Beautiful picturesque little town with the Mexican Disney castle.
One of the lesser-known towns in Mexico by foreigners (who usually opt for beach destinations). San Miguel de Allende is a popular vacation destination for Mexicans (usually rich ones), despite many of them dismissing it as “fake Mexico”. The label is somewhat true and IMO makes it more impressive as a travel destination.
What does this “fake Mexico” town have that sets it aside from everywhere else?
It’s pretty, it’s posh, it’s popular. And artsy, and great food and cafes. Just a really nice, super nice, postcard nice place to be.
Where to stay:
- Hotel/Hostal Punta 79 – I’ve stayed here twice and loved it each time. Great location, low prices, good friendly service. They have an awesome “family room” that officially sleeps 6 but you could probably squeeze more in there.
- Selina Hostel – I didn’t stay here but it looked nice from the outside and the area is good.
SMA is generally pretty compact and you can get around easily. Location doesn’t matter as much for a tiny town like this…but if you can, I would say being near the main church (Parroquia de San Miguel) is your best bet for first-timers. If you want fancier, just go further up the hill (towards park and lookout points).
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- Centro (church & garden) – go see the church and garden.
- Upper (park & lookouts) – the walk up to this area is really nice. Start from the side of the church and walk towards Aldama street to Parque Benito Juarez park. Along the way, you’ll find more great shops at lower prices too than the obvious ones in town center. Once you reach the Benito Juarez park, go past Parque El Chorro towards the El Mirador lookout point. Beautiful views here. If you got the legs for it, you can go further towards the Mirador El Caracol lookout. Or just taxi towards the art neighborhood.
- Upper-side (art neighborhood) – “art neighborhood” is my own made-up word for this area. From the top of the Benito Juarez park, walk down El Cardo street until you reach Ancha de San Antonio. From here you go downhill towards the center, stopping by Murmillo Cafe and Instituto Allende Eventos. There will be more art galleries and hidden gardens and backyards and what not. Explore!!! Once done, you can easily walk downhill back to the center within 10-15 minutes.
Also…if you see courtyards inside buildings, check them out as you may find interesting art and beautiful gardens and what not. Explore!
Activities to do:
- Walk the city – check out the 3 areas listed above.
- Art galleries – the one by David Leonardo is awesome! I absolutely loved it.
- Shopping – tons of boutiques.
- Hangout – around town, in coffee shop, outdoor restaurant, or park.
- Bus tour – there used to be an awesome (cheap) bus tour funded by the government, but they stopped that program around early 2022. You can still walk the areas, or take a taxi. Or if you really want an explained tour, there are some private company options. But none that are popular and/or affordably-priced.
Restaurants & Cafes:
- Bruno Cocino – good food with great live music. When you go, try to make sure there’s a lively crowd (before stepping in to claim you reservation). One time we went and it was great. Another time we went, and it was dead.
- Blind Jaguar – sexy terrace spot with beautiful views of the city, great for late afternoon and evening. Afternoon is cool lounge vibe. Nighttime becomes sexy-club vibe. Good for a young group birthday at night.
- Tostevere – really good food in a small dark cavern setting.
- Estoril (Mexi-French) & Murasaki (Japanese) – good food in big courtyard space. You can sit in the joint courtyard and order from either menu/restaurant.
- Umaran Cafe – high quality food/coffee. A local favorite, nice vibe and ambiance.
- Ki’bok Coffee – nice cute spot with multi-floor levels. Fun coworking vibe. Great food and coffee and good IG-value.
- Cafe Murmillo – huge artsy outdoor/indoor vibe with a great garden and near awesome art galleries. Good food, drinks, and coffee here. Should definitely go here for the IG-value alone.
- Other recommendations – that I didn’t personally try. Luna Rooftop and Cumpanio.
There’s many great spots in SMA. You can just walk around and keep an eye out for things that look appealing. I also recommend looking up to notice terrace spots that you think would offer interesting views of the city.
Shopping:
- Aurea Mexican Concept Boutique – I loved their selection. Nice unique fancy stuff at very reasonable prices. I bought an alligator belt and python-leather cardholder here.
- Mia (Boutique) – great quality shirts for guys.
SMA is one of the best places to shop because they have a ton of high quality unique stuff, catering to the high-end demographic (but still affordable for foreigners). My other favorite to shop is definitely Oaxaca City (for the same reasons but even bigger selection of brands).
These are places that I loved most because they had guy stuff. For the women’s stuff, you ain’t gotta look too hard. It’s everywhere. Whoever procured these items did a great job. I suggest talking to the other and checking to see if cash gets you any discounts. 🙂
Bars & Clubs:
- Haven’t gone clubbing here. The closest thing was probably Blind Jaguar at night. Also many people just drink in the main square in front of the church at night. Hahah.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Laundry – I’ve always used the one that’s a block away on the same street from Hotel/Hostal Punta 79 and it was great.
Nearby towns:
- Guanajuato – nice, colorful and different vibe. More to see, but not as posh. Some things just as nice, some things not as nice as SMA.
- Leon – I haven’t been.