Discover San Miguel de Allende

For several years I’ve listened to my San Diego friends wax on about how much they love San Miguel de Allende, the Spanish Colonial city located in the highlands of central Mexico. They described the “amazing food,” the “wonderful art,” and much more. Finally, opportunity knocked, and my husband and I seized the chance to see the city for ourselves. 

The easiest way to travel to San Miguel is via the Cross Border Xpress, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border and provides access to Volaris airline flights from the Tijuana airport to Leon. From there, it’s about an hour and a half by car to San Miguel, and most area hotels are happy to organize the transfer.

We stayed at the lovely Casa de Sierra Nevada, a Belmond Hotel, which occupies a half dozen historic buildings in a central location. (One of these is the Sazón Cooking School.) Our spacious suite was in the Casa Palma building, my first choice because it’s close to a beautiful pool and is near the lovely Andanza Restaurant. I also appreciated the easy access to Tunki, the hotel’s rooftop bar with Peruvian flavors and a priceless view of the landmark Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the neo-Gothic, 17th-century church renowned for its soaring pink spires and lofty, ornate sanctuary. San Miguel de Allende is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its 16th-century Spanish Colonial Baroque architecture, the city’s cultural integrity, and the excellent condition of its historic downtown. 

These qualities attract a steady stream of international visitors, and some of them are too smitten to leave. In fact, of the 180,000 or so people who live in San Miguel, almost 20 percent are expats — mostly from the U.S. and Canada. They are attracted by the mild climate, lower cost of living, low crime rate, and opportunities to pursue various art forms. Some people become permanent residents and others have homes on both sides of the border. One San Diego couple told me that they bought a house in San Miguel de Allende a few years ago and go back and forth at least once a month. She takes pottery classes and does watercolors and he plays golf and unwinds in the mellow surroundings. 

I was curious about how San Miguel became such a hotbed for art and artists, so I introduced myself to a local guide who specializes in history and culture. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised to learn that the first expat artist in San Miguel was Stirling Dickinson, a Chicago native who rode into town on a donkey in 1938, saw the magnificent Parroquia, and made the decision to stay. I later learned that a significant number of WWII veterans used their GI Bill benefits to study in San Miguel with Diego Rivera, Mexico’s famous muralist, further establishing the city as a center for creating art. When we walked around town, my favorite sights were the rows of houses painted in the seven or eight approved colors, including lemon, mango, olive green, sky blue, and peach. These hues essentially turn the streets of San Miguel into an expansive work of art draped with strands of red bougainvillea and bright pink fuchsia blossoms. Is San Miguel perfect? Not quite. Because of the cobblestone streets, the city is sometimes referred to as “the city of falling women,” and the altitude of 6,400 feet presents a challenge for some people. 

While I don’t create art, I certainly like to look at it, and I loved what I saw at Fabrica la Aurora. This former textile factory, about ten minutes from the center of town, has been given a new life as a series of breezy showrooms for local artists and artisans who handcraft furniture, ceramics, jewelry, clothing, table linens, sculptures, and more. I’m sure I’m not the only visitor who stayed at Fabrica longer than intended and was happy to find several cafés in the complex. 

We also ventured to the 168-acre botanic garden El Charco del Ingenio, which has an extensive collection of Mexican plants — think: cacti, agaves, and succulents. This is a popular place for birders, and several locals assured me that it’s beautiful after a big rain when everything is in bloom.

Diners in San Miguel can choose from a wide variety of cuisines. Expat chefs prepare their specialties and local chefs offer authentic Mexican dishes, all with locally grown, high quality ingredients. Because the eggs I enjoyed for breakfast at Andanza were so delicious, I asked Chef Alejandra what the chickens had been eating. However, she replied that it is patience and love that makes the difference in the flavor, saying, “If you’re rushed, it’s not going to taste good.”

I thought about that when we joined a local friend at Hecho en Mexico for lunch and I enjoyed an especially yummy salmon salad while the others opted for enchiladas. Hecho is around the corner from the Rosewood Hotel and the vibe reminded me of La Jolla cafés. 

In San Miguel there were times when I felt like great food and great art were competing for my attention. That was definitely the case when we went to Moxi in Hotel Matilda for dinner and were greeted by large reproduction paintings of Diego Rivera’s The Archer and Bosco Sodi’s Blue Pangea. When we finally made our way to the table, we enjoyed the flavors presented by Michelin-starred chef Vicente Torres.

We both agreed our Moxi meals were the best of the trip — that is, until the next day when we discovered The Restaurant around the corner from our hotel. The menu was intriguing, but we were heading home that day and the driver taking us to Leon was due any minute. We ordered and ate quickly and all I can say is that chef Donnie Masterton knocked my culinary socks off. I’ve since done some sleuthing and learned that among other things, he was the chef de cuisine at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan and later the chef de cuisine at Bice in Beverly Hills. He moved to San Miguel in 2005 to “live a simpler life” and is credited with bringing global comfort food to this community. 

Now that we’re home, my San Diego friends are listening to me wax on about the amazing food and art we discovered in San Miguel.