SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO

San Miguel de Allende may just be the most charming small town in Mexico. It’s no pueblito, though, but a colorful, colonial-style city with a vibrant wine scene, markets and artisans galore, and one of the most impressive gastronomic scenes in Mexico.

From the second you drop into downtown, you’ll see the iconic, pink Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel towering above the lower, Spanish-style buildings sprawled out around the square. Walk around the square, people watch, or duck into the nearby artisan market to pick up handmade goodies.

Museums abound in San Miguel, as do shopping offerings in the city; local boutiques here make everything from silk-screen tees to hammered silver jewelry. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, you’ll have your pick from shrimp tempura on a crunchy tostada, slow-cooked barbacoa from a modest street stand, or Sri Lankan-Swiss-Mexican fusion food all within a few blocks from el centro.

Despite being a small town, San Miguel de Allende is filled with things to do, whether you’re in town for a day or a week. It’s a cultural hub, with plenty of art exhibition spaces and live music performances around town in the evenings. And if you can’t fit everything into one trip, you’ll just have to come back; you wouldn’t be the first foreigner to land in San Miguel permanently. – Travel & Leisure, 2023