A trip to Mexico cannot but foresee sooner or later a visit to one of the many colonial cities. San Miguel de Allende therefore imposes itself as a reference point of this kind. On a trip to Mexico you cannot miss a stop in a colonial city. You will find that particular atmosphere, that apparent sweetness of life in the city like San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel de Allende has also been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site making this place even more special and unique and definitely a must-see. At 1850 meters (6,070 feet) above sea level, the climate is so pleasant and the city so beautiful that in recent times has attracted numerous American retirees who come here to spend happy days. For this reason, we present the top things to see and do in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Find great places to stay in San Miguel: Hotels.com
If you plan to visit San Miguel de Allende, take the characteristic tram on wheels, which vaguely resembles the “cable car” of San Francisco, which takes about every half hour around the tour with a guide that will explain the secrets of each corner of the city: in particular it is worth seeing El Chorro, a source behind the Parque Juarez, where once (but often still today) local women were doing laundry, beating the colorful clothes on the stone of which the pools are made, from characteristic red color.
Very interesting also the murals inside the Instituto Allende, the Academy of Fine Arts, very famous throughout the country. Also worth a visit is the Fabrica de L’Aurora, a large building of industrial architecture (formerly a textile factory, recently transformed into an artistic center with a painters and sculptors’ workshop, galleries and antique and craft shops) near the city close to the colorful and the picturesque Guadalupe neighborhood, especially if one of the many “Art Walk” takes place, with refreshments offered by gallery owners. In a few kilometers, if you want to relax and take care of body and spirit, there are thermal baths, with pools and caves in a rustic setting surrounded by tropical flora, where you can immerse yourself in the thermal water at 34 ° to 37 ° C (97 to 98 F), make you do a relaxing massage and sip a Margarita or a Pina colada. Nearby there is the Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (Sanctuary of Atotonilco), with its frescoed vaults, which here (with all due respect for the original incomparable) call the Sistine Chapel of Mexico. During the Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter Sunday), in the churchyard of this Sanctuary, they represent a rather bloody version of the Via Crucis, much followed by the local population.
We recommend a visit to the El Charco Botanical Garden of Ingenio, a beautiful natural park, in the upper part of the city, called “Luciernaga”, where you can admire and learn more about the succulent plants and cacti of the region and of Mexico, as well as numerous migratory and resident birds that stop in the small trap below. Also in the vicinity of San Miguel de Allende there are also the remains of a pyramid: La Canada de la Virgen. It is thought to be of the Aztec or even antecedent era.
Festivals, shows and concerts are hosted in the Angela Peralta Theater or in the Churches, as well as yoga, meditation, tai chi, zumba, ceramics, painting and languages classes every day and at all times! Believe us there is only spoiled for choice and you will not run the risk of getting bored! On Friday mornings in the cafes, in the library or at the tourist office, you will find the free weekly “Que Pasa“, where you can discover all the events of the week. The only risk you will run is to want to stay for the rest of your life in San Miguel de Allende … the “best city in the world”!
