2-Day San Miguel de Allende Itinerary
Visiting San Miguel de Allende for 2 days and wondering what to do? Based on my most recent trip there, this itinerary shows you the best things to do and eat in San Miguel and other useful travel tips.
San Miguel de Allende is one of the most popular cities in Mexico to visit. To be honest I didn’t know much about Mexico before I planned my week long Mexico trip with a few friends who have been several times, and they insisted that we must visit San Miguel de Allende and promised that it’s super cute.
And yes indeed SMA is really charming and safe to visit! We spent a little bit over 2 days there, pretty much explored the whole town and ate at some of the best restaurants there. I totally fell in love with this city and can understand why people want to move there (and retire there)!
So in this 2 day San Miguel de Allende itinerary, I will share with you all the photogenic spots and the best restaurants and rooftops we went to so you can have a blast there.
How to get to San Miguel de Allende
Located in Central Mexico, San Miguel de Allende can easily be reached by plane, bus or private car.
By Plane
The closest airport to San Miguel de Allende is Queretaro International Airport (QRO), followed by Guanajuato International Airport (BJX). Both airports are around 1.5 hours (QRO is slightly under 1.5 hours) from SMA. There are daily flights from Mexico City, Cabo, Cancun etc. The flight time is usually between 1 to 2 hours from these cities to SMA.
Then from the airports, you can take an official taxi, Uber/ Didi, a shuttle, rent a car or a private transfer to SMA.
By Bus
It is easy to take a bus from Guanajuato and Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende. We took the ENT bus, which is super nice and spacious from Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende (about one hour), and then from San Miguel to Mexico City (about 5 hours).
You may be wondering if the bus (or the road) is safe between Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende and the answer is yes. I had the same question when I was planning my Mexico trip and everything felt really safe.
Is 2 days enough for San Miguel de Allende
Yes! 2 days is the perfect amount of time to explore the El Centro of San Miguel de Allende, the historic center area that has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you want to do some day trips outside of SMA, such as to the wonderful city of Guanajuato, then you will need 3 to 4 nights in SMA.
Is San Miguel de Allende Safe to Travel to?
I know there are many Americans who are worried about the safety of traveling to Mexico. But you would be glad to know that San Miguel is one of the safest places to visit in Mexico. As a tourist you will most likely be staying in and spending time in El Centro, which felt very safe for me, even when we walked around at night.
Everywhere in San Miguel felt very lively, even at night. There are tons of people outside on a nice summer night and we never felt unsafe at all. In fact I would say I felt safer walking around San Miguel de Allende at night than New York City at night.
Where to Stay in San Miguel de Allende
You can’t really go wrong staying anywhere in El Centro in San Miguel de Allende. The area is not that big and you can easily walk anywhere from your hotel.
We stayed at Casa Mia Suites, which is only a few minutes walk from the main square and Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. The hotel has a nice courtyard and our suite had a living room and a separate bedroom, which was nice and spacious.
If you want a fancier hotel, then I would recommend the Rosewood and Casa de Sierra Nevad. Both hotels have pools and provide the most relaxation for your trip.
What to do in San Miguel de Allende for 2 Days
There are a ton of fun things to do and see in San Miguel de Allende! Here is a list of everything I enjoyed when I was there.
Jardin Allende
Jardin Allende is the central square and park in El Centro of SMA. It is the most lively place in San Miguel de Allende even at night.
Located right across from the famous Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel (church), this garden is where people come to hang out with friends and relax. There are a ton of cafes, shops and even a street market around the garden.
Starting in the late afternoon and in the evening, there are Mariachi bands performing, making it extra fun. There are also mojigangas (giant puppets) walking around this garden and will take photos with you if you pay them (otherwise they will purposely turn around so you can’t really take a good photo of them).
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel is the famous pale pink church in the center of San Miguel de Allende across from Jardin Allende. It is perhaps the most recognizable landmark of SMA and definitely one of the top photo spots there.
The church was originally built in the 17th century and unlike most neo-Gothic cathedrals, Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel incorporated colonial architectural style due to the various expansions since its initial construction.
