Visiting San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: A Pueblo Magico (Magic Village) of Mexico

I went to visit my friend in Queretaro, Mexico. They moved there with their family and I wanted to check it out and everybody kept on saying you have to go and see San Miguel de Allende. I’ve already heard of that name before but I’ve never actually really known it was around Mexico. In certain parts of it, there’s this thing called Pueblos Magicos, they are many, and I already visited one, but I wanted to visit San Miguel de Allende and I did! Here’s my full experience with useful information and tips.

I actually have another podcast about Peña del Bernal which is another Pueblo Magico.

💡 You can listen to the full Peña de Bernal podcast here

San Miguel de Allende

Pueblo Magico literally means magic villages or magic towns, and there are quite a few of them all over Mexico. In this particular area, San Miguel De Allende is considered to be one of those particular villages, and it’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful towns. I think it was literally voted one of the most beautiful towns or cities to visit in the world. So I know very little about it. I do know that it is one of the largest United States ex-pat communities in the world, and it’s also a colonial town.

I personally live in Antigua, Guatemala, which is a colonial town. It is also a UNESCO site, just like San Miguel de Allende, and I was told that San Miguel de Allende is literally ten times the size of Antigua and very similar to it, but I had to go and see it for myself. So, me and my friend and our kids, I went to spend a day in San Miguel de Allende.

What is San Miguel de Allende like?

It is one of the cutest, most colorful villages, very well manicured, gorgeous, colorful, big Plaza, they have markets. You do need to park your car, you don’t really want to be driving around there, but it’s walkable, it’s quite large. So do prepare for a day of walking adventures.

You can go and get delicious foods, they have jewelry, they have just outdoor parks, they also have a local market that I really recommend that you go and visit. Yes, it is one of the largest ex-pat communities, but because of that, it’s taking care of that much. There are amazing little cafes and bars and restaurants for you to go and check out. Beautifully manicured. The coolest thing about it, is the weather is always perfect, it’s always in the 70 or the 80.

How to get there

It is 1 hour from Queretaro, but it is in the Department or the state of Guanajuato, which is another really beautiful city. You could drive to San Miguel de Allende, you could also take a bus there, you could take a shuttle, you don’t necessarily have to drive, there are many ways for you to get there. So yes, you could definitely spend the night there. But if you only have one day, honestly, I thought one day was plenty for us to go and visit and really take our time, and we went with little kids and even the little kids had a blast running around.

Is it safe?

It’s super safe and that’s a big deal you could also take a bus tour to check out all the areas so that you don’t walk around as much, especially if you’re older or if you have some sort of issue that you cannot walk around. There are many ways for you to see the city without actually walking and doing it all. So if you guys have a chance to spend one day in that area, definitely find that time, you will not be disappointed.