San Miguel de Allende- Gorgeous Colonial UNESCO Town in the middle of Mexico

 

Upon driving into San Miguel de Allende the first thing I noticed on the street was the beautiful old doors.  I almost asked the Uber driver to stop a few times so that I could take some shots of all of these unique ancient doors that have survived hundreds of years.  Personally I believe that you could make up a walking tour on just doors alone in San Miguel de Allende.

Honestly, I might have a door obsession!

Roads are narrow, cobble stoned and some are very busy.  The buses are very cute and much smaller than normal to fit inside this compact little town where roads would have been first constructed for horses and carts.  

The buses have spiked wheels and I am not sure why?

Colorful Streets.

Our Booking.com rental was on Queretaro street which was a busy one.  We had a grand entrance into our old building with a double sided walk-up which included  a set of stunning wood doors complete with a high tech door entry system.  You had to put in your 6 digit code to the place and push the magnetized 12 foot doors.  This building would have been an old Palazzo type Hacienda that has been refurbished into condos.  We were higher up the hill than central San Miguel de Allende which made for stunning views.

A beautiful wooden door welcomed you into its own little oasis.

The outside of this charming rental.

Inside the vestibule

Tiled wall message inside the Vestibule

Our room.

Our View was Killer

Outside our front door.

Our unit was 3 flights up.

Charming water features were everywhere.

Our bedroom doors opened to a beautiful view of San Miguel de Allende.

The elevator that you could chose to take with your luggage.

Upon entering the magnetized doors we entered another world that was 15 degrees cooler and ancient looking with a set of rod iron doors that were even more beautiful than the wooden doors.  Thank goodness Michael was there to meet us and lead us to our unit because there was no way we would have found it in the maze of this place.  We were up another set of 3 different floors more stunning than the next complete with showy gardens and fountains.  Each different condo entry had its own uniqueness and beauty.  Our entry had a gorgeous old stone cross and Olive Tree.  The same code had to be entered to get into our unit and once I opened my door I had a clear shot directly through the unit of a masterpiece picture of Old San Miguel de Allende.  I even gasped a little when I saw the view.  We had a lovely place to stay with 3 large floor to ceiling windows of San Miguel de Allende.  The unit was a complete 1 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment that was quite large with 3 outdoor seating areas and even a laundry room.  I love wood beams in the ceiling and this apartment had 3 sets of them complete with Skylights.

Inside the Vestibule

One of our 3 floor to ceiling windows with a view.

Our balcony.

Outside our front door.

By this time we had unpacked our Gypsy Life. It was dark outside and the city views were just as spectacular as in the daytime coupled with an impromptu fireworks display near the center of town.  We ventured out of the apartment and walking through our new little world inside the Hacienda walls all lit up was magical!!  We felt very safe walking around on unknown cobbled streets with very narrow sidewalks.  I was snapping a ton of photos and trying to keep up with Darren.  We came to the main square and stared at the Cathedral which is a site to behold lit up in all of its glory.  It was Friday night and quite busy, there were street vendors selling their wares and I stopped and talked to a few to practice my Spanish.  I would have loved to have purchased a hand-made wool mat for my front doorway but I could not carry it around for 6 weeks while in Mexico.  There are many Artisans in this area that make some extraordinary things.

These two walking statues were down at the center of town every night.

Artisan Market gearing up for Feliz Navidad.

We found a little store to buy some breakfast for the next day and continued walking to find a restaurant for our evening meal.  El Correo was a cozy place built into a refurbished Hacienda with 20 foot ceilings.  Our food came out very quickly and my Tortilla Soup was amazing and I am going back to eat there again.  Darren liked his Fajitas too, we highly recommend this restaurant.

We came back to our apartment and got a bit lost in the maze of our Hacienda.  We discovered that it has a pool as well, which was a bonus.  We had a great sleep because it cools right down here higher up in elevation in the middle of Mexico.

Darren got up late on the next morning which is pretty normal but this does give me time to blog and do my travel research for pricing etc.  We made our way up our street which was quite steep and continued to walk about 35 minutes to Soriana which is a grocery chain in Mexico that we are familiar with. We needed to buy our groceries for the week.  We caught a taxi back for 90 pesos and struggled with them to get them up the maze of stairs and of course we took one wrong turn but I discovered some other places that I want to go back and take photos of.  I had already taught a one hour yoga class that morning and then walked up that hill in the heat and decided that we could just chill out at home and I enjoyed a glass of wine on my balcony to soak in the views.  Sometimes we need downtime because we travel for months at a time and we can't go go go nor do we want to anymore.

I woke up the next day and actually wanted to work out but there is not a place to do this.  I had been checking out the chair yoga plan because the wall yoga plan actually did not feel good on my lower back.  Most places we go have a work out center but I like the idea of only needing a chair for a work out.  I purchased it and did the first 13 minute day 1 and found it too easy but then I did the complimentary Back Day 1 and found that on the tougher side so all good for day 1 of Chair Yoga.  The best thing about this is Darren actually joined and did the Chair Yoga with me.

