The city of Oaxaca is a popular destination for tourists. With lively festivals and colourful streets, it’s easy to see the appeal. Its colonial history can be seen and felt on every street corner and its proximity to ancient ruins means its a great spot for history lovers. Add to that are the many high end restaurants that make Oaxaca a foodie’s destination. All of this ensures that Oaxaca has something for every type of traveller.
Although the surrounding valley had been inhabited for hundreds of years, the city of Oaxaca was only settled by the indigenous Mexica people in the late 1400s. They came from their capital in Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) to invade the other indigenous settlements in the area, most of whom were Zapotec and Mixtec. They set up the town as a strategic post and named it Oaxaca, after a locally found tree. It didn’t stay Mexica territory for long though. Thinking this was the location of Mexica’s gold, the Spanish came and conquered them in the early 1500s. Like the Mexica, the Spanish also used it as a post to control these newly occupied lands. After the Spanish arrived, the small town developed into a city and went through a few different name changes, including Antequera.
In the late 1800s the name was changed to Oaxaca de Juárez in honour of Mexican President Benito Juárez. He was a Zapotec man from Oaxaca who became Mexico’s most beloved President. The city is more commonly referred to as Oaxaca. It is the capital of the State of Oaxaca, so the names do get confused.
Today, the Old Town is filled with over 1,200 historic buildings and monuments, many from the 16th century. It is this collection of well restored buildings that has given this historic centre the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.
At 1,550 m (5,085 ft) elevation, the temperatures are quite pleasant to stroll along the cobblestone streets and seek out these old treasures.
Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán
The most prominent building in the city’s historic centre is Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Construction of the church began soon after monks from the Dominican Order arrived in the early 1500s. Since then it has undergone many repairs, restorations and expansions including as recently as the 20th century. The building suffered damage from several earthquakes so some of those restorations included building thick, earthquake proof walls.
As soon as you enter the church’s foyer you will be stunned by the glittering ceiling. An over-the-top tree with golden branches and leaves will take all of your attention. After staring, you see that the branches support 3D reliefs of saints. The gold theme extends throughout the entire sanctuary where literally every inch of the ceiling and walls are ornamented with golden designs. At the front is a large golden altar, but you barely even notice it under the flamboyant ceiling.
Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca
Beside the church is the Convent of Santo Domingo. The original building was massive, spreading across several city blocks. Today it houses the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca which has an impressive collection of pre-colonial artefacts. We’ll show you our favourite piece from the museum below, but more artefacts will be included in our post about the pyramids of Monte Alban.
In addition to the huge collection of indigenous artefacts, the building itself is worth the entry. It has long arched hallways as well as decorated entry ways, stairwells and ceilings. It’s a beautiful building.
Behind the museum you can visit the Ethnobotanical Garden. It is situated in what used to be the convent’s garden and showcases culturally significant plants from the area.
Plaza de Santo Domingo
In front of the church is the small Plaza de Santo Domingo. Even though it is not the main square it seems to be the heart of the city. Every evening when we were in the city, a different festival was taking place in this square. Dancers in costumes carried colourful balloons or handheld papier-mâché dolls and were joined by large mojigangas (mannequins). They all paraded around the square to the beat of Mariachi music. It was very lively.
In addition to the nightly shows we saw a few other parades walking along the heritage streets. Oaxaca is known as a festival city and we were more than happy to experience some of the celebrations.
Calle Macedonio Alcalá
Between Plaza de Santo Domingo and Zócalo (Main Square) is the long colourful pedestrian street Calle Macedonio Alcalá. It is far from the only colourful street though. Almost every street in and around the historic centre is lined by homes painted in the traditional colonial palette. Not only are they colourful, many have quirky artwork displayed on their walls.
Mercado 20 Noviembre
There are many markets in Oaxaca’s downtown, but the busiest seems to be Mercado 20 Noviembre. Rather than having the typical fruit and vegetable sections though, the markets were more like eateries with countertops and stools at each stall. Pasillo de Humo (Hall of Smoke) is a very popular section. The name is a good indication of how to find it. A long smoke filled hall is home to the barbeque section where they grill a large variety of meat. All of the markets seemed to be busy with both tourists and locals.
Xochimilco
Just outside of the heritage centre is the colourful neighbourhood of Xochimilco. The streets are quiet and walls are decorated with street art, but the main draw in this neighbourhood is the aqueduct. The 18th century Aqueduct Arcos De Xochimilco brought water from the hills into the city’s downtown and was used until the 1940s. We followed the aqueduct into the centre where its design changed quite a bit.
Zócalo
Usually the Zócalo (Main Square) is the first place to visit in a colonial city as they are often a hub of activity. Unfortunately in Oaxaca, it is not the case right now. The zócalo, and most of the nearby streets, are occupied by tent cities. They’re not filled with homeless, but rather by a variety of protest movements. It began in 2016 when teachers began protesting, and grew from there. We saw many different posters for the different causes from: teachers, to support for Palestine, to conditions in some of the state’s villages. There were so many that no single cause stood out and as a result are likely lost in the deluge of protestors. It really spoiled our impression of this great city.
We have heard from other travellers that when they visited a few months later, the streets and square were free of tents, so hopefully it will be for you too.
Because of these encampments we didn’t have a clear view of the large, stone Oaxaca Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. It is said to be one of the best examples of Mexican Baroque architecture. We could only see a few of the sculputures that decorate its façade. The interior is quite simple and has an organ in the middle of the sanctuary, similar to the cathedrals we saw in Puebla and Morelia.
When to visit Oaxaca
Dry season, lasts from late October to early May making those months the best to visit. Due to the amount of festivals in the city it will be very busy on Day of Dead (Día de los Muertos) and Easter Week (Semana Santa), but they would also make a fascinating visit.
Where to stay in Oaxaca
Being a popular tourist destination, there are many accommodations to chose from in Oaxaca. If you stay right in the historic centre it may be somewhat noisy at night. As long as you’re within walking distance of Plaza de Santo Domingo you should be fine. The city is vey safe, even in the evenings.
Where to eat in Oaxaca
Known as a foodie destination there is no shortage of excellent restaurants and bakeries in Oaxaca. Most of the ones located along or near Calle Macedonio Alcalá are more pricey, but if you walk a couple of blocks in any direction the prices go down, but the quality does not.
In addition to the city’s historic centre there are a few sites to visit outside of the city as well. In the coming days we’ll take you to the pyramids of Monte Albán, the ruins of Mitla and a frozen waterfall.
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Coming Next – The Pyramids of Monte Albán
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