Did you know that the city voted best in the world for the past few years is located in Mexico?! San Miguel de Allende was just named the world’s best city in the 2021 World’s Best Awards, topping the travel charts thanks to its exceptional architecture, revelatory hotels, and infectious sense of community.
But first, let’s recap our journey here. We just spent the last ten days in Bacalar, the Maldives of Mexico, home of the seven-colored lagoon. To get to San Miguel De Allende, we had to catch a one-hour flight from Chetumal to Mexico City. We then took an uber (~$7 USD) from Mexico City Airport to Autobuses del Norte, the largest bus station I’ve ever seen. From there, we took a bus that brought us straight to San Miguel de Allende. The bus company we decided to go with was called Primera Plus. Tickets can be purchased either directly through their website or at the bus station for $25 per person one-way, which seems rather pricey, but it’s one of the nicest buses I’ve ever been on with extra-large, comfortable recliner seats and free wi-fi on board which made the 4-hour journey go by quickly.
We arrived in San Miguel de Allende after dusk and quickly fell in love with the beauty and architecture of the city at night.
Since the city is situated around 6,000ft above sea levels, the weather here was very comfortable compared to where we had been. San Miguel de Allende is also an extremely walkable city, making our Airbnb easy to find. Speaking of our Airbnb, we loved the courtyard, views from the top balcony, and its central locale. The best part is it was only $30 a night!
San Miguel de Allende is an enchanting city. The cobblestoned streets and brightly colored Spanish-colonial buildings are the city’s signature. In fact, the 64-block historic center is so unique and picturesque that it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The most beautiful pink church straight out of a fairytale is at the center of it all! The Church of the Immaculate Conception, known locally as Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, is one of San Miguel’s most identifiable landmarks.
There are endless amounts of cafes and art galleries in San Miguel, but I would highly recommend grabbing churros and hot chocolate at Chocolates y Churros San Agustin. We also went to Mercado del Carmen, an excellent food court offering a variety of international food options, and got some ramen noodles from Chikatana, which was a nice break from the usual tacos and burritos we had almost every day!
Almost every night, you can find the local mariachi band serenading locals and tourists at the Townsquare. We paid 200 pesos ($10 USD) for one song and left it up to the old man to pick a song for us. He picked Besame mucho. It’s a memory I’ll cherish for a long time!
Whether catching a random festival/parade going through town or hiking up the hills and soaking in the gorgeous views of the city below San Miguel de Allende has won over our hearts and is worthy of being voted the best city in the world. It’s our favorite city that we’ve visited in Mexico so far and we hope to be back someday.
Cost recap for San Miguel de Allende:
One-way bus tickets from CDMX – $50 for two
Airbnb – $90 for 3 nights
Food and drinks – ~$90
Total for SMDA: ~$230.00
Total for Mexico 2021 trip so far: $1,512.09 for two adults for 14 days.
Next stop: Guanajuato.