There is an Artisan Mercado just up the street and by this I mean up the street with the incline from Hell but I needed a walk.  There are some things to buy here for sure and I picked up some trinkets for some  friends' upcoming retirement gifts.  There was also a restaurant called Los Milagros with killer views of San Miguel de Allende and a good looking menu that we wanted to eat at and they seated us with the best views which was sweet.  We were the only Gringos present so you know that you are going to get a good meal.  San Miguel is not cheap and we paid Canadian prices for all of our meals.  I ordered a Margarita and I have to say it is one of the better Margs that I have ever had on the rocks.  My Taco Salad and Tortilla Soup were both excellent and I could not finish my Taco Salad because it was so full of meat, cheese avocados etc.  On the way back to our accommodation I took another round of great photos, the architecture here is so beautiful and the doors, I am in door heaven!

A common look on the outer wall of the house is the numerous potted plants

Gorgeous stores and restaurants to gaze into.

Sculptured Fig Trees to walk under.

Numerous parks to walk through.

We needed some tomatoes and a purple onion for our Greek Salad and we spotted some fresh produce places on our numerous walks into the center of town.  We discovered Mercado Ignacio Ramirez which is the largest and most popular market  which is located near the city center.  This is a covered market full of things to buy and to barter for.  It winded uphill for about 2.5 blocks and the colors of all of the wares was spectacular.  I was tempted to pick up some fresh Gladiolas but I was not sure that there was a vase back at our rental.  Once again I was in heaven taking photos of doorways and architecture along the way.  

The outside of the market

The market is a kaleidoscope of colors.

One of the entry ways into the market.

Darren found a friend.

The artisan silver pieces were very unique.

We also wanted to see what the main Church looked like in the daylight and it was just as gorgeous, constructed with rosy pink rock which you do not notice at night.  The church is called Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel or Parish of San Michael The Archangel.  It is a Grand structure made in the 1600s and has soaring pink spires and a very ornate sanctuary.  It is the icon of San Miguel de Allende and at the very heart of this small city. 

Beside the Parish Church.

The church dominates the skyline.

A Franciscan monk founded this town and later it became a trading center for textiles and cattle.  It was a melting pot for Spaniards, Creoles and Amerindians.  Eventually after WWII foreign art students and especially former American Soldiers were drawn to the art scene that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera helped to create. Then in 2008 San Miguel de Allende achieved UNESCO Heritage Status. Now half a million visitors arrive each year for its famous Art Galleries (over 100), World-Class Restaurants (Michelin Star) and museums.  It is full of Ex-Pats from around the world (20% of the population).  In 2021 it was voted The Best Small City in the World.  San Miguel de Allende has all of this to offer and more and I have never known another soul who has visited it.  I discovered it on House Hunter International and have wanted to visit ever since.

Maybe it is the wealthy Ex-Pat community fueling the style here I am not sure but everyone is dressed up, even the tourists.  I don't really care if I don't fit in because I refuse to wear uncomfortable heels period.  Life is too short to walk for miles, site seeing in foot torture chambers on cobblestone streets and uneven rock slab sidewalks.  It is insane.  I choose to walk in my HOKAS and I look like I have a brain.

We walked up from our rental to explore and quickly made a right turn in what appeared to be a multitude of steps.  I found this intriguing and looked around and there was a sign that said Cruz del Pueblo.  I deducted that must mean Town Cross.  Darren said he would wait in the shade.  I explored on my own and came across bench's and places to rest along the way with beautiful gardens and homes with their doors leading out onto these series of steps.  Eventually I came to the top of 233 stairs (I counted) and there was a cross.  This gave me the opportunity to pray for my sister Michelle and my Father in law Mel.  I was very glad that I went.

Gorgeous door on the way up the stairs.

Love these tall skinny cacti.

Love this Casa Door.

The Cross (Cruz del Pueblo) at the end of the 233 steps.

We continued on that day hoping to find a bar to have a drink and the one that I wanted to sit at was completely full so we walked home which is up hill and I made myself a Mystery Mexican Fruit Margarita.  Google Lens could not even identify it?

Many water features around the city.

Such a pretty street!

Very steep streets.

Map of San Miguel Historic area.

Our last day of exploring we went out earlier in the day and it was 30 degrees.  What was nice about walking in San Miguel de Allende is there is always a shady side to a street.  This is not great for taking photos.  We explored some different streets and I once again marveled at the architecture and the beautiful doors and windows. 

Sunsets were amazing because there was always dust in the atmosphere.

Pretty streets.

This would have been carriage doors now a garage door.

People who live here must have strong legs from climbing up these incredibly steep streets.

San Miguel de Allende is a wonderful place to visit and I am so glad that we finally made it to this desirable destination.  There were some Toltec Pyramids outside of the city that we could have visited but we decided to chill.  There are vineyards to visit and a multitude of other sites but spending the entire week in San Miguel de Allende was relaxing and a feast for my eyes.  The views from our rental were top notch and honestly I don't think I ever would have grown tired of them.

We took a 2 hour Uber to Guanajuato International Airport in Leon to fly to Los Cabos. The ride was interesting to say the least and we came across a few different landscapes. One interesting village caught my eye with numerous festive Christmas things to buy. If only I could fit them in my suitcase??