Tucked away in Mexico's central highlands is a Colonial-era town known for its charming cobblestone streets, stunning architecture, and global food scene: San Miguel de Allende. First established in the 16th century, the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage City in 2008 and is lauded for being one of North America's earliest models of urban development.

"The city is more reminiscent of Europe than the Americas, with its cobblestone streets and winding alleyways that eventually lead to the heart of the city," Zachary Rabinor, a T+L A-List advisor and the co-founder of Journey Mexico, tells Travel + Leisure.

In ELLE’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke with Bertha González Nieves, the CEO and co-founder of Casa Dragones, a small-batch tequila company beloved by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart. González Nieves’s journey started in college, when she visited Tequila, Jalisco, in Mexico, and promptly fell in love with the spirit. “I felt so excited since day one that I found a subject matter that truly seduced my intellect,” she says. “Every day, [I’ve] wanted to learn more.” After more than a decade of working in the industry, González Nieves launched Casa Dragones in 2009, with the intention of crafting a premium sipping tequila. She’s since become Mexico’s first female maestra tequilera

Cobblestone streets bathed in golden light, bougainvillea cascading from pastel-colored balconies and towering baroque spires etched against an endless sky: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico feels like stepping into an oil painting brought to life. Beyond its romantic façade, this UNESCO-listed city unfurls a deeper narrative: one of tucked-away art galleries and hidden courtyards, rooftop lounges pouring smoky mezcal cocktails at sunset and centuries-old plazas where mariachis play well into the night.

People not from San Miguel de Allende tend to roll their eyes when they hear about the city winning yet another award for best place to live. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say, “Someone once again paid off the Travel + Leisure team.” Countless others shrug the city off with a “lots of old gringos, no thanks, not for me” type generalization. These kinds of reactions frustrate me as they are both misplaced and incorrect.

It’s just after sunset in San Miguel de Allende, and a delightful desert chill is already descending on the colorful cobbled town. Here, in the heart of Mexico’s central highlands, I’ve arrived at the home studio of the Sonora-born hat designer Alejandra “Suki” Armendariz. After sharing cocktails across the street at the rooftop bar, Bekeb—helmed by her partner, the famed mixologist Fabiola Padilla—my friends and I stumbled our way uphill to her workshop, only a few blocks away. Winded, we passed through a thick wooden door of an unassuming façade to arrive at the studio, a subterranean room lined with well-worn cowboy saddles, geometric-patterned flannel tops, and antique silver and turquoise metal belts. Norteño music blasts from the speaker as Armendariz grabs beers from the refrigerator. She pops the cap off a bottle with her dusty leather boots and hands it to me; a smile sweeps her face at her trick as congratulatory applause ricochets throughout the room.

stunning scenery and a wealth of upscale restaurants roughly four hours northwest of Mexico City. In the heart of the city, the towering Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel draws visitors in droves thanks to its ornate Gothic-style architecture—and as an added bonus, there’s no shortage of incredible dining destinations found just a few steps away.

Walking through San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, feels like stepping back in time. The pastel-colored buildings, cobblestone streets and colonial-era architecture are just a few of the reasons why it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage City in 2008. However, the historic past isn’t the only draw to San Miguel de Allende. The Mexican city has also begun slowly establishing itself as a gastronomic hotspot, and Rosewood San Miguel de Allende is leading the charge with the opening of its newest restaurant, Pirules Garden Kitchen.

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, has done it again. This historic gem in the Colonial Highlands was just named the No. 1 city in the world in Travel + Leisure’s 2025 World’s Best Awards, a recognition it has earned multiple times before. 

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For travelers and future expats alike, it’s easy to see why. San Miguel’s cobblestone streets, rainbow-hued facades, lively plazas, and rich arts scene draw visitors from around the globe. But the deeper reason so many stay? It’s a place where, despite the crowds and rising popularity, expats who genuinely want to connect and contribute can still find a warm welcome.

There is magic everywhere in San Miguel: in the brilliant pink sunsets that light up the sky on winter evenings; in the out-of-tune mariachi musicians strolling through the central plaza on Saturday nights; in the always-astonishing bloom of the jacaranda trees each March, which blankets the cobblestone streets in fallen purple blossoms; and in the easy rhythm of small-town life.  

The central Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende was recently crowned the best city in the world by Travel & Leisure. The No. 1 ranking came as no surprise to Ann Dolan, a broker with CDR San Miguel who has lived in San Miguel de Allende with her husband Jim for 25 years. 

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CDR San Miguel also runs the San Miguel Life blog, which has information on restaurants, galleries and other things to do.

But the region around San Miguel adds another delicious dimension: one of the world’s newest destinations for viniculture. La Ruta del Vino (The Wine Route) is in the Bajío area, the mostly rural center of Mexico, known for year-round spring-like weather and backdrops of evergreens, cacti, farms and haciendas.

A glass house in the Mexican desert: Just outside San Miguel de Allende, this modernist retreat reflects natural beauty in more ways than one  

One of Mexico’s more cosmopolitan cities, San Miguel de Allende has become home to some of the country’s most talented and innovative chefs. But the local, traditional dishes that have always been there still reign supreme.