My daughter and I are going to Oaxaca in December. I have never been so am looking for good suggestions on what to see and do, best area to stay, hotel recommendations, etc. We would like to do a food tour and cooking class as well. Thank you!

You don't mention what other interests you may have besides food tour & cooking, nor how long you'll be there. Nor your dates in December. Budget for lodging? How old, or rather, what age range are you & your daughter in?
Some basic things to see/do without venturing out of the city too far are Monte Alban (a must and only 20 minutes by taxi from centro), Museo de las Culturas De Oaxaca, Benito Juárez market (buy coffee at Grano de oro), 20 de Noviembre market, eating, people watching in the Zócalo, chocolate tasting/buying, trying chapulines (fried grasshoppers), buying mezcal either traditional or cream & flavored, visit the vendors around the 20 de Noviembre market. Just for starters.

Here is a link to our blog which covers some of the things we did in Oaxaca https://accidentalnomads.com/2019/03/06/oaxaca/ . We plan on returning next year we enjoyed it that much! We stayed at Hotel Con Corazon , a mid range place, run in a good cause. Just a little way (5 mins from the Plaza, it suit us perfectly. A great city for hang out and wandering around. The central market is great for food and one of the largest in Mexico. Enjoyed the many mezcal bars in the city. As mentioned above , Monte Alban is a must as Hierve de Aguas as part of a day trip around the surrounding villages and countryside.

You’re so right!! I left off key details
interests also involve just seeing the culture and history of Oaxaca…local crafts. We will be there the week of Christmas for 5 days. We have a flexible budget so it’s not a primary concern. I think flight tickets will be more than the whole rest of the trip I’m 72 and daughter is 42. Your suggestions all sound good…except the mezcal as I don’t drink. The other things and places I will have to look up as I don’t know what they are.

Thank you for hotel recommendation - I’ll go over and look at that. Your blog was also interesting too. I’d love to see your food map and guide as we are foodies and quite excited over that…the coffee and hot chocolate too! Where are the jewelry and textile shops? Is a taxi the best way to get around? Do you have a tour company or local guide you could recommend?

With your short time, you probably won't have much time to get too far out of the city more than just once. All the better hotels can recommend a driver, which I'd suggest over a tour. Plenty of textile and jewelry along/near the main tourist andador, Macedonio Alcalá. Plus the Casa De Artesanias.
https://lacasadelasartesaniasdeoaxaca.com/
The restaurants right on the Zócalo are average at best, but good for people watching and marimba music. Our favorite is Cafe Terranova. Other faves not on the Zócalo are Danzantes & Biznaga although a bit more upscale. But plenty of other very good options.
To get around, if your lodging is in or near centro, is just to walk. It's quite flat.

New York Times online has a lovely article today (Nov. 23) that made me long for a return visit there so much I could almost taste it. It's been 30+ years since I went and somehow it has never made back to the top of my list again. If you are going to be there on the 23rd for night of the radishes, lucky you!

Lots of ideas in this NYT article that appeared today:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...smid=url-share


Oops, sorry, didn't see the post above, but the link is a good thing, too.

Thank you for The NY Times article link! That was just what I was looking for and gave me many great ideas
Sadly, I will just miss the radish festival by 3 days

Monte Alban remains closed due to protests.
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Check the INAH website before finalizing your schedule

https://lugares.inah.gob.mx/en/zonas...lb%C3%A1n.html

You might find something useful in my Oaxaca blogs, if you haven't seen them already:

https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/por...my-of-a-trip-1

https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/back-to-oaxaca

Oh! Good to know!! Reminds me of when I went to Disneyland and the 2 main rides were down for repair

How did I miss these?! Just what I needed…thank you MmePerdu

MmePerdu…I am enjoying your travel blogs. I also fly out of SMF and will be going thru Dallas to Oaxaca, then coming back OAX>>Guadalajara>>Sacramento. Not easy, but looking forward to it!

Glad you're enjoying them, cheezz. My route was SMF-Guadalajara-MEX-OAX & reverse, both trips. I came through DFW on the way home from San Cristobal de las Casas, my last Mexico trip, with an overnight before the last leg at the Hyatt, a walk across a parking lot from the terminal, surprisingly affordable, in case you're ever in need of a place to sleep there.

Have a fine trip & let us know how it goes.