Discovering San Miguel de Allende

Have you ever been to a place and you walked through it and said to yourself, this is it! This is where I want to be! This is where I want to stay for forever? Well that is what happened to us when we spent a week, In San Miguel de Allende.

We had explored Mexico, extensively. We had traveled through Baja, Durango, Sonora, spent time on the northern beaches, lived for 7 years outside of Colima, traveled to Cancun, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Michiocan, you name and we had been there. We had even been to Guanajuato a few times but never San Miguel de Allende.

Then we decided to go and spend the week. After just three days we knew, this was THE place we had been searching for.

It had culture, beauty, great restaurants, friendly people, lots of history, beautiful colonial houses, temperate climate and we could be at the beach in a day’s drive or a short flight from the near by International Leon or Queretaro airports. What more could you ask for?

No wonder it is called the jewel of colonial Mexico and was declared a National Monument in 1926.

So we did what any crazy person would do, we found a place to rent, and within the next 2 weeks, we went back to our house in Colima, packed everything and moved to San Miguel de Allende.

My favorite thing to do in San Miguel de Allende is to spend the day riding ATV’s or laying by the pools at La Gruta or at Taboada Hot Springs. At night, we love to have a great dinner and a glass of wine with friends at one of the numerous restaurants in San Miguel. Afterwards we enjoy a stroll through the Jardin Principal, and listen to the Mariachis, while gazing upwards at the beautiful and wondrous Parroquia Arcangel de San Miguel. At night, I never tire of looking at La Parroquia with the lights shining on the pink sandstone exterior and its gothic towers. Iglesia San Rafael, which is to the left of La Parroquia is beautiful as well. It reminds me of the tower of London.

Many people come to San Miguel for the art galleries, art and or langauge schools, such as Instituto Allende but don’t forget about the wonderful cooking schools as well.

San Miguel has a lot to offer. Come and discover why we and many others have chosen San Miguel de Allende as a vacation destination or as a place to call home.