You can visit inside for free everyday and there are masses you can attend if you are religious.
Mercado de Artesanías
As the name implies, Mercado de Artesanías is a craft market in central San Miguel de Allende. Located at the northern end of El Centro, Mercado de Artesanías is a large tourist attraction where you can buy everything from souvenirs, crafts, bags, clothes and food.
To be honest, I found the items inside quite pricey, especially when compared to the market in Guanajuato. But it is not surprising since it’s super touristy, so you can expect tourist prices. Despite the higher than average prices, it’s still a fun experience to walk through the market and check things out.
Hotel Casa de los Soles
If you are looking for a cute hotel in San Miguel de Allende then this has to be it. While most people don’t actually stay at this hotel, it is a hot instagram spot thanks to its colorful courtyard.
In its beautiful courtyard (open to the public), there are thousands of colorful suns (aka los soles) against its white walls.
You can buy a drink and sip in the courtyard, or simply come by to take photos. When we visited there were other people there for photos and videos. The entire place is super colorful and gives off a happy vibe. But since it’s quite popular among tourists, you may have to wait to take the photos.
Mercado Ignacio Ramírez
Located only about a couple of blocks away from Mercado de Artesanías and Hotel Casa de los Soles, Mercado Ignacio Ramírez is a food market that’s popular among locals and tourists in San Miguel de Allende.
Unlike Mercado de Artesanías, I personally felt this market was more authentic, especially since it sells a lot of vegetables, fruits, meat, and other food products. We decided to try some of the juices from one of the stalls on a warm day and it was very refreshing and yummy, since everything was squeezed fresh in front of us.
If you want to have a whole meal here you totally can, we saw people eating all sorts of delicious food in other stalls in the market. Or if you simply want to buy some fruits, then this is the place to do it.
Right outside of the market you will find another beautiful church, Templo de Nuestra Señora de La Salud. We didn’t actually go inside to see, but the facade is quite nice and there were a lot of locals hanging around the building.
Fabrica la Aurora
Being the artsy city that San Miguel de Allende is, it is not surprising that there are art centers and galleries all around the city.
Fabrica la Aurora is a popular design and art center that houses a number of galleries, stores, workshops and restaurants. The grounds used to be a textile factory and has since been turned into this artsy space.
The area is super big and you can totally spend at least 2-3 hours or even half a day there. We only spent about an hour and half there and definitely didn’t get to see everything. There are different sections within Fabrica la Aurora, with many stores that sell jewelry, crafts, and even furniture. If you are hungry there are also a number of restaurants that sell things like burgers, traditional Mexican cuisine and much more.
El Mirador
El Mirador is a nice view point that gives you a nice sweeping view of San Miguel de Allende. We knew we wanted to come here after seeing some photos of the view and of the surrounding areas (hint: there are a few cute streets nearby that are very photogenic).
Since El Mirador is further from El Centro than most places I mentioned above, we took a Didi (Uber equivalent) to come up here and then walked back down. You can take a local bus or walk up, but we didn’t want to walk uphill on a hot day.
I do suggest bringing a ultra zoom lens (or iPhone with 3x or 5x zoom) if you want to take a nice photo of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, since it is pretty far from the center of SMA.
Biblioteca Pública (Public Library)
You may wonder why I am recommending you to visit a library out of all the places in San Miguel de Allende, and I felt the same way when my friends suggested this for our itinerary. The reason I recommend a short visit here is because the main room of the library is super pretty!
The main room’s ceiling is pretty much a large mural with vibrant colors painted on it. It is a super popular photo spot for tourists but that’s not all there is. The library has a nice outdoor courtyard, a cafe and a small theater that often offer shows and plays. Inside the library there is an English book section and you will also find a gift shop.
Explore the Cute Streets and Doors
San Miguel de Allende’s charm can easily be seen just by walking around its cute streets. In and around the historical center, there are numerous streets that are simply picture perfect. I was constantly impressed by the beautiful hotel and restaurant fronts, doorways and architectures almost everywhere I went when exploring.
