Often called the artisan capital of Mexico, Oaxaca is deeply rooted in ancient tradition, where skilled craftspeople harness age-old techniques to create items like textiles and ceramics with intricate details.
We have a bit of a shopping obsession when it comes to artisanal products, and after visiting Oaxaca, we can easily say that it ties first with Marrakech for such items.
What impressed us was the sheer diversity of handcrafted items available, with each store offering a unique curation, rather than a cookie-cutter one.
We cover the best shopping in Oaxaca with a list of contemporary pottery shops, clothing stores, markets and unique boutiques. These 18 artisan boutiques and street markets were our favourite places we shopped in Oaxaca City.
Our Oaxaca shopping guide also includes a curated list of authentic products we recommend buying to take home.
Planning a trip to Oaxaca? Don't miss our 3 Day Oaxaca itinerary and 5 Day Oaxaca itinerary
Overview: Best Shopping in Oaxaca
1. Best for Oaxacan dinnerware 2. Best for contemporary black clay pottery 3. Best for a unique selection of vases 5. Best for contemporary clothing with natural dyes 7. Best street for handcrafted jewelry 8. Best market for trendy finds 9. Best street for night vendors 10. Best market for everyday things 11. Best for handblown glassware 12. Best artisan cooperative to assess prices 13. Best for stylish artisan products 14. Best for high-end artisan items 15. Best for art inspired by indigenous stories 16. Best for buying premium mezcal to bring home 17. Best for a variety of mezcal brands to buy from 18. Best for buying 100% cacao |
Best Shopping in Oaxaca
Oaxaca pottery shops
Piedra de Río Tiendita de Barro | Morocho Oaxaca
1. Cooperativa 1050º: best for Oaxacan clay dinnerware
If you're looking to refresh your table setting at home, Cooperativa 1050º is the place to go. The cooperative of local artisans is known for its sleek ceramic pottery. They blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary designs, offering pieces in various clay colours, like red, black, light brown and dark brown.
2. Morocho Oaxaca: best for contemporary black clay pottery
Morocho Oaxaca specializes in contemporary black clay pottery for the home. It's nestled in the tranquil neighbourhood of Xochimilco, known for its vibrant street art. It's a nice area to take a leisurely stroll.
✔️ Top Tip: Morocho Oaxaca is just a 3 minute walk away from Chepiche Cafe, a tropical oasis where you can enjoy a refreshing drink or bite to eat.
3. Piedra de Río Tiendita de Barro: best for a unique selection of vases
If you're looking for vases by made by artisans with unique designs, you'll find an extensive collection at Pedra de Rio Tiendita de Barro. It's the best selection of vases we've seen in both Oaxaca and Mexico City.
4. Huehuecoyotl Art: best for ceramic cups
Huehuecoyotl Art offers a nice selection of clay cups and pitchers. It's a great place to pick up mezcal drinking glasses. We love the black cups with a spiky design.
Oaxaca clothing stores
Origen Textile | Juana La Vintage
5. Origen Textile: best for contemporary clothing with natural dyes
Visit Origen Textile for sustainably handmade clothing dyed with natural colours. Their pieces have a contemporary fit. I bought a pink and cream shirt with buttons made from coconuts.
6. Juana La Vintage: best for vintage clothing
Juana La Vintage is a colourful shop with friendly service and a few rooms of well-curated vintage clothing. Their walls are also covered with fun art.
Oaxaca markets and streets with artisans
Pzla del Carmen Alto | C. Macedonio Alcala Street
7. Pzla del Carmen Alto: best street for handcrafted jewelry
We were excited to come across this unassuming street lined with artisan vendor stalls. I bought some earrings and Ari bought a ring and two bracelets. There were also vendors selling textiles and other handcrafted items for great prices.
8. Bazar Alcalá 100: best market for trendy finds
Bazar Alcalá 100 is an evening bazaar offering an array of trendy items. We found that the vendors here were younger than at other markets. I picked up a chic pearl bracelet.
✔️ Top Tip: Although most places we visited take credit cards, you can typically save 5% on your purchases by paying with cash.
9. C. Macedonio Alcala Street: best street for night vendors
C. Macedonio Alcala is a pedestrian street that comes alive at night with vendors displaying their items directly on the street and crowds of people enjoying an evening out. See the 16th-century church, Templo de Santo Domingo, light up at night and walk south to find plenty of vendors.
10. Mercado Benito Juarez: best for everyday things
Mercado Benito Juarez is a lively indoor marketplace with a wide selection of traditional foods, handicrafts and everyday items. If you're looking for a duffel bag, bubble wrap, or plastic bags to wrap your goodies to take home, this is the place to go.
