What to Know before Visiting San Miguel De Allende

It’s a cultural place/ artist community

San Miguel is home to many artists, history, and colonial culture that is preserved and can be easily seen all over the city. There also is an old fabric mill that has been converted into many high end art galleries and shops which is a must see. As well their are some famous churches in town and the picture above is where bull fights used to happen in the middle of a neighborhood.

Nearest beach is 7hr away

San Miguel is not near the beach in any way. Also the climate is not burning hot, as San Miguel is pretty high in elevation.

When you see ribbon on doors your at a business

The city is well preserved and there are restrictions in place to keep the authenticity. For example many businesses are not allowed to hang signs so instead businesses will attach ribbons to their window bars to let customers know that they are open for business and not residential.

The people are very friendly and are hard workers

All the people we interacted with were kind, welcoming, happy to be living in San Miguel and share their town with us.

You can negotiate with street vendors and shop owners

This is not true everywhere but in many shops and markets prices are not on items and you can negotiate. Especially too on common items that you see a multitude of, such as hats and espadrilles which are two items I ended up getting. You really couldn't beat the prices my shoes were less than $30 and are good quality.

There are many people not from the area that live here

San Miguel is a popular tourist destination and many tourists who visit end up becoming residents.

Rooftop dining and sunset watching is common

People like to have parties late at night in the restaurants

We didn't particularly do any late night partying although they were around

You can get around pretty easily without knowing Spanish

Many people can understand English or even want to practice with you so if your not fluent in Spanish, not to fret you can still get around pretty easily.

There are pyramids and volcanoes in San Miguel

There many not be a beach but there is both pyramids and volcanoes in San Miguel. My family toured the pyramids which are still being excavated and it was a pretty great tour, just make sure to get the only 1 English speaker.

The streets are really clean and there isn’t trash around

The roads were well kept and very clean. You didn't see trash, homeless, or gum on the streets like you do in the United States.

The food is really good and reasonably priced

The food was soooo yummy and was very reasonably prices especially for the portion sizes. My family of four could eat and drink for around $40 for lunch, dinner was slightly more.

There’s tons of markets and shopping

There are fun alleys lined of shops, restaurants, outdoor markets, and street vendors.

You can walk most places although the roads are cobblestone

The whole city is pretty walkable for the most part just make sure to bring sturdy shoes because most of the roads are made of cobble stone. On our vacations we really got to know the city and would walk around 6-8 miles a day.

The building are left historic and the government controls the colors if the building is over 3 stories high, also the bottom floors of home typically have bars over doors and windows for protection and many people have enclosed patios or rooftop terraces

Just thought the details, textures, and colors were so pretty of the houses along the streets of San Miguel.

All the homes painted along streets are painted different colors mostly in Hispanic coloring (reds yellows oranges whites)

There is a diverse group of incomes in the area although everyone has access to food

Hearing from the locals we were told that for the most part everyone has food. You can visibly see some of the people in San Miguel don't have much to their name in tangible items but that everyone comes together to support each other and make sure the town is fed. There are even special groups that will get together and ride share out to the large chain grocery stores for bulk food purchasing.

Home rents range from 200-1500 a month typically

This is one of the reasons people move to San Miguel, there still is something for all budgets. Although, you can easily find luxury rentals that will cost $1500 for the weekend, too.

You may want to bring your bug spray if you go out hiking the mosquitoes can be bad

When hiking beware of the bugs and just make sure to apply your bug spray.

cartel warning

We were told by locals that the cartel does have houses and live in the area while vacationing although they aren't dangerous unless your wrapped up into their business and that they don't target locals or expats. I have no experience of this while traveling; I am only repeating what I was told. Personally, I felt very safe and even walked back to our rental by myself a time or two.