Oaxaca rewards a week more honestly than a weekend. The city is walkable, the food is the culture rather than a break from it, and the best day trips — Monte Albán, a craft village, a mezcal palenque — are short enough to leave the evening free. Slow, here, does not mean empty. It means you return to the same market often enough to have a favorite stall.
Stay in the historic center or just beyond it so the zócalo is a ten-minute walk, not a project. Book a room with a cancellation policy you understand, then ignore the urge to change hotels midweek for a “more local” neighborhood. You become local by repetition: the same coffee, the same corner for memelas, the same bench. Four breakfasts in four celebrated cafés is a different hobby.
How to shape the seven days
Give Monte Albán its own morning and go when it opens. The site is above the valley and the sun is the main difficulty by noon. Use another day for a single village rather than a crafts marathon. Teotitlán del Valle for weaving or a nearby town for pottery is plenty if you also sit down for lunch there. A third outing can be Hierve el Agua or a mezcal visit, not both, unless you enjoy long roads more than long lunches.
The remaining days are the point. Mercado 20 de Noviembre and the surrounding markets are where lunch can be a grilled tasajo, a juice, and a conversation you did not schedule. Cooking classes are worth it if you want the market explained once; they are optional if you are willing to point, taste, and return. Reserve a serious dinner once or twice — mole is a reason to sit for two hours — and let the other nights be informal.
Pace and altitude
The city sits high enough that the first afternoon can feel oddly tiring. Do not book your only fine dinner for night one. Walk in the morning, rest, eat something simple, sleep. The week gets better when you stop trying to cash it in immediately. If you add Puerto Escondido or Mexico City, add nights. Do not borrow them from Oaxaca. The market will still be there, but you will not.