Destination Mexico is always looking for new opportunities in Mexico for our clients, especially new destinations which we feel could be interesting and attractive for clients. After a recent visit to the State of Oaxaca and in particular the city of Oaxaca, the state capital, we would like to feature different aspects of our visit in the next few Newsletters we will be sending out. We found the whole experience of our visit to be a real eye-opener for ourselves, in that it went way beyond our own expectations of a city and its surroundings we thought we knew well!

In this first presentation we will introduce you to the city of Oaxaca itself, its beauty both in geographical location and also its architecture and in subsequent Newsletters we will highlight different aspects such as the indigenous culture of the region and its traditions, excursions in the surrounding areas, cuisine, and of course the different possibilities of accommodation for incentive groups and the wide range of top-class restaurants on offer. We sincerely hope this series of experiences to be found in Oaxaca will be of real interest to our readers and give you a different kind of destination to take into account in Mexico.

OAXACA CITY

The State of Oaxaca lies just a one hour flight south of Mexico City and is well-served by several of the local airlines, with some international flights planned to arrive in the near future. The major airport of course is in the city of Oaxaca and the airport is only around a 25-30 minute transfer into the city itself.

The airlines serving Oaxaca are the following:
Aeromexico
Aeromar
Volaris
VivaAerobus

The Historic Centre of the city of Oaxaca was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and is one of the greatest architectural attractions in the whole of Mexico. The city lies in a large fertile valley in the Sierra Madre mountains and with an elevation of around 1,500 m above sea level means there is a wonderfully mild climate the whole year round. The rainy season, as in most of the central parts of Mexico, is usually from May to September though again as in most other parts it is generally confined to the late afternoons or nights.

The Historic Centre of the city has some of the best colonial architecture found anywhere in Mexico. Buildings such as the magnificent Santo Domingo church and Museum, the Cathedral, the Government Palace, the Macedonio Alcala Theatre and the lovely Zocalo (Central Square) are all within easy walking distance of each other and with many of the city centre streets being pedestrian-friendly and closed to traffic, it is a pleasure to be able to stroll round the city and take in all the sights without any need to hurry. An absolute ‘must’ is also to take a stroll at night along the beautifully-illuminated streets to see these buildings lit up at night.

The city of Oaxaca is also the major centre for much of the indigenous life and culture of the State and there are many typical and wonderfully-coloured markets to visit. A visit to historic Oaxaca would not be complete without taking in one of these markets to see the vast array of local produce on display.