Every year, Travel + Leisure asks their readers to rank their favorite cities for their World’s Best City Awards. This year was no exception and the results put four Mexican cities in their top 25: #1 Oaxaca City, #2 San Miguel de Allende, #11 Mexico City, and #24 Mérida.
So, what is so special about Oaxaca City? We’ll tell you. There’s a reason why locals say that no one ever visits Oaxaca just once.
1. Incredible food scene
Oaxaca is one of the main reasons why Mexico’s cuisine became an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. From their seven moles and tlayudas to their tamales and guacamole with fried grasshoppers, there are tons of options to delight your palate.
And your experiences can go from making a reservation at a fancy restaurant and pairing every dish with a different mezcal cocktail, to eating inside a market. Actually, one of our favorite experiences was picking up fresh vegetables from the market and bringing them to the ‘Smoke Alley’ to grill them with pieces of tasajo (Oaxaca’s famous beef cut) and make tacos with warm handmade tortillas.
On top of that, add to the list their delicious coffee, handmade chocolate, and Tejate (a traditional sweet beverage). It’s every foodie’s dream!
You can read more about it here: Where to eat in Oaxaca City
2. City & small town all in one
Oaxaca City has all the virtues of a ‘big city’ with tons of shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, galleries, hotels, and malls, yet it still preserves a small-town charm, where everyone knows each other and you can wander around aimlessly.
The historic center is surrounded by beautiful façades with low windows that date back to the XVI Century, which makes it very picturesque. If we had to choose a place to buy a vacation home, Oaxaca City would certainly be at the top of our list. Not so chaotic as Mexico City, but not so dull that you’d get bored in one day.
3. Handcraft galore
The city itself is filled with people selling traditional handcrafts, whether on the streets, in markets, or in shops. Many boutiques have even employed artisans to adapt traditional textiles into more modern clothing or accessories, expanding even further Oaxaca’s handcraft offer. But the real magic happens on the outskirts of the city, in smaller towns filled with the artisans who make such handcrafts.
A one or two hours drive will lead to Teotitlán del Valle, a town specialized in pedal loom rugs; San Martín Tilcajete, the town that inspired the movie Coco for its gorgeous hand-painted alebrijes; or Santo Tomás Jalieza, where groups of women spend their days making quilts, handbags or bracelets in their traditional back-strap looms. And these are just a few, there’s also black pottery, embroidery, and palm leave handcrafts.
Also read: 8 Trips to take from Oaxaca City
4. The perfect mix of culture and nature
This is what makes it a #1 destination, in our opinion. You can jump from admiring the city’s XVI century architecture to walking in an agave field and tasting mezcal, to learning all about Oaxaca’s history in the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures, to watching the petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua, to visiting nearby towns and buying handcrafts, to eating tlayudas at a market or discovering the pre-Hispanic archaeological sites of Monte Albán and Mitla.
There’s something for everyone to enjoy, and if you take a longer ride (6 hours or so), you can even enjoy the beautiful beaches of Oaxaca.
5. The best vibe
Most visitors will agree on this: it feels like home. Somewhere you can instantly relax and have a very laid-back vacation. Whether you’re having a mezcal in La Mezcalerita’s rooftop or a coffee at Oaxaca en una taza, you’ll feel Oaxaca’s smooth and inviting vibe.
We can’t stop singing its praises as you might have noticed. It’s one of our favorite destinations in Mexico.
What do you think? Are you adding Oaxaca to your bucket list?
