11. Have a Religious Experience
Regardless of your personal faith, popping into some of 27 magnificent colonial churches in Oaxaca City is essential. On the north side of the zocalo is the impressive Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption built in 1535 (and rebuilt after several earthquakes). You can’t miss the Santo Domingo de Guzmán church and former monastery which dominates a small plaza 4 blocks up the cobblestone Alcala pedestrian strip from the zocalo. Built in 1570, the interior of this baroque architectural masterpiece is full of gilded glitz and priceless artifacts. The old convent is now the Santo Domingo Cultural Center, which includes the amazing Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, a library and an Ethnobotanical Garden. The patron saint of Oaxaca is revered at the ornately carved and sculpted Basílica de la Soledad. It was built in 1682, supposedly at the sight where an image of the virgin of the Solitude once appeared inside of a box of shoes back in 1543. A rock marks the spot where this sacred shoebox was found.
