Why San Miguel de Allende is NOT a Magical Town

San Miguel de Allende is one of the most important cities in Guanajuato, as it offers a great variety of attractions that enchant everyone.

The municipality of San Miguel de Allende is one of the most important for tourism in Guanajuato, as in 2023 alone this city received 2 million 055 thousand 981 visitors, a figure that broke the record and marked history as the best year.

In addition, San Miguel de Allende has won multiple awards such as: First place as the best city in the world in the world ranking, City number one in Mexico, Central and South America, Award for the best practices of local governments in tourism, Best small city in the world, Best wedding destination, awards that it has repeated on several occasions.

San Miguel de Allende is a city that manages to be picturesque and cosmopolitan at the same time, its historic center is full of well-preserved buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. With its narrow cobblestone streets, tree-lined courtyards, fine architectural details and sumptuous interiors, San Miguel de Allende is, without a doubt, the most beautiful city in Mexico.

Why San Miguel de Allende is not a Magical Town?

This beautiful city, before 2008, was one of the Magical Towns of Guanajuato, however, in that year, San Miguel de Allende was named by Unesco as a World Heritage City, so the government that was in charge of the state of Guanajuato at that time decided to stop participating in that program to focus fully on the requirements of Unesco and preserve its title.

According to the federal government, Unesco named San Miguel de Allende, and the nearby Sanctuary of Jesus of Atotonilco, World Heritage, citing the religious and civil architecture of the town as a sample of the evolution of the different trends and styles, from the Baroque to the Neogothic of the late 19th century.

The Sanctuary of Jesus of Atotonilco is located 20 minutes from San Miguel de Allende which is perhaps one of the living examples of the cultural exchange that took place in that era.

According to Unesco, this Sanctuary is inspired by the doctrine of San Ignatius of Loyola, but with elements of Mexican culture, for example, the details of the facades, some murals and other elements.

What to do in San Miguel de Allende?

In this World Heritage City, there are tourist tours that take you to know the most relevant points of San Miguel de Allende.

On the tourism website of the municipality, it details that they have up to eight tours, which last between 1 hour and a half and 8 hours, depending on the one you choose:

San Miguel – Historic Center

San Miguel – Atotonilco

Atotonilco – Dolores

Guanajuato Mineral de Pozos

Archaeological Zone “Cañada de la Virgen”

Mezcal Route

San Miguel de Allende, the ideal place for your wedding

The weddings of San Miguel de Allende offer spectacular sunsets in the mountains and a sophisticated gastronomic and cultural scene. San Miguel has some of the sweetest and most unique wedding traditions you have ever seen, making this place a dream wedding destination.

The ‘Callejoneada’ is one of the most authentic experiences of San Miguel, the city hosts more than 700 weddings a year, and the prelude to almost all ceremonies is a callejoneada, a parade in which the wedding party walks through the cobblestone streets, tequila in hand, smiles lit and voices singing.

Some giant mojigangas -paper mache puppets that rise three meters in the air and dance wildly- visually announce the callejoneada, and then the melodies of the mariachis begin to be heard. A lovely donkey, adorned with colorful paper flowers, pulls a tequila cart from which all the attendees serve themselves. The spirit is contagious, even seen from the sidewalk.

Source: Tele Diario