Oaxaca, Mexico - One of 33 World Heritage Sites in Mexico
Nestled in the mountains of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, the city of Oaxaca not only offers one of the best climates in the world, but the town is full of churches, museums and history.
The Big Mozey
The Big Mozey
There are at least 6 churches that are worth seeing, 4 museums, the local theater offers a weekly venue of plays and concerts and there are history museums and textile museums.
Mexico itself is known for Tequila, but in Oaxaca, the locals brew a drink called Mezcal. The difference between Tequila and Mezcal is that tequila uses one type of agave, while Mezcal can use anywhere from 2 to 32 different types of agave. Since it is similar to the types of wine one can get from different types of grapes, the Mezcal industry is a small one, with local Mezcal makers in the Oaxaca area doing their own thing to come up with different flavors of Mezcal
From oyster bars, pizza parlors, local artesian restaurants to street vendors, Oaxaca offers the visitor a wide range of food choices. Some open air, some closed in with glass windows, the variety of restaurants in the city makes dining out an evening adventure unto itself.
The streets are narrow, and become much more so when the locals put up stalls outside the numerous restaurants and stores in town. The owners of the stalls sell a wide variety of items - from local crafted sweaters, shirts and shawls to street food, normal goods found in most of the stores from shoes to watches, Ipad holders.
The town square takes up a city block, and on the streets that make up the square, one can find a variety of stores, restaurants, shoe shine men and boys and many local xylophone players and guitar players going from restaurant to restaurant playing their music.
And to top off the local music, most of the restaurants around the town square offer their own bands, serenading the diners of their establishments in the evenings.
Oaxaca has closed off a street by the name of Andador de Macedonia Alcala, where again, restaurants, shops local crafts and street food can be found. The street starts from the town square and runs about 5 blocks to the Cathedral of Oaxaca. An enjoyable street to walk while staying in Oaxaca.
If the visitor tires of the museums, churches, local crafts and the many other things offered within the city, the surrounding country beckons. There are tours of mezcal distillery's in the surrounding towns.There are Mayan ruins to visit. Bird watching is available - migratory birds from the U.S. and Canada make Mexico their home in the winter time. There's sulpher springs to visit, along with a trek to Pueblos Mancomunados, and shopping - both within the city of Oaxaca and the surrounding indigenous cites that are within a short commute from Oaxaca.
If one visits Mexico and wants something besides sand and beaches, Oaxaca calls the tourists. Cool nights and warm days, with the offerings over 100 hotels and hostels, close to 400 different restaurants and variety of local crafts and the unique Mezcal, Oaxaca is a city that should be on all tourists agendas when they come to Mexico.
