Why this magical Mexican city keeps calling us back — and why it’s the perfect home for our annual women’s retreat
Destination: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico · Category: Travel
There are places in the world that simply get under your skin. Places you visit once and spend the rest of your life trying to return to. San Miguel de Allende, nestled in the mountains of Guanajuato, Mexico, is one of those places.
For the third year running, we’re bringing our women’s retreat to this extraordinary city during the most magical time of year: Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. And every time we return, we fall in love all over again. Here’s why.
01 · The Bohemian Soul That Breathes Through Every Street
San Miguel de Allende has been a sanctuary for artists, writers, and free spirits for over a century. What began as a refuge for American artists and expats in the mid-20th century has evolved into one of Latin America’s most vibrant creative hubs, yet it has never lost its authentically Mexican heart.
Walk down any cobblestone callejón and you’ll stumble upon an open-air studio, a sculptor chipping marble, a jazz trio drifting from a courtyard, a mural that makes you stop mid-stride. The art here isn’t in galleries it’s in the walls, the markets, the people.
Galleries like the Fabrica La Aurora (a converted textile factory turned arts complex) house dozens of contemporary Mexican artists. The Instituto Allende has been educating painters and sculptors since 1950. Street art and folk art commingle without pretension. This is the rare city where Bohemian isn’t a costume — it’s the culture.
“San Miguel doesn’t just inspire creativity. It is creative. You can’t walk these streets without feeling something inside you shift.”
02 · A Food Scene That Will Ruin You for Everywhere Else
San Miguel de Allende is quietly becoming one of Mexico’s most exciting gastronomic destinations and anyone who has eaten here knows exactly why.
This is not tourist food. This is the real, deep, complex cuisine of central Mexico: enchiladas mineras drenched in guajillo chile sauce, gorditas stuffed with chicharrón, delicate chiles en nogada that tell the story of Mexico’s independence in every bite. The local markets, especially Mercado Ignacio Ramírez are sensory pilgrimages where vendors serve food that has been cooked the same way for generations.
But San Miguel also has a world-class modern dining scene. Restaurants like Bovine, Hecho en México, and the legendary Moxi push Mexican cuisine into thrilling new territory without ever losing sight of their roots. Mezcal bars, craft chocolate shops, coffee roasters using single-origin Mexican beans ,the city rewards adventurous palates at every price point.
Where to eat in San Miguel de Allende
Breakfast: Head to La Colmena bakery on the main jardín for fresh pan dulce and café de olla.
Lunch: Follow locals to Mercado Sano for organic regional produce.
Dinner: Reserve ahead at any of the rooftop restaurants overlooking the Parroquia as the sun turns everything amber and rose.
03 · Architecture So Beautiful It Feels Like a Dream
San Miguel de Allende is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the moment you arrive, you understand completely why. The city is a masterwork of colonial Spanish baroque architecture, preserved in extraordinary condition and lit, each evening, in rose-gold light.
The crown jewel is La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, a neo-Gothic parish church whose pink quarry-stone towers have become one of the most photographed images in all of Mexico. Legend holds that its spires were designed by a self-taught indigenous stonemason named Zeferino Gutiérrez, who sketched his vision from European postcards. The result is one of the most singular buildings on earth.
Beyond the Parroquia, every street in the centro histórico is a postcard: ochre mansions with bougainvillea cascading over ancient stone walls, wrought-iron doors concealing lush interior courtyards, churches on every corner catching the light differently at every hour. San Miguel is a city that changes its face with the sun and every version is breathtaking.
04 · A Cultural Richness That Goes Deeper the Longer You Stay
San Miguel de Allende was the birthplace of Ignacio Allende , the military hero of Mexican Independence and the city wears its history proudly. But it’s not a city living in the past. It’s a place where pre-Hispanic traditions, colonial heritage, and contemporary Mexican identity collide in endlessly fascinating ways.
The festivals here are legendary. Semana Santa transforms the streets into an extraordinary spectacle of faith. The hot air balloon festival each November fills the sky above the Bajío with colour. And then there is Día de los Muertos: the celebration that draws us back year after year, and which we believe is the most profound and beautiful cultural experience available to travellers anywhere in the world.
Music drifts from nearly every corner. Mariachi, of course but also jazz, cumbia, traditional banda, classical guitar. The arts calendar is relentless. There is always something happening in San Miguel, always a reason to stay just one more day.
05 · The Energy — Pure, Transformative, Unforgettable
This is perhaps the hardest reason to articulate, but every person who has visited San Miguel will know exactly what we mean: there is an energy here that is different from anywhere else.
It’s the altitude (nearly 2,000 metres above sea level), the quality of light at golden hour, the warmth of the people. It’s the way strangers share tables at market stalls. It’s the sound of church bells over cobblestones at dawn. It’s walking through a doorway and finding a garden that has been flowering quietly for 300 years.
For women, in particular, San Miguel holds something special. This is a city that celebrates beauty, creativity, community, and depth. A city where spending an afternoon in a courtyard with a glass of mezcal and a conversation that changes your perspective feels not like an indulgence, but like the whole point. Which is exactly why we chose it for our retreat.
Plan Your Visit
Best time to visit San Miguel de Allende: October and November are exceptional, cooler temperatures, clear skies, and the incomparable spectacle of Day of the Dead celebrations. The city comes alive in ways that must be witnessed to be believed. Our annual women’s retreat coincides exactly with this extraordinary window.
Join us in San Miguel de Allende this Day of the Dead season.