Market Tour in Oaxaca

What to Expect

The markets of Oaxaca City are the beating heart of the city's extraordinary food culture. A guided market tour -- typically lasting 2-3 hours -- leads you through the stalls with a local guide who explains the ingredients, traditions, and flavors that make Oaxacan cuisine unique. You will taste as you go, sampling everything from fresh mole pastes and aged cheeses to chapulines (toasted grasshoppers) and mezcal.

The Markets

Mercado Benito Juarez

The main downtown market, a bustling indoor space selling:

• Dried chilies (ancho, pasilla oaxaqueno, guajillo, chipotle)
• Oaxacan cheese (quesillo, a stringy, mozzarella-like cheese)
• Chocolate from market molinos (grinders)
• Mole pastes in various colors and styles
• Fresh produce, herbs, and flowers
• Artesanias including embroidered blouses, black pottery, and woven textiles

Mercado 20 de Noviembre

Adjacent to the Benito Juarez market, this is the food hall where you eat:

• Pasillo de Humo (Smoke Alley) -- A row of grills where tasajo (dried beef), cecina (cured pork), and chorizo are grilled over coals. Order a plate with fresh tortillas, salsa, and a side of quesillo.
• Chocolate caliente -- Fresh hot chocolate whisked with a molinillo
• Tamales -- Oaxacan-style, wrapped in banana leaves with mole
• Empanadas -- Stuffed with cheese and mole amarillo

Central de Abastos

The massive wholesale market on the city's outskirts -- less touristic, more chaotic, and a fascinating look at the scale of Oaxacan food commerce. Best visited with a guide.

What You Will Taste

Typical market tour tastings include:

• Fresh-ground chocolate
• Chapulines with lime and chili
• Several mole varieties
• Grilled meats from the Pasillo de Humo
• Fresh tortillas made by hand
• Quesillo
• Mezcal samples
• Tejate (a pre-Hispanic corn and cacao drink)

Tips

• Go hungry -- You will eat a lot
• Bring cash -- Market vendors do not accept cards. Small bills and coins are best.
• Morning visits -- Markets are busiest and freshest in the morning (8:00-11:00 AM)
• Be adventurous -- Try the chapulines. They are crunchy, savory, and surprisingly delicious.
• Photography -- Ask before photographing vendors

Cost

Guided market tours range from 500-1,500 MXN per person, including tastings. Self-guided market eating costs 100-300 MXN depending on how much you sample.

Plan Your Visit

A market tour is essential in the Oaxaca Deep Dive 5-Day itinerary and the Food Lovers Mexico 7-Day itinerary. Combine it with a cooking class that often starts with a market visit.