How Oaxaca melted my heart

I can’t wait to share everything I experienced in the magical, Mexican city of Oaxaca! In recent years, Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HA-ka) has become an “it” destination and its charming colorful houses are regularly features in travel magazines, social media, and blogs. It’s also experiencing a large wedding tourism boom because of their colorful, traditional weddings. 

In total, I spent 5 full days here. With action packed days, it was enough to eat, see, and do almost everything. This time, I was so lucky to have a travel buddy and super planner with me, who took the reigns of planning and execution and I just toddled along for the ride. It was a welcome change for someone who has gone at it alone for, at least, the last 9 countries. So, thank you Stef for being a super researcher, patient translator, and great friend!

So without further ado, here is my list of how Oaxaca melted my heart.

1. Visit Oaxaca for the People

Without a doubt, a city is only as welcoming as their people and Oaxaca is filled with warm and kind people. Let me just give you a few examples, which I just find so heartwarming and delightful

• the guard at the stamp museum who showed us how to open each of the vintage post boxes,
• the server at TacoVilla who went through the whole menu to make sure we understood each item (and then gave us a complementary order of sopapillas at the end of our meal!),
• all of the lovely locals who always greeted us with a smile and a Buenos Dias (good day!) either on the streets or in a restaurant,
• and even making sure to ask if we were enjoying our food, even if they were customers themselves!!! They wanted to make sure we were enjoying ourselves in their great city!

2. Quality of Life, also related to the people

Some of my fondest memories of this trip involve how local Oaxacans take time to enjoy life. During the day, the Zocalo is a lively square near the center of town filled with street vendors, shoe shiners, and elotes. On a Friday night, there were musicians and people dancing to the music while others were just sitting or standing around enjoying the evening.

One night, we took an hour and a half bike ride around the city, through an organization called Mundo Ceiba. Even though it was a little confusing at check in and the start of the ride, the organizers did an amazing job corralling and leading at least a hundred people. It wasn’t a hundred tourists though. Mostly they were locals of all ages with their families, enjoying the evening and the city they call home.  

The route went outside of the city center (Centro) and made its way into the smaller neighborhoods. The organizers kept cars at bay (with people holding up traffic) and through a loudspeaker and music, kept everyone engaged and their spirits high. For 70 pesos (approximately $4 USD) per person, it was a great way to get to know the city.

Another night, we ran into a wedding in town, which included a large procession with puppets, music, and dancers.  It was wonderful to see and be a part of.  Also, a warm congratulations to Adriana and Omar, who had a beautiful wedding in town that week

3. Wonderful Places and Spaces in Town

Oaxaca is just an amazing town center, with lots of character and charm everywhere you turn.  Looking into doorways and windows were a favorite activity of mine, because you never know when you will stumble on an art gallery, modern art exhibit, or restaurant.

3.1 Ethnobotanical Garden – Jardin Etnobotanico de Oaxaca

The Ethnobotanical Garden (Jardin Etnobotanico de Oaxaca) is a wonderful space in town, directly next to the main church. 

They offer English tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11 am (2 hours) for 100 Pesos | $5.55 USD.  The tours give you an introduction to plants native to the area and a history of its domestication.  We were told that the tour usually sells out, and there are often people waiting in line before the garden opens at 11.  It’s true, there were people lined up, but the week we were there was an off week, and the town was unusually quiet.

3.2 Stamp Museum

Down the street from the garden, is the local stamp museum.  It’s very cute, and has a bigger and more interesting collection than you’d imagine.  It has a nice cafe and sitting area in the back and a cute gift shop in the front.  It’s free, so it’s worth a short stop on your way in or out of the gardens.

3.3 Amate Books

When roaming around town, you’re bound to come across Amate Books, which is a charming, local bookstore near the center.  So colorful and the decorations celebrate the indigenous local cultures.

3.4 Museum of Textiles

While walking around town, you’ll also come across the Museum of Textiles (free admission).  The museum is a charming space with rotating exhibitions of modern and traditional textiles, including textile-related art.  It closes at 8 pm, so there’s plenty of time to stop by.  There was a little. party going on when we stopped by one evening,

4. Visit Oaxaca for the Fun Day Trips!

We took two day trips out of the city, and they were both well worth it and easy to do!