Other Oaxaca boutiques
11. Xaquixe Showroom: best for handblown glassware
For handblown glassware made sustainably from recycled glass, check out Xaquixe Showroom. They have a variety of drinking glasses in different sizes and colours. They are so cute for entertaining.
12. Artesanias La Casa del Rebozo: best artisan cooperative to assess prices
Artesanias La Casa del Rebozo is a must-visit spot, especially if you're new to shopping in Oaxaca. The cooperative formed by 84 talented artisans is a great place to go first to establish a benchmark for prices.
We were in search of a hammock and found it the cheapest here without compromising on quality.
13. LIA Cafe: best for stylish artisan products
Lia Cafe is both a cafe and boutique store and their selection of handcrafted items were some of the most impressive we saw in the city. Prices are higher here than some other boutiques, but the curation is exceptional and the products are made by talented artisans.
You'll find a variety of items like ceramics, clothing, jewelry, wood products and textiles sold here. We bought a gorgeous black clay fruit bowl.
14. TRASTIENDA: best for high-end artisan items
TRASTIENDA is similar to LIA Cafe in that it carries an excellent variety of high-end artisan products for the home.
As it's located in one of the nicest historic buildings in Oaxaca, things are priced at a premium here. If you see something you like, we recommend shopping around first in case you find something similar for a better price.
15. Xanté Arte y Diseño: best for art inspired by indigenous stories
Located on the prettiest street we saw in Oaxaca, Xanté Arte y Diseño is an art gallery and shop offering prints and textile art. We were drawn to the indigenous stories woven into the artworks and bought a beautiful textile piece called "The Cosmic Serpent."
Food & drink specialty shops
16. In Situ: best for buying premium mezcal to bring home
In Situ is a must-visit for any mezcal enthusiast. It has one of the finest collections of premium mezcals and is owned by Ulises Torrentera, a renowned author and mezcal expert. Pull up a seat and have a tasting of their mezcals before choosing your favourite to bring home. We stumbled upon a rare find, a mezcal fermented in cowhide.
They have two locations: Mezcaleria In Situ and In Situ Bodega, which is smaller.
17. 7 Origenes: best for a variety of mezcal brands to buy from
If you want to choose from a variety of mezcal brands, look for the shop with a huge wall of mezcal in Mercado Benito Juarez. It's called 7 Origenes. This was the place our local guide took us on our food tour.
Don't miss our Oaxaca nightlife guides: 7 Best bars in Oaxaca and 9 things to do in Oaxaca at night.
18. Rito Chocolatería & Tienda: best for buying 100% cacao
Rito Chocolatería & Tienda, owned by a third-generation chocolatier, is a great spot to purchase 100% cacao to bring back home. The chocolateria commits to preserving Oaxacan chocolate-making traditions and offers high-quality products sourced from local producers.
✔️ Top Tip: get one of their chocolate drinks iced to go - it's refreshing and delicious!
What to buy in Oaxaca
These are some unique handcrafted items we recommend looking out for to buy on your trip to Oaxaca:
- Oaxacan dinnerware - choose from black, brown or red clay
- Small drinking cups for mezcal
- Textiles - coasters, decorative pillow shams, dish towels, makeup bags (they make great gifts!)
- Handblown water glasses in your favourite colour
- Decorative clay vase or bowl
- Handwoven hammock
- Handcrafted jewelry from street markets (men's and women's)
- Clothing made with natural dyes
- Handmade taper and pillar candles
- Straw tote bags
- Molinillo whisk - for mixing chocolate drinks
- Bag of 100% cacao
- Mezcal made from your favourite wild agave
- Sal de gusano (worm salt) - used as a condiment for mezcal and salsas
Enjoy shopping in Oaxaca!
Bonus: our top hotel pick in Oaxaca
Don't miss our itinerary: 3 Days in Oaxaca
Get started on booking your trip to Oaxaca
- 🌃 Book your accommodation: Booking.com is our go-to for finding places to stay. Sort by top reviewed.
- 🚖 Book private airport transfer: through Viator
- 🌮 Book your food tour: through Viator
- 👩⚕️ Get affordable travel insurance: with SafetyWing - it's budget-friendly and you can even buy it while abroad, but note the max medical coverage is $250,000 USD.
- 🏥 Get comprehensive travel insurance: with World Nomads - it's more expensive, but the max emergency medical coverage is $5-10 million, depending on the plan.
- ✈️ Track flight prices: with Hopper
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