Oaxaca City
Colonial capital where the food alone justifies the flight
“The anchor of any Oaxaca trip — food, markets, and mezcal within ten walkable blocks.”
Oaxaca City is compact in the best way: the historic center is maybe ten by ten blocks, and almost everything you came for is inside it. Mornings belong to the markets — 20 de Noviembre for the smoke hall, Benito Juárez for everything else — and evenings to the plazas around Santo Domingo.
What a friend would tell you: three days is right. Day one for the city itself, day two for Monte Albán and a market lunch, day three for the mezcal valleys. A tlayuda at a market comal runs 90–130 MXN (June 2026); if someone charges you double that a block from the Zócalo, you’re paying for the location, not the food.
When to go
best
Guelaguetza (late July) and Día de Muertos (Nov 1–2) are the two peaks — book rooms months ahead for either.