San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende gets mistaken for Guanajuato all the time—both colonial Mexican cities with steep streets and pastel facades—but San Miguel punches above its weight as an expat and artist haven without Guanajuato's tourist crush. The centro radiates from the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, a neo-Gothic church that dominates the skyline, with the Instituto Allende occupying a sprawling hacienda where serious painters and writers have worked for decades. Wander Calle Reloj toward the Mercado de Abastos for real local life: vendors selling fresh nopales, dried chiles, and mezcal, not souvenirs. The Biblioteca Pública, housed in a converted mansion on Calle Insurgentes, hosts everything from film screenings to art talks and feels like the intellectual spine of the town. Head to Barrio de la Cruz on the north side for narrower streets, fewer tourists, and galleries tucked into colonial homes—this is where you'll find working artists' studios and smaller museums like the Museo Histórico de San Miguel de Allende. The surrounding countryside rolls with vineyards and ranches; day trips to Mineral de Pozos (an abandoned mining town being slowly reclaimed) or the hot springs at Escondido Place reward the curious.

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With over 2 million bookable vacation rentals, Vrbo connects homeowners with families and vacationers looking for something more than a hotel for their trip. The Vrbo community offers families an array of rental property types such as condos, cabins, lake rentals, beach houses, and more. Discover properties in destinations that everyone dreams of visiting.
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