Museums, Churches, Art and an Aqueduct
Despite being a small city, there are a million things to do in Oaxaca. We stayed in Oaxaca for a month in 2023 and still didn’t get through our entire to do list. This guide includes museums, churches and attractions in downtown Oaxaca City, Mexico.
You might also want to check out our Oaxaca Food Guide and Oaxaca’s Best Day Trips.
Oaxaca Tourist Guide and Map
First! I highly recommend trying to track down one of these Tourism Board handouts as your first step to exploring Oaxaca. It is full of things to do during your visit and is really helpful in orienting yourself to the city.
The Turístico Oaxaca booklet is a free tourist guide to Oaxaca City with a fold out street map of museums (museos), markets (mercados), churches (templos or catedrals), and other points of interest.
Look for the cute little graphic in the northwestern corner of the centro or downtown that represents the aqueduct.
This was our Oaxaca City Bible for the month that we spent there. Besides the map it also contains guides to areas outside of the city, the artisan villages and what they’re known for, and importantly: the market days in each of the surrounding towns.
It includes a larger map of the Oaxaca Valley and the general direction of various day trips. This is helpful in deciding which activities to group because they’re near each other.
We scored this copy at the front desk of the first museum we visited: The Oaxacan Painters Museum (MUPO) but I think you can get one from the front desk at any museum. I had to ask the docent, but she did speak English which was very lucky!
Things to do in Oaxaca
I know you’re mostly in Oaxaca to eat street food and drink mezcal, but realistically you have to fill that in-between time with something! The awesome thing about the museums in Oaxaca is that they’re small – doable in about 30 minutes – and most of them are free.
Bonus: you get to walk through old converted buildings in the downtown area and see the remains of colonial mansions and their beautiful central courtyards.
Oaxaca is arguably the best art city in Mexico, second only to CDMX. (It’s hard to compare a city of 750,000 to Mexico City with a metro are population of 22M.)
The churches in Oaxaca are works of art in themselves. The colonial architecture of religious buildings is often extravagant and the interiors are filled with hand crafted details of mind blowing intricacy.
And then there’s the Aqueduct, a fun little detail in this already incredible city.
Art Spaces and Museums in Oaxaca
Textile Museum (Museo Textil de Oaxaca)
Sounds kinda dry, right? Wrong! This museum is really cool. The curators excel at making the rich history of textile art approachable and fun. Plus, the red brick courtyard is pure eye candy.
While we were there the three exhibits were 1) the evolution of embroidery on clothing 2) op art textiles! and 3) an exhibit comparing the finished side of complex textiles to the reverse side. This showed how the fabrics were made but also had some surprises.
Museum of Oaxacan Painters (MUPO)
It’s easy to miss this museum if you aren’t paying attention. It looks like a stone-walled bank building, but the rotating gallery inside highlights artists from the state of Oaxaca, which is pretty fun because you get a truly local art experience.
San Pablo Cultural Center (Centro Cultural San Pablo)
Right next to the Textile Museum is this absolute hidden gem in Oaxaca. You can enter the open-air alleyway from either end but look for the canopy of colorful umbrellas to guide the way. This is Oaxaca’s Umbrella Street (Plaza de los Paraguas)
Off the luxurious central courtyard are a café (Cafe Brujula), a music practice space, a contemporary gallery and a rehabbed building that is part sculpture gallery, part art museum. If you visit one of the listed art spaces in Oaxaca it should be this one. It’s an oasis of culture and creativity.
Contemporary Art Museum (MACO)
This was my favorite art museum in Oaxaca. I love strange, inventive, quirky, contemporary art and this museum had a great mix of established and young artists. And for my art nerds out there, I mean established as in: I saw my first Mona Hatoum in real life.
There’s a lot to see on the two floors of galleries. One of the cool things about this building is that there are architectural artifacts left behind from the former mansion – a big change from the usual sterile white cube. Contemporary art lovers should put this on their to do list.
Stamp Museum (MUFI)
Who cares about stamps? Some people do a lot. But you don’t have to be at all enthusiastic about the postal service to enjoy this tiny museum. Mostly it features artwork that inspired stamp design and then some creative stamp-inspired sculpture and artwork. Plus more beautiful courtyards.
The Aqueduct
You’ve seen aqueducts but this one is integrated into the very bones of Oaxaca. About 300 meters remain of this colonial structure built to transport clean drinking water into the city.
Towards the southern end the arches are tall enough to walk under and the old stone structure acts as a gateway between two neighborhoods. As you go farther north the aqueduct becomes one with the architecture of the city and the arches frame entryways to buildings formed around the ruins.
Take a self-guided tour of the aqueduct with our Walking Tours Guide that includes handy-dandy waypoints and at least one Jack Black trivia item.
Must See Churches in Oaxaca
*Don’t forget to bring a shawl/scarf/sweater while wandering Oaxaca in case you need to cover your shoulders to enter a church building
I’m sure there are other beautiful churches in Oaxaca and the Central Valley that are worth seeing. Many churches welcome visitors, just read the signs and be respectful. Here are a few we visited in Oaxaca City.
Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
This impressive building is at the center of the trendiest neighborhood in Oaxaca. You’ll eventually find yourself wandering the pedestrian walk around Santo Domingo Square. DO NOT forget to venture inside at some point in your stay.
The exterior and landscaping of the grounds are stunning with the signature green stone and perfectly manicured yucca garden. The domed towers are covered in checkered tile giving it a moorish look. I could walk through this square daily and never get tired.
The inside, though… We almost didn’t go inside Santo Domingo Church (it’s just another church, right?) which would have been a huge mistake. The interior is decorated with elaborate handcarved details, gold leaf, oil paintings and a golden altar. The entrance displays a family tree of Santo Domingo de Guzmán with all of his family members individually carved and painted. There’s even a bas relief of The Last Supper in front of the altar. Santo Domingo exemplifies the lavishness and intricate craftsmanship of the best Mexican churches.
The church complex also includes a museum and a botanical garden if you’re eager for more.
Catedral Metropolitana de Oaxaca
This huge church next to the zocalo is grand in every way. The beautiful wood doors at the entrance feature a different saint or angel etched on each pane. The chapels house oil paintings that, in Florence, would be in a museum.
We love the metal starbursts at the altar that remind us of mid-century modern sculptures and the huge oil painting of Spanish colonialism watched over by the heavens. The facade of the cathedral is gorgeous and well preserved. Plus the square is a really great place to hang out and people watch or grab lunch.
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
We kind of stumbled on this square on our way back from Central de Abastos. The church is lovely and so cavernous that I think several bird families live in there (we heard birds singing). But the real treat is the plaza that we talk a little bit more about in our post on Walking Tours and Cool Neighborhoods of Oaxaca.
