San Miguel de Allende Tips

My husband & I will be going to SMA for the first time in early December and would like to hear from those of you who have been there before. Favorite restaurants, etc...

Why are you going there?

What do you have against SMA?

[David Stanley]

Palomares, I wish you hadn't responded so quickly to Sonseeker's inquiry about San Miguel de Allende. I was going to recommend you as the prime source of info on this great little city. It would have been intended as a prank and I would have quickly revealed my motives but, alas, it is now a moot point.

Sonseeker, I have only visited SMA on day trips from Guanajuato but I found it to be beautiful, busy, reasonably clean and prosperous. I prefer Gto but I enjoyed my time in San Miguel. Not sure I would want to live there but I do think I could make my home in Gto. Buena suerte. David

Sonseeker, I didn´t say I had anything against SMA. I think it is a perfect spot for many folks. Just curious as to why you are going there. Just a visit or to live?

I am new to this site. Is it primarily for those who are looking to relocate somewhere in Mexico??

We will be in Queretaro visiting a Mex. family we know, and from there we planned to stay in SMA a few days before heading back home.

I imagine this site is for anybody interested in almost any aspect of Mexico, visiting or living here. San Miguel is a great place to visit. Check this website for lots of good info:

http://portalsanmiguel.com/index.php

Enjoy your visit and buena suerte.

[arizoniac]

San Miguel is a nice place to visit, and a nice place to live. It has many, many, many restaurants. How long are you going to be there?

We will be there for 5 days only - Saturday thru Wed, the early part of Dec.

I'm not sure anyone answered your question with straight-forward answers so I'll do my best, although I'm no expert on SMA or anywhere else, for that matter.

SMA: Full of tourists/english speaking people. Downtown has expensive, but beautiful shops. Restaurants are about the same price as the US to slightly lower. The church, like most churches in Mexico, is so incredibly beautiful that it makes even non-christians wonder about it all. I'm going to be here until January. I live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods where rent was cheaper and I could bring my car, boat, dog, teens, etc. I like the area because it's very close to a lot of places that are very cool. I've visited Pazos, Delores Hidalgo, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Silao, Leon.....my favorite being the small towns in between where I can shop for non-tourist items. I like it enough that I'm going to have to hire a semi to get me back....literally.

As for restaurants, I haven't eaten in one I didn't like yet. There are restaurants throughout the downtown area in a ratio of about 2 per block. If you are in a car, my favorite, so far, has been "La Mesa del Matador" which is south of town. It was just fun and the food was good. I did find Moreno's, which is a place to hang out on the weekends and watch football so my teenage son is happy.

What I dislike here? The internet service sucks unless you hang out in internet cafes (which i hate). The sidewalks bother my husband because they are narrow and he's deaf in one ear so it makes for walking around together more....frustrating. The tourist prices bug me, but I'm from a tourist town in Michigan so I'm just used to that and learn to shop away from town.

Guadalajara: I lived there for about 6-months in the 90s while I went the universidad. I liked hanging out in al centro. There were few americans anywhere (I think it's a big enough town that they are just absorbed up). I really reccomend going to Tonala on Thursdays for shopping. It's the best mercado area on the planet. It's been awhile since I've been there so I can't make restaurant reccomendations, but like all over mexico, I've never been really disappointed in eating accomadations.

Mexico City: If I were going to spend a week learning and enjoying Mexico, this is where I'd park my butt. As long as you don't need internet and can stand the noise in the morning, the best place to stay is ON the Zocalo at a Best Western (can't remember the Mex. Name, but it's on the best western site). You look out your window at the most unbelievable church on the planet. You walk less than a block to see Diego Rivera's murals in the National Palace. The Templo Mayor is kiddy-corner from the hotel and there is ALWAYS something going on in the zocalo. We hired a local tourist guide for $60 who took us to the pyrimids outside of town and treated us to stories, jokes, etc. Restaurants abound at the Zocalo and I left in one week feeling as though I understood Mexico much better than I had in Guadalajara.

Ok, I'm stepping off my bar stool. Just trying to add my 2-cents worth!