How many days should you spend in Oaxaca City?
Give Oaxaca City at least enough time for food, markets, one major site and one unplanned evening. The city’s payoff is cumulative; rush it and you miss why people keep talking about it.
Answer
Three nights is a useful minimum for Oaxaca City if you want more than a drive-by: one day for the historic centre and markets, one for Monte Albán or another major site, and one for the meals, mezcal or neighbourhood wandering that make the city stick. More time is easy to justify if food is a major reason you travel. The trap is treating Oaxaca as efficient because the centre is walkable. Walkable does not mean finished. The city gets better when the schedule loosens and you stop trying to turn every meal into a reservation strategy.