I am so happy my cousin, Brandon, decided to marry his beautiful bride, Sarah, in San Miguel Del Allende – la Corazon del Mexico- because I got to discover this amazing city. First off, let me say the wedding was gorgeous and SO MUCH FUN! Talk about parades through the streets with mariachi bands, lots of tequila shots, and great food.
My mom was my wedding date because Mitch had to stay in Kentucky for work, so we decided to make a little vacay out of it and we came a few days early to see what this city had to offer. Let me tell you, it really exceeded my expectations. When you think of Mexico your mind normally drifts to the beach, but San Miguel is no where near a beach. It is in the middle of Mexico, hence why they call it the heart of Mexico. We flew into Leon/Guanajuato and then San Miguel is about an hour and a half drive from the airport.
This quaint colonial town transports you back into the rich history of Mexico. The cobblestone streets, the beautiful churches, the warm tones of all of the buildings, and the doors. San Miguel is known as the city of doors. All of the doors in the historic district have to be made out of wood. They are so intricate with carvings and designs – each door is so unique.
Another thing about San Miguel, is you never know what beauty hides behind the doors. From the outside, it might just look like a wooden door, but as soon as you open it you could be transformed into a beautiful courtyard with trees and plants and artwork. This was by far one of my favorite parts, discovering what beauty lies behind the doors of San Miguel.
One more thing before I get into the details of this trip. I have been lucky to travel to many parts of Mexico and all but two countries in Central America, and San Miguel was by far the cleanest out of all of them. The streets were immaculate. You would walk past businesses and smell the cleaning products. I was extremely impressed on the cleanliness of this city.
Where to stay
The majority of San Miguel revolves around the main square, el jardín. There are so many hotels right around the square, that I don’t think you can go wrong with picking one. My mom and I stayed at Hotel Bouquet. We were a 3 minute walk to el jardín. It was a gorgeous hotel. You walk through the wooden doors, to an amazing restaurant (to be honest we never ate there, but gets a 10/10 on interior design). The rest of the hotel was airy, light and clean. We were supposed to have a roof top pool, however when we arrived it was under construction. But still a great hotel choice.
Where/what to eat
La Panadería La Buena Vida
Again, leave it to me to find the best donut spot in town. Not shocking, but I found it in San Miguel. This place is known for their orange glazed donut. I opted just for a normal plain glazed donut, but that was still very very yummy. It is a little tricky to find because you walk into this courtyard and if you blink you might miss it. It is a small counter that you order from. We grabbed a table in the courtyard and enjoyed our donuts under the Mexican sun. The bakery has yummy breads, cookies and delicious empanadas so this is a hidden gem that is a must try for breakfast.
Elote
If you are San Miguel de Allende and don’t have elote at least once, you are doing it wrong. Elote is Mexican street corn covered in a spicy mix of mayonnaise, crema, and chili powder and then sprinkled with cheese. Little to say it is one of my favorite Mexican food items ever. We were told that the food stand in el jardín with the two ladies make it the best. But use some common sense, and I would advise going earlier than later in the night, because their refrigeration and food standards are a little different than ours.
La Parada
This was hands down our favorite restaurant that we went to during our whole stay in San Miguel. It is actually a Peruvian restaurant, but it was delicious. First off, the outdoor seating in the courtyard was amazing. The twinkling lights, the palm trees, it had such a great ambiance. But more importantly the food. We started with the ceviche, and it was out of this world. It had sea bass, mango, corn, onions, and lots of lime. It was so refreshing. We split arroz y pollo (rice and chicken) a tradition Peruvian dish, and the flavors were so good. If you ever go to a Peruvian restaurant you must get a Pisco sour. It is this traditional cocktail. I had a lime one and mom had a lavender, and they were both tasty.
Molcajete
This isn’t a restaurant, but I dish that you should try when you are in San Miguel. We had it at Los Milagros and it was yummy. Molcajete is basically a volcano bowl. The dish is cooked in a molcajete and served sizzling fresh from the oven. They are filled with chicken, shrimp, steak, gooey cheese, and tons of veggies. It was really delicious and tasted like a fajita.
La Luna
I can’t talk about the food here because we only came here for drinks, however La Luna is a rooftop bar on top of the Rosewood hotel. If you want some great views of the city, you need to grab a drink here. The rooftop was swanky and the atmosphere was super cool.
What to do
San Miguel De Allende Food Tour
The older I get the more adventurous I have found myself with food. From a girl that survived on buttered noodles and chicken fingers for 15 years, to find myself on a food tour is almost unbelievable. However, this was most likely one of our favorite experiences of the whole week. We booked with Taste of San Miguel and Victor was our tour guide. This 3 1/2 hour eating and walking tour was so great. There were 5 people total on our tour, so it was extremely intimate. First off Victor was amazing! He was an awesome storyteller, was extremely knowledgable, and made our tour very pleasant. Now onto the food. We stopped at 6 different places, so needless to say we rolled ourselves back to our hotel room after for a nap because we were so full. From black mole, to churros, to tacos, to cactus everything was so delicious. I was really proud of myself for trying everything that was in front of me. If you are in San Miguel, I highly highly recommend this food tour!
Hot Air Balloon
This was a TOTAL bucket list moment. My mom and I were like giggling little girls the morning of our hot air balloon ride. We booked with Globo San Miguel and again could not recommend them enough. We started our morning very early, I’m talking 6:30AM, but were welcomed to the most beautiful spread of pastries, coffee, tea, and juice. It was a lovely detail that really started the whole experience off. There was just two other people in our group, so again it was very intimate which I personally like. I can’t even put into words of how amazing it was. Watching the sunrise over the mountains and the beautiful city of San Miguel was truly magical. One note, I did not dress nearly as warm as I should have. So I highly suggest bringing lots of layers and warmer clothes for this activity. I was shivering up there. The take off and landing were both so smooth, and the staff was so great. I give this experience a 10/10! Hands down my favorite part!
Hot Springs
After a few too many margaritas, mom and I needed some relaxation time. Since there are no beaches anywhere near San Miguel, we knew we needed to find some water. There are two hot springs right outside of the city, and we visited both of them. They are both about a 20 minute cab ride from the main square, so it would be the perfect day trip or an afternoon. We visited La Gruta, and thought it was the better one of the two. There are multiple hot spring pools surrounded by plush greenery and palm trees. It is relaxing to float around in the hot water. If you go, make sure you go to the spring in the way back, and there will be a little stone tunnel in the back corner. Sounds creepy to follow a dark underground tunnel, but do it. You will open up into a completely underground hot spring with a waterfall. Since it is underground, it feels like a sauna, the air is heavy and moist, and the water temperature is warmer than the outdoor pools. I called it Mother Nature’s sauna. We could only stand the humid air for about 20 minutes until returning to the sunshine.
Besides floating in the hot springs, we felt like we should experience the spa as well. We both had lovely massages, and the best part was that they ended up being only $20!!! So definitely stop by for a massage during your time at the springs.
Shopping
Shopping is one of my favorite activities on vacation. I love finding treasures that I will not find anywhere else in the world. San Miguel is full of little boutiques and crafty shops. You can wander for blocks and blocks all around the square and find some true hidden gems. There is also an artisan market that lasts for many blocks that has some very traditional crafts and art. On Saturday’s there is also El Mercado De Saño (the health market). If you are there on a Saturday, make sure you go. It is full of locals sharing small snacks, coffee, selling crafts, flowers, anything.
San Miguel Del Allende far exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed my time there, and would recommend it for anyone who is taking a trip to Mexico or in need of a long weekend. I think 3-4 days is the perfect amount of time to spend here and see everything.
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