The most famous street in San Miguel de Allende is probably Aldama Street. Its cobblestone street perfectly lines up with the beautiful pink Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. If you come here any other time besides early morning, you will find the street filled with people taking photos
Relox Street is another beautiful street in the historic center. This is the street that connects Jardín Allende to Mercado de Artesanías. The reason I mention this street is that there are a few super cute doorways that are photo worthy. There are also a number of shops and cafes on the street that you can check out.
When we were randomly walking around, we came upon Calle San Dimas, a secluded residential street a few blocks from our hotel. The reason I recommend this beautiful street is because of its cobblestoned street, colorful houses and Bougainvillea covered walls. It honestly reminded me of the Mediterranean!
If you are looking for a street with a view of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, then Montes de Oca would be the one! We saw a photo of this street on Instagram when we were planning our San Miguel de Allende itinerary and we knew it was near El Mirador. After walking around a few streets we finally found the perfect vantage point and a bonus beautiful Bougainvillea covered door!
There are so many cute streets and buildings around San Miguel de Allende that I can’t remember or name them all. I can guarantee that as you explore the city you will inevitably stumble upon many cute spots!
Take a sip (with the view)
Another awesome thing about San Miguel de Allende is that there are so many rooftop bars/ restaurants there. With only 2 days in SMA, you will have to pick and choose which rooftop bar you want to visit (but remember you gotta make advanced reservations because they are super popular).
Luna Rooftop at the Rosewood Hotel is one of the most popular rooftop bars in San Miguel de Allende, for good reason. Located in one of the nicest hotels in SMA, this rooftop has a nice view of the city and the pale pink church. The hotel itself is beautiful already and the rooftop bar has many vantage points. You can’t use a camera there but you can use a phone. Since this is the most popular bar, you definitely need to make a reservation.
Restaurant Cielo is another beautiful rooftop restaurant in the middle of San Miguel de Allende. We came here for breakfast on the rooftop and were pretty much right next to Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. The view was spectacular and the food was yummy! Again, we had to make a reservation to dine here.
Two other rooftop restaurants we went to in San Miguel de Allende were Trazo 1810 and Quince, both required reservations. Both had a nice view of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel and great food. We went to Quince for dinner and there was a live DJ and even a performance. Just keep in mind that if you do visit a rooftop restaurant at night, you should bring a jacket since when we went in July it actually got quite chilly at night.
Grab late night taco on the street
What’s a visit to Mexico without eating authentic tacos? Everyone recommended Andy’s Pastor Taco Cart when they heard I was going to San Miguel de Allende so I just had to try it. Located a few blocks from our hotel, Andy’s Pastor Taco Cart is an awesome late night taco spot popular among locals and tourists.
I had the pastor and bistec tacos and they were so flavorful. My friends also got the chorizo taco and said that was also super good. If you want some good late night food then definitely don’t miss this taco cart (remember this place is cash only).
Next to the taco cart there was also a homemade ice cream cart that I tried. Although I pretty much didn’t know the different flavors (they were in Spanish), I still liked what I got (I think it was mango).
Get awesome food in San Miguel de Allende
There is no shortage of good food and coffee in SMA, in fact one of the best parts of visiting San Miguel de Allende is the food! I literally thought I’d be eating tacos and burritos all day in Mexico and clearly I was very wrong. The restaurants were way better and more beautiful than restaurants in the US, and the coffee and breakfast items were simply amazing.
For breakfast and coffee, I would recommend Lavanda Café de Especialidad and KI’BOK COFFEE SMA. Lavanda is known for their variety of coffee beans and breakfast items. The building itself is beautiful and when we visited there was someone playing live music. On the other hand, Ki’Bok Coffee is a smaller cafe with a rooftop and more traditional Mexican breakfast items.
Tostevere is perhaps the best meal we had in San Miguel de Allende and I’m so glad we were recommended to this place. This cozy restaurant is known for its tostadas and cocktails. Since there were 3 of us, we were able to try a large variety of tostadas and they were all so flavorful.
