Top things to do in the city of Oaxaca

Oaxaca is my favorite state of Mexico, and the city of Oaxaca is it's capital. Wondering what is there to do there? Here are my favorite things!

Beer

Starting from my personal favorite. Like always, I try to find some beer culture at any place I go to, and boy did I find some in Oaxaca. Craft beer is becoming more and more popular in Mexico, and Oaxaca is not an exception. Having their own breweries, and lately a lot of restaurants started to offer a few craft beers in their menus. I even found a few mezcalerias that offer their own craft beer! Walk around the city, choose a place and enjoy the local craft! My favorite place for that is Oaxaca Brewing Co.

Food

I keep saying that, but just like everywhere in Mexico, the food is just amazing, and there is a great variety of it. It doesn't matter if you are at a restaurant, at the market, or at some street stall, just try it! You will not regret it. My favorite place to eat is Zandunga Sabor Istmeño, the food is amazing and they have craft beer! Also, El Ceviche Loco in the Benito Juarez market is something you shouldn't pass on!

Markets

Mexico's markets are amazing to me! They full of everything you can imagine, and the vendors are not as aggressive as you might be used to in other Latin American countries. There are plenty of places to buy your souvenirs or food (as I mentioned in the previous point). Go around, the time will pass very fast! I can spend a whole day just walking around and speaking with the locals

Tule (and mezcal, in general)

Tule is a small town not so far (about 20 minutes) from Oaxaca. You can get there by taking a shared taxi from the main road (Eduardo Mata). The town is famous mainly for 2 things:

• The first would be the tree of Tule - the widest tree in the world. The trunk of the tree measures at a circumference of 42m, and has a great history behind (estimated to be more than 1000 years old!), some even consider it as the tree of life that you might be familiar with from some legends

• The second thing will be the Mezcal. Oaxaca is producing about 70% of the mezcal in the whole country, and has countless mezcalerias. Tule is a central point at that, a lot of local mezcalerias have shops in the town and the people are very knowledgeable. They will explain everything from the types of mezcal, how to make it, or the history of the place

Tule is definitely a must if you visit Oaxaca!

Monte Albán

Oaxaca is also has very famous archeological ruins. One of those ruins is Monte Albán, one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, and the image you can see on your 20 peso bills. The cheapest and easiest way to get there is to take a bus from the main square, just ask your hotel where are the buses leaving from and be there early! (I caught one around 9am). You can hire a guide on the spot but you don't have to, I spent my time walking around and reading the signs in front of each ruin and felt satisfied with that.

Hierve el Agua

Hierve el Agua is a set of natural rock formations that resemble cascades of water. These formations are created by fresh water springs, whose water is filled with minerals.

To get there from Oaxaca you need to take a taxi to Mitla, from the same main street you would take a taxi to Tule. Once you are in Mitla there is a service of public transport that will take you to the site. A word of warning, the transport is always waiting to be full, so it can take some time to get there (and back!), my advice is to befirend a local and get there with his car. But in case you choose the public transport way like we did, the way from Mitla to Hierve el Agua is one to remember, you will make good friends with the people that are sharing the ride with you! Once you get there, there are a lot of souvenir shops, but also food and beer. You can enjoy your beer or michelada and some sun in the mineral water, with the best view!

Final thoughts

As always, there are plenty more things to do in the city of Oaxaca, these are merely my favorites. The locals are amazingly nice and informative, all you need to do is ask! We had the privilege to be there during a festival so the city was more festive than usual, there are plenty of those as well, just Google the schedule and see what is going on while you are there. I hope this post helps you, and if not, tell me!