Support traditional craft artisans by dropping into this shop for beautiful scarves, shirts, rugs…read moreand other traditional textiles at good prices.

If you are visiting Oaxaca, take a quick half-day trip about an hour outside of the city to San…read moreMartin Tilcajete, a small town that specializes in making the hand carved and painted alebrijes. Learn more about them on wikipedia. No one is alike! Joaquin at la iguana magica has in my opinion the best selection of them in this town. He and his family have been producing them for more than 30 years. If you buy in large quantity, be sure to ask him for a discount or a free figure. He will bargain hard, but you can usually get up to 15% off his list prices. It will be much cheaper for you to buy these here than in Oaxaca because you cut out the middleman. Insiders tip: here's how to get there and back most quickly. Go to the cathedral in the zocalo in oaxaca and proceed to the taxi stand. Agree on your one-way fare in advance. It should cost anywhere from 100 to 200 pesos. If the taxi driver quotes you more, just go to another taxi driver in the lineup as we did. Upon returning from San Martin, just recognize you will have fewer taxi choices back to the city. You may have to pay more on the way back as a result. If you are driving, I apologize in advance. I was the first to review this business, and for some reason yelp cannot find the right address. This little town is about one hour outside of Oaxaca, not an eight minute drive.

One of the best and most complete gift shop we found in Oaxaca. They have lots of handmade and…read morelocally produced art and a very helpful staff. Located near the Zocolo just about all the things you see in local shops are here, but so much more. And there is such a variety within each category. The wood carved and beautifully decorated "animals" comprise a zoo of selections. All nicely done and priced reasonably. Clothing, especially blouses, ponchos and dresses, are plentiful. Jewelry, carvings, statuary, pottery, leather stationary holders, papers and paper decorations are part of the inventory. Prices are slightly more than one will find in the smaller shops, but selection and quality are the rule here. If you are looking for something special or different, ask the staff, all of whom speak English which makes selection and buying easier and more convenient. And best of all, the artists are supported through this venue which encourages more art and maintains some of the art that is fading out due to mechanization. Great place to shop in Oaxaca City.

This was probably the coolest shop we went to in all of Oaxaca. It's a huge space with lots of…read moredifferent spots, sort of a consignment type set-up. There's every kind of Oaxacan product you can think of, from black pottery to traditional jewelry, alebrijes, leather goods, chocolate, tons of textiles and more. What I liked about this place though, is that each stand is a different artisan from somewhere in the region, and though the goods seemed to be of a higher quality than I found other places, the prices were really reasonable. I met the artist of a piece of pottery I bought for my mom, and spoke to someone else that made silver for another booth. A lot of the things we saw in the street and at the mercado really seemed to be mass produced, and That was definitely not the case here. I hope that when I made purchases here they were being truthful and the money truly went to the communities where the products came from, because if that's the case, I'm really glad.

Beautiful but terrible service…read more It's all folded and there is no help to see it spread out or information on the piece A dis service to the beautiful items

So we knew before we walked in that the prices would be high here. We had the privilege of meeting…read morea weaving artist at their multigenerational studio. They showed us their work and said they ONLY trust Juana Cata to sell their work...the store is very particular about knowing their artists are the real deal. Quality and artistry matter to us. When we went there the one lady that spoke English well was more than helpful. She showed us our artists' work and explained others. Both ladies were happy to work with us even after it became obvious we were not their big ticket buyers. We are two guys that went in to by one gift and because of EXCELLENT service, bought two. Ladies in our lives will be very happy because not only are they receiving gifts but they get the standard of exceptionalism.

Best. Guacamole. Ever. We had an amazing dinner and probably…read morethe best guacamole we've ever tasted with zucchini flowers, chepiche (aromatic Mexican herb) and quintoniles (amaranthus) at this wonderful Jalatlaco Restaurant. The burger was delicious and the papas bravas were terrific - a great change from corn tortillas. The tlayuda wasn't quite what we expected - the tortillas were not crispy, but the toppings were delicious!! Our waiter was super nice and the portions were really generous!

Our favorite bar from our trip to Oaxaca. The owner and bartender were incredibly friendly and…read moreamazing. Fantastic live music. The house mezcal was absolutely delicious and there was awesome live music on Friday night. Their veggie tacos are probably the best I have ever had!

Marchanta is a gorgeous store with great quality products (clothing, pottery, accessories). We…read morewandered in and I wanted everything. If you're hoping to do some shopping while you're in Oaxaca and you're looking for some beautifully designed items, definitely keep Marchanta on your list!

The perfect shop for fashionistas looking to buy from local designers. Not cheap, but very high…read morequality, and the staff are kind.

What an amazing place! At first, you think you're just walking into a restaurant, which by the way…read moreserves incredible food with wonderful Zapotec moles and sauces--but then you realize you're also in a gallery filled with gorgeous handwoven tapestries. The colors and textures will absolutely blow you away. And the people here? They're so warm and welcoming that you feel like you're part of the family. Five stars aren't nearly enough! ...It was really fun that the artists were there doing demonstrations too. Very cool!

Wonderful place. Excellent service. The tacos de lechon, pollo dos moles and enchiladas dos moles…read morewere wonderful. We finished the meal with very good flan and mezcal. They also have a wonderful handicraft store. Very clean and the staff speaks English for those in our party that needed it.

This was the only place I could find leather skull key rings for dia de Muertos 2023 presents for…read moreour kids left at home! Excellent quality & reasonably priced at 50 pesos each

One reason I stopped in Oaxaca was to pick up a rug -- not too big as it had to fit in my backpack…read more This city is a great place to explore traditional well-made crafts and textiles. There is a depth and variety of style here, too, because Oaxaca is home to so many artists. I was looking for a simply-designed rug with natural plant and insect dyes. Most rugs use chemical dyes because chemicals are easier to obtain and cheaper to buy. Most buyers in these markets don't care because they typically want a conversation piece so the demand is not there. I have shopped at a few stores in Oaxaca over the years. (MARO, the women's artist cooperative nearby is a worthwhile place to check out.) The people here at Casa de las Artesanías de Oaxaca were all very helpful. I spoke with an elderly woman weaver who showed me some beautiful rugs but none with natural dyes. One of the weavers said that natural dyes are more difficult to find because there are far fewer skilled persons locally that know which plants and insects to use and the methods to produce the dyes are labor-intensive. After a hunt, I was brought some natural-dyed rugs but the designs were too touristy for my taste. One fellow said he had a rug but didn't think I would like the design because it was very unusual. I was curious so he pulled it out from under a large pile of more popular offerings. Unusual it was and even the elderly woman weaver didn't know what to make of it. She said she had never seen such a design and it surely wasn't Mexican-influenced. I loved it and bought weaver Agostin Mendoza's what I call 'Mexican mid-century-modern' rug.