1. Take a walking tour- We took a 3 hour walking tour of the own in which we were able to learn about its rich history and how it was able to keep most of its original buildings even after the town was no longer seen as a destination.
2. Visit the local Farmers Market– I always love trying local food and fruit is one of my favorites! As a precaution when I travel I only buy fruit from the market that has a skin on it so i can peel it off.
3. Have a smoothie or juice from the local stands in the market– You’ll find this in the farmers market and if you love fresh smoothie or juices, you will have one everyday like we did. All of the fruit and veggies are cut right in from of you and made on the spot and best of all they only cost $1-$2 US dollar! one day we got about half a gallon of a juice and we only paid about $3 US dollars for it!
4. Visit the Artesenia Market– This is connected to the farmers market and if you are not exploring other cities besides San Miguel then buy your gifts and hand made items here. But i will say that because this is a tourism town everything is a little more expensive than if you go to a town about half an hour or even an hour out.
5. Visit the Botanical Gardens– This botanical garden did a great job on representing the plants that Mexico and other Latin American countries have. Get ready to walk outside for 2-3 hours while discovering all the cactus species there are! (Don’t forget to pack water and snacks)
6. Have tapas and drinks at the Rosewood rooftop bar– This hotel has the best view of the city by far! If you want to catch the sunset like we did, I recommend getting there about 3 hours early just because it is a hot spot in town and on the weekend it can be a long wait. But you can leisurely sip on cocktails and order apps to hold your spot and your tab won’t be anything crazy because the US dollar is very strong right now compared to the pesos ($1= 18 pesos). We had 2 drinks each and about 5 apps for a total of $25 each with tip.
7. Spend time in La Plaza in El Centro-One thing to note about Mexican culture is that there are plazas everywhere and in every town. This is because in old times this use to be like living rooms where the houses surrounding would come and gather to converse and catch up. Today they continue to be a place of gathering and I recommend going 3 different times in the day to get a feel for how lively it can be. Go in the morning, afternoon and evening/night, during the afternoon you will notice it is more our non locals but in the morning and evening you will see families gathering to enjoy each others company.
8. Take a picture in the alley that showcases part of El Centro (like mine above)– This is a little alley that is right before you hit El Centro and it really does make for a great picture. I can’t remember the name of the street but I am sure you will stumble upon it like we did.
9. Check out the local art galleries and arts- This city is known for its art scene and the people who choose to come to practice it there. You will easily stumble upon a gallery as you are walking by or if you are lucky like us a orchestra playing.
10. Explore more of Guanajuato outside of San Miguel- This is the one thing we did not get to do this trip that we did when I was a kid and it on my list for next time. But I HIGHLY recommend taking a mini day trip an hour or so out of San Miguel to see all the great towns the state of Guanjuato has to offer.
Great pics! Thanks for sharing! Hope it works out that we visit this coming April!!