2 days in San Miguel de Allende

Day by day

1. Day 1: Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel and El Jardín

   Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, El Jardín, Museo Histórico Casa de Allende and Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez (Bellas Artes), then Around the Jardín in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel

      Behind it stands the older, simpler colonial church. Inside are side chapels and a crypt beneath the altar.

   2. Late morning

      El Jardín

      It is the town's living room, with families, shoeshine stands and balloon sellers by day and mariachis serenading groups in the evening.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Enchiladas mineras

      Traditional restaurants and fondas in the Mercado Ignacio Ramírez and around the San Antonio barrio.

   4. Afternoon

      Museo Histórico Casa de Allende

      The house, run by the national institute of anthropology and history, tells the story of the town and the 1810 uprising in rooms around a colonial courtyard.

   5. Late afternoon

      Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez (Bellas Artes)

      One room holds an unfinished mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, painted when he taught here in the late 1940s, and classes in painting, music and dance continue in the old cells.

   6. Evening

      Around the Jardín

      Rooftop terraces with Parroquia views and cocktail bars on Calle Umarán and Calle Hidalgo.

2. Day 2: Templo de la Concepción (Las Monjas) and Templo de San Francisco

   Templo de la Concepción (Las Monjas), Templo de San Francisco, Calle Aldama and Mercado de Artesanías, then Streets north and east of the Jardín in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Templo de la Concepción (Las Monjas)

      The church sits beside the Bellas Artes cloister, two blocks from the Jardín.

   2. Late morning

      Templo de San Francisco

      The small garden in front is a quiet place to sit.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Gorditas

      Market stalls and street comales around the Mercado Ignacio Ramírez in the mornings.

   4. Afternoon

      Calle Aldama

      It is the town's classic photograph.

   5. Late afternoon

      Mercado de Artesanías

      It joins the Mercado Ignacio Ramírez, the town's everyday food market, where you can buy fruit and eat at the fondas.

   6. Evening

      Streets north and east of the Jardín

      Bars and restaurants with live music, from jazz and blues to Latin bands, plus wine bars and mezcalerías within a few blocks of the square.

If it rains

• Swap in Fábrica La Aurora (Colonia Guadalupe): Allow time to visit the open studios, where artists are often at work and happy to talk.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 5–6 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.9 hours in December to 13.4 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Walking. Most sights are within 15 minutes' walk of the Jardín, but streets are steep, cobbled and narrow, with high kerbs and uneven pavements.

More or fewer days

• One day in San Miguel de Allende
• 3 days in San Miguel de Allende
• 5 days in San Miguel de Allende

Questions travellers ask