All the things you'll need to know to visit, to shop, to live in Taxco, Mexico! This is the place to find what you're looking for if it has anything to do with Taxco.

Crafts

Shopping in Taxco is a delight, especially if you like silver. You'll have hundreds of shops to explore and thousands of designs to choose from. Whether you are looking for jewelry or for silver tableware, this is THE town in which to be. If it's possible to tire of all the silver, take a look at the variety of crafts that can be found in small plazas and nooks and crannies all over town. There are even some good shops devoted to specialty items like masks.

Some of the most popular crafts are the colorful baskets made in the nearby village of Thlamacuzapa. Women in the village are the primary basket weavers, while the men travel all over Mexico to sell them. Visiting this village is not recommended as the people who live there are extremely private and do not welcome visitors.

Village scenes, birds and animals are hand painted on bark paper from the wild fig or mulberry tree called papel amate. Look carefully to find those of the best quality; they are very beautiful. Some are made in a village called Xalitla along with artfully painted ceramics. Here in Taxco you may run into Sr. Fausto Hernández from the town of San Augustin Huapa. He sells a variety of styles and sizes of the bark paper paintings at very reasonable prices.

Examples of work from the town of Olinalá can also be found in Taxco, though it is likely that their finest pieces are reserved for sale in Mexico City or in Olinalá itself. This is where the beautiful lacquer painted wooden chests, small boxes, plates, and other accessories are made. In years past they used a special wood from the linaloe tree for its scent. Now other woods are used and the scent is artificial, though the lacquer painting is still very fine.