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OAXACA Despite its population of 650,000, Oaxaca somehow feels more like a village than the sprawling town that it is. Its immaculate downtown streets are lined with exquisite baroque colonial architecture dating from the 16th century. The city's colonial-era treasures include what is perhaps Mexico's most splendid cathedral, plus some of its finest museums and dozens of well-preserved municipal and religious buildings. Among its many archeological attractions are the majestic sites of Monte Alban, Mitla and Yagul. Ask our Mexico Specialist to assist you with your travel arrangements to Oaxaca! 10 Great Things About Oaxaca 10 Great Things About Oaxaca THE ZOCALO Oaxaca's main plaza is one of the most spectacular in Mexico, which is to say, the world. The lovely arcaded square is scented with flowers and thronged at all hours with marimba bands, shoeshine guys and hawkers selling cotton candy. Linger long enough at a cafe, nursing a beer and you'll see absolutely everyone in town. SANTO DOMINGO From the outside, this church is impressive enough but the interior is stunning, decorated with acres of gold leaf, plaster saints and flowers and yellow stained-glass windows that seem to glow as brightly as the sun. The adjacent museum, formerly a convent, is a showplace of soaring arches, columns, grand staircases and, not incidentally, 10,000 years of Oaxacan history. LA COMIDA Almost everything in Oaxaca grinds to a halt between two and five in the afternoon, so you might as well join the rest of the city at lunch, the major meal of the day. Reserve a table in the kitchen at Fonda de la Cruz and watch the cooks spinning out stews and fresh tortillas with amazing efficiency. At vine-shaded Los Pacos, waiters bring tastes of each of Oaxaca's famous moles, such as amarillo, verde, rojo, chichilo and negro to sample before you order. ARTESENIA Even the most jaded traveler will succumb to the earthenware dishes, clay figurines, cotton rebozos (shawls), handmade rugs and hammered-tin lanterns from the region's renowned craftsmen. For irresistible wares, drop by Fonart, La Mano Magica, Aripo and Mejicanerias. MONTE ALBAN The Zapotec and Mixtec ruins form one of the most important sites of pre-Coloumian Mexico. Five miles west of Oaxaca, the massive complex of pyramids, terraces and crumbling temples is as mysterious as any in the world. CHOCOLATE Wake up and smell the cocoa! Plan a morning stroll along Mina, between Cabrera and 20 de Noviembre, Oaxaca's street of many chocolate shops where roasting, grinding and blending swings into full gear around 9 a.m. Mexican chocolate is grainy, but what would mole negro be without it? COLONIAL HOTELS Oaxaca's most elegant choice is the Camino Real, housed in the former convent of Santa Catalina, just off the zocalo. And it is nice. But there are other hotels, like Casa Oaxaca, in the oldest part of the city. The hotel has the requisite patio, high ceilings and plenty of charm, but it is more moderately priced. Chef-owner Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo puts Mexican ingredients in their best light each evening at the hotel restaurant, but he only cooks for those who've reserved a maximum of 15 to 20 people. OCOTLAN Fans of the late Rodolfo Morales, one of Mexico's greatest artists, will recognize this town which appears in many of his paintings (think Van Gogh and Arles). It's less than an hour's drive (take Highway 175 South) and worth a trip to see Morales's superb renovation of the once-decaying Santo Domingo church and monastery, just off the zocalo. MUSEAO DE FILATELIA We know - a stamp museum! But think of this one, at Reforma 504, as an art museum in miniature, spanning the era from colonial to modern. Even the museum's architecture is remarkable, seamlessly combing terra-cotta walls and stone patios with stark new lines. THE TULE TREE The tiny town of Santa Maria el Tule, nine miles east on Highway 190, has a terrific centerpiece - a 2,000-year-old ahuehuete cypress , one of the oldest and largest trees in Mexico. Stare at the huge, gnarled trunk long enough and you may begin to see the images of animals, people and fruit that the locals have been talking about for centuries. Hotels HOTEL EX-CONVENTO SAN PABLO A few blocks away from the central zocalo (town square) in Oaxaca city is the majestic 21-room HOTEL EX-CONVENTO SAN PABLO, a former Domincan convent with architecture that dates to the sixteenth century, featuring vaulted brick ceilings and tile floors. The rooms overlook a courtyard fountain and are elegantly decorated with intricately carved wooden beds and eighteenth-century oil paintings. Doubles from $120. HOTEL HACIENDA LOS LAURELES The HOTEL HACIENDA LOS LAURELES sits on a hillside with a view of Oaxaca City. The 26 spacious rooms with white stucco walls, beamed ceiling and ornate mirrors surround a large tranquil garden filled with ancient laurel and cypress trees. There's a jacuzzi in most rooms and if that's not therapeutic enough for you, head for the spa for a temazcal treatment (traditional herbal steam bath) or massage. The hotel's restaurant makes a fine jugo de carne (sherry-chicken). Doubles from $190. CASSIA CERRITO SAGRADO The CASSIA CERRITO SAGRADO is a new B&B with 10 terraced rooms overlooking the Zapotec village of Teotilan del Valle. For breakfast, owner Mary Jane Mendoza offers guests hot chocolate laced with ground almonds and cinnamon, plus rich egg bread for dunking and fresh mangoes and pineapples. Doubles from $80. Markets MERCADO 20 DE NOVIEMBRE At Mercado 20 de Noviembre, two blocks south of the town square, food stalls fill almost an entire building. The best section has the taco vendors, where you take a wicker basket and pick out chiles and onions, then pass them to the griller who will cook your choice of chorizo, (sliced beef or chile-rubbed pork) and pass it all back to you to wrapped in fresh tortillas. MERCADO MERCED Is well worth the 10-block walk from the square, especially for Oliva Castro's empanadas, filled with squash blossoms, huitlacoche (corn fungus) or tinga (spicy shredded pork). (Her stall, on Antojitos La Guerita, between Calles Murguia and Morelos, is open from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.) Then, order a foamy vampiro made with orange and beet juice, from the stall across the aisle. TEOTITLAN DEL VALLE At the less well-known daily market in Teotitlan del Valle (*pictured above), 17 miles from Oaxaca City, local women with ribbons braided into their hair sell fresh tamales and heirloom varieties of avocados and tomatoes and beautiful woven rugs. Restaurants Oaxacan cuisine is known for so much - queso de Oaxaca (a string cheese), empanadas with squash blossoms - but its quintessential recipe is mole, a sauce made of chiles, ground seeds, nuts, spices and herbs. Some of the best mole in town can be found at the new, reservations-only Casa Oaxaca. The chef prepares a set menu, as if he's throwing a dinner party in a colonial mansion. EL CHE El Che, the latest place for elegant dining, is known for its Argentine steak, grilled chorizo and baby eels with chiles, garlic and olive oil. FONDA DE LA CRUZ Within the funky pink, blue, yellow and lavender walls of Fonda de la Cruz an eclectic crowd dines on cochinita pibil, pork seasoned with bitter orange and steamed in banana leaves. MARCO POLO Sit under the trees at Marco Polo for the best octopus salad in Oaxaca and fabulous whole fish baked in a wood-burning oven. |
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