A Year in San Miguel de Allende, Month by Month

When someone tells me they want to visit San Miguel, I always ask the same thing: what month are you coming? The city changes so much with the seasons that the San Miguel you see in March looks nothing like the one in September. Here's how the whole year feels.

January. Mornings are cold, the kind that call for a jacket and a hot coffee, but by noon you're in short sleeves. On the 21st we celebrate Allende's birthday with a parade, and the city feels calm after the holidays.

February. For Candelaria, Parque Juárez fills up with plants and flowers. Half of San Miguel walks out carrying pots. It's one of my favorite times of year.

March. The jacarandas bloom and everything turns purple. The days are warm and dry, perfect for wandering Centro without a plan.

April. Holy Week is lived with real devotion here: altars, processions and streets carpeted with flowers. On Easter Sunday the Judas figures explode in the Jardín, and you have to see it at least once.

May. The hot month. We look for shade, drink agua fresca and keep glancing at the sky, waiting for the rain.

June. The rain finally arrives, and so does the Desfile de los Locos: thousands of people in costume, dancing and tossing candy. It's as crazy as the name suggests.

July. It rains in the afternoons and the countryside turns a deep green. Mornings are cool and smell of wet earth.

August. Season of chiles en nogada and grape harvest festivals at the vineyards. You eat and toast very well this month.

September. The most San Miguel month of all. First the Grito, then the feast of San Miguel Arcángel with the Alborada, the dancers and fireworks before dawn. You won't sleep much, but you'll love it.

October. Clear skies, countryside still in bloom and perfect weather. The marigolds start to appear.

November. Day of the Dead. Altars in the homes, catrinas in the streets and an atmosphere that gives you goosebumps. It gets busy, so book early.

December. Posadas, nativity scenes, warm ponche and the Jardín all lit up. Nights are cold, made for a shawl and a fireplace.

What you can enjoy all year

Some things here don't depend on the calendar.

The vineyards. Twenty to thirty minutes from Centro you'll find the Santísima Trinidad group: San Francisco, San Lucas and Santa Catalina. They offer tastings and have restaurants where you can linger over lunch among the vines. Dos Búhos, Tres Raíces and Cuna de Tierra are also well worth a visit. Harvest season is in August, but any weekend is a good excuse. (check our vineyard properties →)

The hot springs. Very close to the city there are several hot springs you can enjoy almost year-round. I recommend going very early on a weekday, when it's quiet and the warm water in the cool morning air feels wonderful.

Golf. With this weather you can play practically twelve months a year. Ventanas de San Miguel and Club Malanquín are both just minutes from town. They are challenging courses with lake views that make a day of golf something special.

Art. San Miguel has lived and breathed art for decades. At Fábrica La Aurora, a former textile factory, you can spend a whole morning among galleries and studios, often chatting with the artists themselves. Bellas Artes and the Instituto Allende always have exhibitions, classes and concerts. And in Centro there's a gallery on almost every block.

How I live it

I love spending a day of celebration on a terrace, watching the fireworks over the city. But I enjoy my quiet weekday life just as much, with this perfect weather. Both sides of San Miguel are beautiful.

I enjoy the restaurants in Centro as much as traditional Mexican food, like my favorite gorditas at Don Ciro and some good tacos.

And I love hosting my friends from other cities in Mexico and spending the weekend with them. With my girlfriends, for example, nothing beats a girls' spa day.

My advice? Come enjoy two different seasons in San Miguel and you will fall in love with the city.

— Adriana Calderón, The Agency San Miguel de Allende