Exploring Abroad: First Impressions of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

We told you in the last post how our visit to San Miguel got off to a rough start. Happy to report that once we were settled things immediately improved.

Let’s first back up and tell you why we decided to visit this beautifully preserved colonial city in the Mexican highlands. San Miguel de Allende has been an expat magnet since former U.S. soldiers began flocking there to study art through the G.I. Bill after World War II.

Attracted by its temperate climate, low cost of living, proximity to the States, cultural opportunities, and low crime, San Miguel today is estimated to have up to 20,000 expats, over half of whom are from the States.

All those attributes are on our personal wish list, so we wanted to experience this expat hot spot firsthand.

The city rises up on all sides from the historic center, and our Airbnb was perched on a hillside with a magnificent view. From our terrace the first morning we were delighted to see a hot air balloon floating in the distance. “A good omen,” we decided.

It was time to get out there and explore. We soon discovered that San Miguel has incredibly long and steep hills.

And some impossibly narrow sidewalks. Combined with the cobblestone streets, walking in many areas of San Miguel requires your full attention.

Which is hard to do when everywhere you look is like a scene from a movie set. It didn’t take long to realize that San Miguel is unbelievably beautiful!

We strolled through the city’s largest park, Parque Benito Juárez.

And stumbled upon some unexpected sights as we wandered around.

We were en route to San Miguel’s most famous landmark, La Parroquia, the outrageously ornate cathedral with soaring pink neo-Gothic spires that dominate the skyline.

Totally out of character for traditional Spanish churches of the period with its eclectic baroque architecture, it was designed by a self-taught architect from postcards of European cathedrals.

And it is spectacular!

After visiting some of the art galleries and parks surrounding the cathedral, we were pooped.

A rule we quickly made was, “Walk down. Uber up.”

We got back just in time for a glorious sunset. Our first day of exploring this gorgeous city in the highlands was excellent. We were super impressed with San Miguel!