosijoeza fought off the Aztecs in 1496. It's 7km north of Hwy 190, from a turnoff just past…
Valles Centrales
A popular place to taste and buy artisan mezcal right next to the fields where they grow the agave. Granted, it's a hot spot on the tour-bus circuit (if…
Valles Centrales
This is a good little community museum in the village of Santa Ana del Valle, 33km southeast of central Oaxaca, with exhibits on local textiles, history,…
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
This former Dominican monastery, built in the 16th century, houses Tehuantepec’s Casa de la Cultura, where arts and crafts workshops and activities are…
Chacahua
The Cocodrilario de Chacahua houses over 200 crocodiles, releasing some of them into the lagoons occasionally as part of a successful program to save the…
Oaxaca City
Housed in the restored Ex Convento de San Pablo (a 16th-century Dominican monastery), the impressive San Pablo Center stages concerts, films, exhibitions,…
Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Bahías de Huatulco
Let it not be said that the age of great church building is dead. Crucecita’s pale-orange colonial-style ecclesial dame dates from – ahem – 2000, but,…
Oaxaca City
This textile museum promotes Oaxaca’s traditional textile crafts through exhibitions, workshops, films, presentations and a library. Themed selections…
Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido's central bay is long enough to accommodate restaurants at its west end, a fleet of fishing boats in its center (Playa Principal), and…
Valles Centrales
Two kilometers down the road from the ruins toward Santa María Atzompa, the neglected Community Museum exhibits some very fine pieces of pottery found at…
Oaxaca City
The 18th-century baroque Templo de San Felipe Neri is where Benito Juárez and Margarita Maza were married in 1843; Margarita was the daughter of Antonio…
Bahías de Huatulco
Santa Cruz Huatulco's small beach is easily accessible but often crowded, and its looks are marred by the cruise-ship pier – especially when one of the…
Iglesia Preciosa Sangre de Cristo
Teotitlán del Valle
From the plaza, steps rise to this handsome 17th-century church with a fine broad churchyard and colorful 18th-century frescoes inside. It was built atop…
