Oaxaca is the best place in Mexico to buy traditional crafts, and most of what you find is made in the Zapotec villages around the city: wool rugs from Teotitlán del Valle (ask for pieces dyed with natural cochineal), black pottery from San Bartolo Coyotepec, green-glazed pottery from Atzompa, and the famously colourful carved wooden alebrijes from Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete. In the city, the stores along Macedonio Alcalá, García Vigil and 5 de Mayo carry high-end examples; for better prices and the thrill of bargaining, head to the Benito Juárez market or the huge Abastos market west of the centre (best on Saturdays). You can also drive the villages themselves and buy direct from the craftspeople.