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.
“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 City and Mérida also made it on the list
Coming in at No. 7, voters included Mexico City due to its exciting entertainment offerings. “What more can be said about Mexico’s dynamic and delectable capital?” T + L writes. Readers highlighted the city’s “incredible” museums, vast culinary offer, fabulous hotels “and urban parks to rival any in London or Paris, New York or Sydney.”
Mérida, Yucatán, just made the list at No. 25. “Consistently described as one of Mexico’s most ‘vibey’ cities, historic Mérida is a haven for artists, collectors and other creatives who frequent the galleries, villas, and restaurants of this inland Yucatecan metropolis,” T + L writes. Voters noted the city’s vast cultural wealth and the many Maya ruins in its surroundings.
In 2019, Mérida was named “World’s Best Small City” by Condé Nast Traveler magazine in its Readers’ Choice Awards. In that edition, Mérida surpassed cities such as Florence, Quebec City and Monte Carlo.
Mexico News Daily
