Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
Oaxaca City
Got two hours? You'll need it for the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures, housed in the beautiful monastery buildings adjoining the Templo de Santo Domingo. This…
Must-see attractions in Oaxaca
Puerto Escondido
Legendary 3.5km-long Zicatela is the best-known surfing spot in Mexico courtesy of the tempestuous surfing waves of the Mexican Pipeline. The heart of the…
Zipolite
Zipolite's beach is huge, running for a good 1.5km and dispatching massive waves. It's famous for its nudity; you'll see people randomly swimming,…
Puerto Escondido
Small is beautiful at Carrizalillo, set in a sheltered cove west of the center that's reached by a stairway of 157 steps. It’s popular for swimming and…
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Bahías de Huatulco
Halfway between the western edge of Parque Nacional Huatulco and Puerto Ángel awaits some of the most precious coastline in Oaxaca. The water can be…
Oaxaca City
Gorgeous Santo Domingo is the most splendid of Oaxaca’s churches, with a finely carved baroque facade and nearly every square centimeter inside decorated…
Mazunte
This rocky cape, jutting out from the west end of Mazunte beach, is the southernmost point in the state of Oaxaca and a fabulous place to hike at sunset…
Puerto Escondido
The 6km-long Manialtepec Lagoon, beginning 14km west of Puerto Escondido along Hwy 200, is an essential spot for bird enthusiasts and a fascinating place…
Bahías de Huatulco
This long, sandy beach, 14km west of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is backed by a fishing village, and in contrast to Huatulco's other settlements, there's…
Oaxaca City
Traffic-free, shaded by tall trees and surrounded by elegant portales (arcades), the Zócalo is the perfect place to start soaking up the Oaxaca atmosphere…
Puerto Ángel
The coast east of Puerto Ángel is dotted with small hidden beaches, none of them very busy on weekdays. Playa La Boquilla, on a gentle bay about 7.5km…
Bahías de Huatulco
The oddly named 'rabbit bay,' 3km east of Tangolunda, has a long main beach divided by a small rocky outcrop into the western Playa Arenas and the eastern…
Bahías de Huatulco
Cacaluta is a 1km-long slice of paradise that's protected by an island, backed by dunes and usually deliciously deserted. The Mexican road-trip movie Y Tú…
Oaxaca City
A top-class museum, even by Oaxaca's high standards, showing off a wondrous collection of pre-Hispanic art donated by the city's most famous artist,…
Bahías de Huatulco
Three kilometers west of Santa Cruz and easily walkable along a roadside pavement, Maguey’s fine 400m beach curves around a calm bay between forested…
Oaxaca City
Historic, romantic, dignified and safe, wonderful Calle Alcalá (traffic-free since the 1980s) is what Oaxaca is all about. It runs north from the…
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Bahías de Huatulco
One of Huatulco’s loveliest and most interesting day trips, this ‘agro-ecotourism’ operation includes a large organic fruit orchard and a gorgeous 500m…
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Puerto Escondido
Casa Wabi, a sprawling artists' residency that occupies a wonderfully airy building designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, runs tours three…
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Bahías de Huatulco
Inaccessible by land, Chachacual has two beaches: the easterly Playa La India is one of Huatulco’s most beautiful scimitars of sand and one of the area’s…
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Oaxaca City
In a city of provocative graphic art, this workshop and gallery is a key agitator. Founded by the art collective Asaro (Asamblea de Artistas…
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Oaxaca City
At the center of this gallery's workshop is an exceedingly rare 8-ton J Voirin lithography press, which prints both acrylics and woodcuts. Works on…
Bahías de Huatulco
La Entrega lies toward the outer edge of Bahía de Santa Cruz, a five-minute motorboat trip or 2.5km walk/drive along a bendy road from Santa Cruz. This…
Oaxaca City
In former monastic grounds behind the Templo de Santo Domingo, this garden features plants from around Oaxaca state, including a staggering variety of…
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Oaxaca City
Wander northwest of the historical core and you’ll ultimately encounter this arched aqueduct rendered in typical green cantera stone that runs the length…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca
Oaxaca City
Exhibitions of first-rate contemporary Mexican and international art in a beautifully revamped colonial house.
