Go for a stroll in the center on a balmy late-fall afternoon and everything is still. The flagstone sidewalk is smooth and clean, littered only by fallen leaves. Behind the high walls and magnificent wooden doors, residents enjoy peace and total privacy. In the Jardín, the main square, people snap photographs in front of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, a 17th-century neo-Gothic confection of pink sandstone and multiple spires. The wrought-iron benches under the trees are largely empty; not so long ago they would have been commandeered by elderly expats but a younger, hipper crowd now predominates. Behind its carefully preserved exterior, the city is constantly evolving.
Take Casa Cohen, a shopping mall of cavernous depths, once filled with ironware, and now home to Dôce-18 Concept House, filled with art, fashion, and design. There’s an exclusive boutique hotel on top and places to eat and drink below, including the world’s smallest tequila bar, the Casa Dragones Tasting Room, where you can try the small-batch luxury tequila that bears its name. The tiny space, tiled in obsidian from the company’s agave fields, holds just six people. Lauded by chefs and mixologists, it’s worth noting that despite the industry’s masculine profile, Casa Dragones was co-founded by Bertha González Nieves, the first woman to be certified a Maestra Tequilera.
For more tasting and pairing, San Miguel has a profusion of top restaurants. Foremost among them is Moxi, opened by chef Enrique Olvera, famous for the top-ranking Pujol in Mexico City. It sits inside the Hotel Matilda, whose colonial frontage conceals an ultra-chic interior, the first of its kind in the historic center. Moxi is now presided over by Pancho Ibañez, former sous-chef at Pujol, while Olvera has a new restaurant in the vast, recently opened Live Aqua Urban Resort. To start the day properly there’s Panio with its excellent French and Italian bread and pastries. Or for a more leisurely breakfast, a secret spot is the charming patio of Hotel Santa Monica in the residential zone near the park.
Every history of San Miguel talks of art and how the first school, Bellas Artes, was set up in a former convent with the fiery David Siqueiros giving classes. The mural he left unfinished in the refectory has bemused visitors ever since, and the nuns still live cloistered next door at the Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción, Las Monjas, within. There are classes and exhibitions here and at Instituto Allende, and Fabrica La Aurora is where art and antiques lovers congregate. Housed in a disused textile factory, this is where the best in art, antiques, and design can be found while wandering through galleries and open studios.
Throughout the year, San Miguel is home to fiestas and international events, including the San Miguel Chamber Music Festival, the International Jazz & Blues Festival, and the Writer’s Conference & Literary Festival, all attracting performers and speakers at the highest level. The Guanajuato International Film Festival and the Cervantino, Guanajuato’s huge festival of the arts, are easily reached from San Miguel, making it an ideal base for attending, as well as for trips to Mexico City and the chic resorts of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo.
The lifestyle here is beguiling. Luxury properties can be found in the colonial center and also in the countryside. There’s a vineyard estate community at La Santísima Trinidad with polo fields served by helicopter pads, while Otomi is an exclusive equestrian residential and leisure complex hosting equestrian Grand Prix events that attract up to 600 riders. While looking for the perfect residence, the Rosewood hotel, built in the style of a hacienda with lavender gardens and orange trees, provides the proper ambience. Its Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar is the best place to watch one of San Miguel’s spectacular sunsets.
Jim Dolan, director of CDR San Miguel, the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in the region, says the city’s continuing popularity has been boosted by the opening of the Matilda and Rosewood hotels. “There’s no longer a down season here. San Miguel is the national equivalent of Aspen or Santa Fe, but the cost of living here is still extremely reasonable.” says Dolan. For the price of a two-bedroom apartment in a large city you can find up to six bedrooms, with good amenities and staff.
The residential areas to the south and east of the Jardín, known as the Centro Historico, are quiet and are the most sought after. Some of the most exclusive residences are in the Chorro district, just north of Parque Juárez, a tranquil turn-of-the century space with fountains, benches, and nesting egrets. There are also wonderful homes further north, with pools, terraces, splendid views, and often a surprising amount of land. Nestling in the hills, the gated community of Candelaria is a delightful countryside development just a few minutes’ drive from the city center, with extensive landscaping and sweeping country views.
