San Miguel

S A N MIGUEL

EVERY TRAVELLER WHO HAS SET FOOT HERE OVER THE PAST 500 YEARS HAS FOUND THEMSELVES HELD CAPTIVE BY THE SAME WONDROUS SPELL. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL, YOU MAY WISH NEVER TO LEAVE.

The enchantment with San Miguel de Allende begins en route. The jewel at the heart of the Bajío region is first glimpsed from the road across the Mexican heartlands. It sits 6,200 feet (1,890m) above sea level, on the side of a hill gazing across the Laja River and the open expanses of ranches and orchards – patches of green, fed by spring water, that dapple the surrounding desert.

Once through the fortifications and into the city limits, San Miguel de Allende reveals itself as a perfectly balanced combination of authentic colonial architecture and Mexican heritage, complemented by a rare, modern, luxurious vibrancy. It's a place that has been recognised by both UNESCO and the high-end lifestyle magazines. It is a national monument, magical town and one of the most captivating destinations in the country.

Founded in 1541 at the height of central Mexico’s silver-mining boom, San Miguel de Allende grew from a small village – now the El Chorro neighbourhood – into a magnificent showcase for the excellence of the Baroque and neoclassical architects of the 18 th and 19 th centuries.

Thanks in no small part to a local hero of the rebellion named Ignacio Allende, San Miguel became the first municipality in Mexico to be declared independent from Spanish rule, and it assumed Allende’s name in his honour.

Even after the town fell on hard times for some of the subsequent century, the whole of San Miguel de Allende was declared a national monument in 1926. It meant that when artists and beatniks began rediscovering the town during the mid-20 th century, they found an oasis of untouched delights.

Awash in the never-ending sunlight of the plains, and with a climate described as “eternal spring”, San Miguel de Allende’s popularity quickly spread across the world. When UNESCO added San Miguel de Allende to its list of cultural heritage in 2008, it described a “melting pot where Spaniards, Creoles and Amerindians exchanged cultural influences”, adding the city “constitutes an exceptional example of the interchange of human values”.

It is beautifully preserved, yet buzzing with life and in 2016 was listed as “No 1 City in Mexico and Central and South America” by Travel + Leisure magazine. Conde Nast Traveler noted its “great atmosphere, excellent restaurants, culture and ambiance galore” after readers voted San Miguel de Allende the best city in the world.

Of its 160,000-strong population, some 12 per cent are expats, enticed to remain permanently in San Miguel de Allende by an enduring elegance and extraordinarily high quality of life. Numerous artistic and gastronomic festivals take place in the city year-round, while new restaurants and hotels regularly open their doors, bringing a perennial freshness to the narrow, cobblestone lanes.

Like all thriving municipalities, San Miguel de Allende revolves around a central square and an iconic place of worship. The former is the Jardin Principal – a garden of laurel trees, fountains, benches and bandstands that somehow manages to be both tranquil and bustling. Residents and visitors share lazy conversation and local delicacies bought from traders’ stalls, all to the soundtrack of mariachi music.

Standing tall along the southern edge of this timeless scene is the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the town’s most significant building and among Mexico’s most spectacular gothic monuments. Originally built in the 16 th century, the church’s façade was dramatically recast and extended in 1880 by the self-taught stonemason Zeferino Gutierrez, who modelled it partly on European neo-gothic cathedrals and partly from his own vivid imagination.

During daylight hours, the delicate arches, friezes and finials, hewn from pink sandstone, strike a dazzling contrast to the blue sky overhead. After dark, visitors can sit in rooftop bars and restaurants and gaze across the garden onto the illuminated façade.

Spreading out from the town’s centre, San Miguel de Allende’s narrow streets offer a wealth of further treasures. The former mansions of the town’s early inhabitants now house museums, galleries or boutique hotels, while there remain a number of traditional market-places and tiny stores, selling fresh produce and local handicrafts.

Highlights include the Museo Historico de San Miguel de Allende, the city’s historical museum, which occupies the house in which the fabled Allende was born. Meanwhile the Instituto Allende, whose charming complex of courtyards, patios and gardens was originally the home of an 18 th -century nobleman, became a convent and then an internationally renowned art school in the 1950s.

Similarly, the public library, which occupies a splendid 18 th -century building north of the Jardin Principal, is a central hub of culture in the city. Every Sunday, a tour leaves the library to offer an exclusive glimpse inside a number private homes, returning to a tranquil courtyard café.

Many of the town’s colonial-style lodgings are now hotels or are available for private rental, offering the highest levels of opulence without sacrificing any authenticity. Eating options range from traditional, hearty fare sold by street vendors to chic signature restaurants of some of Latin America’s most celebrated chefs.

The UNESCO inscription of San Miguel de Allende also includes the 250-year-old Sanctuary of Atotonilco, a spectacular Baroque church about eight miles (13km) from the town centre. Dubbed the Sistine Chapel of Mexico for its extravagant artistic delights – its walls and ceilings are almost entirely covered in outstanding frescos and paintings – Atotonilco is also surrounded by thermal springs. Visitors can wonder at the beauties they have witnessed while bathing in mineral-rich hot water.