San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende, a World Heritage Site was named the World’s Best City to Live In by Condé Nast Traveler in 2013 / 2018 and still ranks as number one in Latin America and number three in the World.
The colonial city of San Miguel de Allende located in the geographical center of Mexico offers a pleasant mild climate, an enormous variety of cultural entertainment and first class dining. The population of approximately 140,000 has a ten percent ratio of residents from abroad adding diversity to this small charming community. It is a small city of plazas, parks and churches steeped in the architectural arts of Mexico.
The colonial city of San Miguel de Allende located in the geographical center of Mexico offers a pleasant mild climate, an enormous variety of cultural entertainment and first class dining. The population of approximately 140,000 has a ten percent ratio of residents from abroad adding diversity to this small charming community. It is a small city of plazas, parks and churches steeped in the architectural arts of Mexico.
Bohemian, quaint and hip all at once San Miguel is a city with the interest and buzz of old and new art all at once. The city’s natural surroundings, tranquility and the safety it provides its inhabitants make this an easy place in which to reside. Celebration of traditional Mexican Holidays, architecture, art galleries, archeological sites, first class hotels and gastronomy make this a destination for ecotourism.
San Miguel de Allende and the nearby Sanctuary of Atotonilco were declared World Heritage Sites in 2008 by UNESCO for its unique and traditional beauty.
The city founded in 1592 it distinguishes by its history as the birthplace of the Mexican Revolution of 1810 and by its baroque architecture embodied in the rose colored sandstone Cathedral in the heart of the city.
The celebration of life is an every day event in San Miguel. Every weekend there is music, an exposition and theatre. The city is host to International Cinema and Music Festivals (together with other cities like Guanajuato and Morelia), the International Jazz & Blues Festival, seasonal Food Festivals, a World noted Literary Conference and many more. A celebration of laughter takes place in June with the “Locos” a crazy costume parade and in November ushers winter with the mystical amazing Day of the Dead parades and altars.
There are Thermal Hot Springs and a grotto, balloon flights, walks to marvel at the most beautiful houses and gardens, acres o beautiful botanical gardens, El Charco del Ingenio Natural Reserve above the town, the art centers at the Fabrica “la Aurora”. Visit museums, travel to the ancient time visiting the archeological site Cañada de la Virgen or choose among many other options.
Cañada de la Virgen –
Archeological Site
(Reflection of heaven on earth) This site was an astronomical laboratory and observatory. It is located on a plateau surrounded by valleys and ravines, and from where the ancient priests could observe and calculate the celestial movements of the stars.
This wonderful archeological complex consists of a rectangular, unified design, and contains pyramids, plazas, concentric gardens and sunken patios. It was also linked with the agricultural life, the recollection of food and hunting as well as the exchange of ritual and domestic items with other regions. Its defensive position and the visual domination of the Rio Laja valley indicate the ritual importance of the site.
The apogee was between 600 and 900 a.C.