Another really nice restaurant we checked out was Garambullo, a beautiful restaurant near Ignacio Ramírez Market. They have a large brunch menu, with items such as polenta, pancakes, bowls and sandwiches.
Lastly, what’s a trip to Mexico without some churros? If you are looking for desserts then I’ve got just the place for you. We made it a point to stop by Chocolates y Churros San Agustín. With over 8000 reviews on Google, you know this is super popular! Since we couldn’t get a place to sit inside, we ordered a couple of churros to eat at Jardin Allende while people-watching.
Check out all the stores
While you don’t necessarily need to shop, it’s always fun to check out the artistic stores in San Miguel de Allende. We simply walked around and just went inside stores that looked interesting. In particular stores such as Mixta, La Modernista, and Marquesa de Mancera are beautiful to visit and they sell artistic home decorations, clothing and accessories.
When I was there I bought this cute yellow woven bag from a random store down the street from Ki’Bok Coffee. There are also local designer clothing stores all over SMA. Although the clothes are quite expensive even for US prices, the clothes are unique and well made.
Our 2-day (3 night) San Miguel de Allende Itinerary
Below is how we arranged our 2 days in San Miguel de Allende to cover all of the things I mentioned above.
Day 1 in San Miguel de Allende
We started our first full day in SMA at Restaurant Cielo, the rooftop restaurant. Since it’s located right at the center of SMA, we checked out the pink Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel before exploring Relox Street. We found a couple of really pretty doors on Relox Street as we were walking towards Mercado de Artesanías.
Mercado de Artesanías was super fun to explore, and there were so many different crafts and souvenirs to check out. After which we stopped by Hotel Casa de los Soles for some photos with the thousands of sun faces and statues.
Since we were close by, we checked out Templo de Nuestra Señora de La Salud and Mercado Ignacio Ramírez. It was a pretty warm day so it was super refreshing to grab freshly made juices from the market. If we didn’t have lunch plans at Garambullo already we would’ve tried to get more food from the stalls inside the market.
After lunch, we leisurely took a stroll to Fabrica la Aurora, the artistic “factory” to check out the art galleries and stores. Along the way we also took a bunch of photos on the streets since everywhere was just so cute!
We had a 4pm reservation at Luna Bar on top of the Rosewood Hotel before dinner reservation at Tostevere to finish our day. But in fact our day wasn’t finished! After walking around some more near the main square in SMA to see the Mariachi bands performing, we decided to grab some late night pastor tacos from Andy’s Taco Cart (as well as homemade ice cream).
Day 2 in San Miguel de Allende
Our 2nd day in SMA was also full of eating and walking around. We started our morning quite early on Aldama Street to the postcard famous shot of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel without people. After which we went to the popular Lavanda Café to get coffee and breakfast.
One place we knew we wanted to check out was the public library, for its beautifully painted ceilings. Then we took an Uber to the famous viewpoint at El Mirador. To be honest I thought the view was too far for a regular zoom lens, so if you go I would recommend bringing a ultra zoom lens or 5x iPhone lens.
The beauty of San Miguel de Allende is in its colorful streets rather than a particular attraction or viewpoint, so we did spend some time exploring the side streets near the El Mirador, such as Montes de Oca for some nice shots.
For lunch we went to another rooftop restaurant called Trazo 1810. Food was pretty good but a bit pricey. The afternoon was full of exploring streets and stores such as Mixta and of course, getting churros from Chocolates y Churros San Agustín!
We were able to find a couple of more photo spots in SMA, one near our hotel on C. Santo Domingo and another on San Dimas. Another noteworthy street we checked out was Calle San Francisco (but I mean we pretty much checked out all the streets in SMA historical center).
For our last dinner in SMA, we went to the popular Quince. I’m so glad we were able to get a reservation there before the food, ambience and the performance were all so good. If you have to pick one rooftop restaurant in SMA this would be the one to pick.
We spent the night in SMA, grabbed a quick coffee and breakfast at Ki’Bok Coffee the next morning before getting on our bus back to Mexico City.
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