4.1 Monte Alban

On the first trip, we went about half an hour outside of town to Monte Alban, which is a UNESCO heritage site known for its post-Classical archaeological ruins.  Monte Alban was built atop a mountain, with its architecture drawing inspiration from the hills and mountains.  It was the political and economic center for the Zapotecs.  Monte Alban is also featured on the back of a 20 Peso note.

We took a round trip bus from Oaxaca city to Monte Alban.  There were several providers, which could all be the same company.  The one we took was outside the Hotel Rivera del Angel, on Francisco Javier Mina (street), near the November 20 market.  The bus left Oaxaca on the half hours, in the morning, and returned from Monte Alban on the hour.  The journey takes about half and hour, winding up a mountain and through small villages.  The roundtrip ticket cost 55 Pesos |~$3 USD.  Alternatively, you could sign up and take a guided tour.

Please note that some products or referrals in this post are affiliate links (in green) and if you go through them to make a purchase or booking, I will earn a commission. I share these product and booking links because they are related to the post and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours whether to click through and make a purchase through these links.

Entrance into the site cost 70 Pesos, and tickets can be bought via credit card using a digital kiosk.  There is a small museum with some artifacts and history, in Spanish only, and a small cafe.  We spent between 2-3 hours here, which was plenty of time to walk through each station and to read the corresponding plaques, which gave information in Spanish, English, and Zapotec. 

But be aware, there is little shade and the distance between buildings and structures can be harsh under the midday sun.  There are locals selling hats and umbrellas outside the entrance, in case you forgot yours.

4.2 Mitla, and the surrounding areas

It’s possible to see a bunch of really interesting places with a day trip outside the city.  It’s not that far, distance wise, but the countryside is vastly different from town and is worth making arrangements to go.  From research, I understand that hiring a private driver is fairly normal and easy to do. Had our Airbnb host not offered to shuttle us around, we would have found our own.   

Our full day tour took us to Arbol del Tule, Mitla, Hierve el Agua, and Mercado de Tlacolula.  Visiting Teotitlan del Valle (a textile, artisan village) would have been possible as well, but we took our time with a long breakfast and an extra visit with an artisan mezcal producer. 

Read all about the day trip to Mitla and surrounding areas

5. Visit Oaxaca for the FOOD

I know I consider myself a food expert, but in reality, I just like eating it. And enjoying it! And boy did I enjoy eating food in Oaxaca!

My fellow blogging friend will do better at explaining all the Oaxaca Street Food we ate. Considering she is an expert chef, I won’t describe everything we ate in detail. But, I will say – the freshly made tortillas were amazing!  You could smell the corn as you took each bite. 

Everything was made with fresh tortillas of varying thicknesses, colors, and levels of softness or crispiness.  These tortillas were often accompanied by beans, cheese, guacamole, meat, mole, and other veggies.  The google map has each spot we ate at marked down.  The real winner was Itanoni, which is known for its corn and tortilla products.  A little bit outside of the center of town, IT WAS SO WORTH IT!

All the places we ate at are listed on the map at the bottom of the post! Try them all!

Parting Thoughts on Oaxaca

So even though this post is more pictures than words, there is just so much to love and to share about Oaxaca. There’s just too much, especially on the food front, to do a proper recap, but everything worth mentioning is included in the Google Map below. 

In short, Oaxaca is a magical place that will capture your heart and soul.  Throughout your whole stay, you’ll probably comment about 10 times a day how charming a place is, how lovely that place is, and what a wonderful quality of life they have there.  And then you’ll know – you’re hooked on Oaxaca too!

I hope I’ve given you a few reasons to visit Oaxaca or at least to put it on your radar for the future. It’s delightful, the people are warm and lovely, and it’s absolutely delicious!

Please note that some products or referrals in this post are affiliate links (in green) and if you go through them to make a purchase or booking, I will earn a commission. I share these product and booking links because they are related to the post and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours whether to click through and make a purchase through these links.

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Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

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