Top Rated Shopping in Oaxaca

This delectable shop specializes in the most tasty of products - the famed Oaxacan chocolate. Step inside this small shop in the Chedraui Shopping Center in Fracción San Jose la Noria, and your mouth will start watering. The shop features various varieties of chocolate, including the ever popular chocolate with vanilla and with cinnamon. At Chocolate El Mayordomo, shoppers can buy their delicacies in almost any form: large chunks, smaller disks, powdered, and almost any other form you can imagine. Use the product in a variety of dishes such as famed Mexican hot chocolate, deserts, and many savory traditional Oaxacan specialty foods like Mole Negro.

This is Oaxaca City's largest market. On normal days, the market is nonstop bustling with activity and vendors selling everything from rugs and clothing to fresh fruit, fish and shamanistic concoctions. The market is an essential Oaxaca experience, although tourists should know to be vigilant as petty crime like pick-pocketing is extremely common. Particularly of interest at the Mercado de Abastos is the tianguis market on Saturdays, when vendors from towns all over the area and state flock there to peddle their wares.

The Plaza del Valle Shopping Center is the biggest mall in Oaxaca City. In the Plaza del Valle, visitors will find the best of the west, with a big, crowded food court with McDonalds, Subway, a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food stand and more classic fast food options. Also featured in the mall is a giant children's play structure as well as a multi-screen cinema showing the latest new releases. Last but certainly not least, the Plaza del Valle features more than plenty shops selling everything from the latest fashions to perfumes, toys and almost anything else you could imagine. Located scattered throughout the parking lot are more American-based fast food chains like Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.

Teotitlan del Valle is a small town located 32 kilometers (20 mi) east of Oaxaca City. The town is best known for specializing in all things weaving. Initially, however, Teotitlan began at least 2000 years ago, founded by the Zapotecs, making it one of the oldest inhabited towns in Oaxaca. Wandering through the town, you will undoubtedly have many chances to stop in to the seemingly endless amounts of workshops, homes and shops peddling this woven art. Especially interesting in the workshop of Isaac Vasquez, who will give demonstrations about different stages of the weaving process. Other notable features of the town are the community museum, Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal and the Teotitlá Church, built over an ancient Zapotec temple.

San Bartolo Coyotepec is a small town located 15 kilometers (9 mi) south of Oaxaca City. The town is well known for producing a unique product, barro negro, or black pottery. Perhaps the best place to see some of this signature craft is Doña Rosa, whose namesake pioneered the technique of creating large bowls, jugs and pots without the use of a potters wheel. Doña Rosa passed away in 1980, but her shop and her legacy remain. Besides all the pottery stores and workshops throughout the town, also located in San Bartolo Coyotepec is the beautiful and modern designed museum, which displays fine examples of not only the barro negro, but other local artwork and textiles as well. San Bartolo also hosts the annual Fiesta de San Bartolomé, held every year in August.

The Andador Turistico is a pedestrian street that stretches from the Zócalo, up Macedonio Alcalá, and just past the Templo de Santo Domingo. Meandering through the Centro on the Andador, enjoy the many shops and restaurants along the way to Santo Domingo, like Alfredo Da Roma, Tapas y Pisto, Oro de Monte Albán, to name a few. This street runs through a very main part of the city, and many of the city's main attractions are located on, or just off of the Andador.