San Miguel
de Allende is a small, historic city three hours north of México
City by car and four hours east of Guadalajara. It lies in the heart
of the country in the state of Guanajuato. It is also only an hour
northwest of Querétaro, a thriving commercial and industrial center
of over one million citizens.
San Miguel is consistently rated by leading travel magazines,
such as Condé Nast, as a top-ten site to visit in the Americas and
the world. Tourists come to San Miguel to enjoy the beautifully
preserved downtown and take art or language lessons.
This city is a perfect site for the Concurso de Motor Sports
Panamericano.
What makes San Miguel so special? Location, location, location!
Perched at an altitude of 6300 feet (1938 meters) on the slope of
a range of mountains, this city of around 140,000 inhabitants enjoys
a mild year-round climate. Even in the summer, the temperature
rarely reaches 90 degrees F. and the winters are mild. Since there
is no heavy industry, the air quality remains healthy.
San Miguel is also virtually unspoiled by modern times. Its
colonial architecture has been preserved and mostly restored. Its
hilly streets are cobblestone, laid out in the Spanish system of
square blocks.
San Miguel is a thriving Mexican city in all respects, but unlike
other cities its size, it possesses a significant immigrant
population. Over 4000 residents of San Miguel are from the United
States, Canada, and Europe. And during the two high seasons (winter
and summer), the number of foreign residents increases.
Well heeled residents of México City also have vacation homes in
San Miguel or are moving to the city permanently. Eighty percent of
the tourists in San Miguel are Mexicans.
Known as a city of wealth, church steeples, and elegant colonial
houses, for centuries San Miguel was a way station on the “silver
road” from Zacatecas and other northern Mexican mining cities to the
capital, México City.
San Miguel played an important part in the revolt against
Spanish colonial rule in the early 1800s, a movement that started in
the nearby cities of Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato. And just
outside of the town is one of the most famous churches in Mexico,
Atotonilco, where thousands of Mexicans make pilgrimages each year.
Much later in 1935 the builders of the Panamerican Highway from
Ciudad Juárez to Guatemala decided to bypass San Miguel. This helped
preserve the city’s narrow streets and colonial buildings and shield
it from industrial development.
Since the 1930s San Miguel has been the home of the Allende
Institute, a major arts and educational center. The Institute has
attracted thousands of artists and scholars from North America and
around the world. Many made the city their home. Because of the
Institute and other cultural institutions, San Miguel offers a wide
variety of art and cultural entertainment. The city also boasts the
largest English and Spanish language library in México.
Because of the Allende Institute, favorable climate, and tourism,
San Miguel possesses a unique and sophisticated collection of
restaurants, shops, galleries, boutique hotels, and dozens of B&Bs
for those with discerning tastes. Yet the city retains its essential
Mexican character. Markets and churches thrive, and on Saturday the
streets fill with locals who take the bus downtown to shop and show
off their new outfits.
El Jardin (the Garden), the main square, is the hub of the city.
Every day, but especially on the weekends, the square is filled with
Mexicans and expatriates taking in the sun, swapping stories, and
watching the tourists snap photos of the landmark church, La Parroquia, that faces the square.
San Miguel de Allende remains a special place in Mexico and the
world, a city uniquely qualified to host the Concurso de Motor
Sports Panamericano.
Getting to San Miguel de Allende
If you are flying into this area from the United States or
Canada, the best airport is Leon-Guanajuato (BJX). There is also an
airport in Querétaro, but it has less frequent passenger service.
Flying into Mexico City and taking a first-class bus to Querétaro
and San Miguel is also a popular option.
From all airports, shuttle service to San Miguel is available.
Driving down? San Miguel is only 590 miles south of Laredo, Texas
and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
There is a first-class divided highway or toll road the entire
way, except for the last 16 miles, and toll roads bypass all the
cities along the route. Gas stations and restaurants are plentiful.
The Federal Highway patrol and the Green Angels, who can be seen in
their green and white trucks assisting tourists and travelers,
patrol this route constantly.
From México City after San Juan del Rio take the #57d toll road (cuota)
or bypass around Querétaro and follow the signs at the end of the
toll road (cuota) to San Miguel de Allende on #111. From Guadalajara
take the toll road to México City and turn north at Acambaro to
Celaya to San Miguel on highway #51, or go north to Leon and then
down to Guanajuato and San Miguel on #45.
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