San Miguel de Allende

A Charming Place Unlike Any Other

San Miguel de Allende is a charming and picturesque city in Mexico’s central highlands. It is known for its well-preserved colonial architecture, vibrant cultural scene, and rich history. The city’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is filled with narrow cobblestone streets, colorful buildings adorned with ornate facades, and beautiful churches.

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The Best Small City in Latin America is in Mexico
The city of San Miguel de Allende, a Cultural Heritage site, has been honored by Travel + Leisure as “the best city in Mexico, Central & South America and the No. 3 in the world” in its awards “World’s Best Awards 2016 “!
This recognition is awarded by the readers of the magazine, the world’s most influential travel magazine, who, through a poll,l voted for the period from November 2, 2015, to February 29, 2016.
San Miguel de Allende is one of Mexico’s most beautiful treasures and was nominated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its cultural and architectural wealth, which is representative of the Mexican Baroque and its historical importance during the Mexican struggle for Independence.

The main Plaza (the “garden”) in San Miguel, the main square,e is called el Jardin Principal. Jardin, which means “garden,” is a fitting name for this square, which is full of carefully trimmed laurel trees and other greenery. Plentiful benches invite you to sit and watch the people go by. A kiosk in the center of the Jardin provides a space for live music performances. This is the meeting place for ex-pats and Mexicans alike, and the perfect spot to while away an afternoon or spend an evening enjoying live music and the animated social life of this colonial town.

Instituto Allende. The institute was founded in 1950 and began offering credits through the University of Guanajuato in 1951.  Sterling Dickenson and others founded the school.  It is an independent, private, non-profit organization.  The campus is a few blocks southwest of the center of San Miguel de Allende.  The professors and office staff are all bilingual in English and Spanish.

The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel is located on the south side of the Jardin. This multi-spired church is the iconic symbol of San Miguel de Allende. Its dusty rose Neo-Gothic facade is unique in Mexico. The church was built in the seventeenth century, but the distinctive facade was added later, in the late nineteenth century. Zeferino Gutiérrez, an indigenous bricklayer and a self-taught architect, was in charge of updating the facade, and it is said that he was inspired by postcards depicting Gothic churches in Europe.

“El Nigromante” is where fine arts are taught, such as painting, sculpture, photography, music, and others.
It is a branch of the well-known Fine Arts Institute in Mexico City. The impressive building dates from the mid-eighteenth century and was once the Convent of Conception. It is distinguished by a huge central tree-lined patio.

The city’s Public Library has an extensive collection of both Spanish- and English-language books and films and offers a quiet respite from the sights and sounds of the city. In 1954, Canadian ex-pat Helen Wale invited Mexican children to read through a collection of magazines in her home. Soon, the volume of visitors outgrew the space. In 1958, the library moved to its current location in an 18th-century building several blocks north of El Jardin in central San Miguel. Today, in addition to its abundant bilingual media, the library offers free classes for children on subjects like computers, painting, and piano.

La Aurora, which was once a textile factory, today is home to canvases, sculptures, and artisanal craftwork made by the great artists who live in San Miguel.
Having acted for more than nine decades as an important engine for the local textile industry and workforce, the Aurora Factory’s walls have transformed to shelter canvas paintings, arts, and crafts where giant looms once stood, replacing and enhancing their fame.
And so, in the year 2004,  the first workshops were opened, laying the seed that would become a full-fledged arts and culture center.

The Magical Town of Dolores Hidalgo was the cradle of our country’s most emblematic patriotic act: Independence. Every crack and crevice holds history and legends; in nearby haciendas, the conspiratorial murmur of rebels still echoes, and in the streets, the songs of the town’s prodigal son, José Alfredo Jiménez, always play. But Dolores Hidalgo offers more than history and Baroque-style architecture; you will find fanciful flavored ice creams and colorful Talavera-style ceramics, a Mexican variation of Spanish majolica pottery made in Puebla.

The Sanctuary of Atotonilco is a church complex and a World Heritage Site, designated along with nearby San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. The complex was built in the 18th century by Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, who, accord