Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Travel + Leisure magazine again names San Miguel de Allende the ‘Best City in the World’

San Miguel de Allende has been named the Best City in the World for the second year in a row in Travel + Leisure magazine’s 2025 World’s Best Awards.

The recognition, based on voting by the magazine’s readers, highlights the city’s hospitality, cultural richness, colonial architecture, gastronomy and the residents’ friendliness.  

street in colonial town
A typical street in San Miguel de Allende is often a work of architectural art in and of itself. (Unsplash)

“There’s major history, great restaurants and you can walk everywhere — or grab a $4-dollar taxi,” one T+L reader said. Another spoke for many non-residents by saying, “I would love to move there.” 

“Voters praised the city’s many attractions, including centrally located museums, botanical gardens and shopping boutiques,” T+L wrote. Readers also noted the decades-old dynamic art scene and the plethora of events for a relatively small city, including the famous San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival 

This is not the first time San Miguel has been so honored, or even the second. Before the 2024 and 2025 accolades, it was earlier named Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best City” at the World’s Best Awards in 2017 and 2018. 

Moreover, it was recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as the “World’s Best Small City” in the magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for three consecutive years, from 2020 to 2022, and five times in its history. The first recognition from the travel publication came in 2013.

San Miguel de Allende is Travel + Leisure’s best city in the world

This destination in central Mexico has also been recognized as Best Wedding Destination, Best Gastronomic Destination and Friendliest City in the World, among other titles, further solidifying its reputation as a top international travel destination.

Located in Guanajuato state in a region known as El Bajío, San Miguel de Allende’s historic center and the Atotonilco Sanctuary were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008. The city is renowned for achieving a balance of history, culture and authenticity that has gained it the standing of a Pueblo Mágico.

Following San Miguel de Allende (with a reader score of 93.3) in this year’s ranking are Chiang Mai, Thailand (No. 2), Tokyo, Japan (No. 3), Bangkok, Thailand (No. 4), and Jaipur, India (No. 5).

Mexico News Daily

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