Discovering San Miguel de Allende

Discovering San Miguel de Allende

Have you ever been to a place and said to yourself, this is it! This is where I want to be! This is where I want to live? Well that is what happened to us when we spent a week, in San Miguel de Allende.

We had explored Mexico, extensively. We had traveled through Baja, Durango, Sonora, spent time on the northern beaches, lived for 7 years outside of Colima, traveled to Cancun, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Michoacan, you name it and we had been there. We had even been to Guanajuato a few times but never to San Miguel de Allende.

Then we decided to spend a week in San Miguel. After just three days, we knew, this was THE place we had been searching for.

San Miguel de Allende has culture, beauty, great restaurants, friendly people, lots of history, beautiful colonial architecture, temperate climate and we could be at the beach within a day's drive or a short flight from the nearby Leon or Quertero airports. Plus the cost of living is very reasonable. What more could you ask for? (Did I mention cobble stone streets?)

No wonder it is called the jewel of colonial Mexico and was declared a National Monument in 1926.

So we did what any crazy person would do, we found a place to rent, and within the week, we went back to our house in Colima, packed everything and moved to San Miguel de Allende.

My favorite thing to do in San Miguel de Allende is to spend the day riding ATV's or laying by the pools at La Gruta or Taboada Hot Springs. At night, we love to have a great dinner and a glass of wine with friends at one of the numerous restaurants in San Miguel. Afterwards we enjoy a stroll through the Jardin Principal, and listen to the Mariachis, while gazing upwards at the beautiful and wondrous Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel. At night, I never tire of looking at La Parroquia with the lights shining on the pink sandstone and its looming gothic towers. Iglesia San Rafael, otherwise known as Santa Esquela- sits to the left of the Parroquia. It is beautiful as well. It reminds me of the Tower of London.

Many people come to San Miguel for the art galleries and art schools such as Instituto Allende but don't forget about the wonderful cooking schools as well.

San Miguel has a lot to offer. Come and discover why we and many others have chosen San Miguel de Allende as a vacation destination or as a place to call home.

To learn more about San Miguel de Allende, go to: www.whatshotinsanmiguel.com

Javier Olivera lives and works in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He has created the most complete internet city guide for San Miguel de Allende. For more information about San Miguel de Allende go to

http://www.whatshotinsanmiguel.com