San Miguel de Allende
Patrimonio Mundial / Ciudad HistóRica · San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
A silver-road town in the Guanajuato highlands that has spent seventy years being discovered. Founded in 1542 and named for Ignacio Allende, the conspirator from a house on the main square who helped start the war of independence, it was nearly abandoned by 1900 and was saved by artists - a Peruvian who founded an art school in 1938, then American veterans on the GI Bill, then everybody. The result is a UNESCO-listed colonial town of cobbled streets, courtyard hotels and rooftop bars with a large foreign population, a serious arts economy and prices to match. The Parroquia, the pink neo-Gothic church in every photograph, was rebuilt in the 1880s by a self-taught indigenous mason working from postcards of European cathedrals. The town is beautiful, but crowded and costly in season, so plan for steep cobbles at 1,900 m. Go further afield too: the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, 14 km away, is part of the same UNESCO listing.
Jardín Allende, Zona Centro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, 37700, Mexico
An open town - free, no gate. Museums and galleries generally open late morning to early evening, with many closed on Mondays or Tuesdays. The Parroquia is a working church and visiting pauses during mass. ⚠ THE SANCTUARY OF ATOTONILCO, 14 km north and part of the same UNESCO inscription, is free and is a working penitential retreat - retreat weeks restrict access. ⚠ THE TOWN FILLS AND PRICES MULTIPLY for the Alborada after 29 September, Day of the Dead, Semana Santa and the Día de los Locos in June. ⚠ THE COBBLES ARE ROUNDED RIVER STONE and there is no level route through the centre. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.
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