San Miguel de Allende sits at about 1,900 metres in the highlands of Guanajuato, and its centre looks like a film set because it has hardly changed in two centuries. Cobbled streets climb between rose-pink and ochre walls, doors open onto courtyards full of bougainvillea, and over everything rise the pink Gothic spires of the Parroquia, the parish church, which was given its fairy-tale appearance in the late nineteenth century by a self-taught local builder, Zeferino Gutiérrez, who is said to have based the design on postcards of European cathedrals.
The town was founded in the sixteenth century on the silver road, the Camino Real, that led from Mexico City to the northern mines, and it prospered as a stop for traders and muleteers. In 1810 it became part of Mexican history when Ignacio Allende, a captain born in San Miguel, joined the priest Miguel Hidalgo in the uprising that began Mexico's war of independence. The town added his name later. In the twentieth century artists and foreigners settled in, and today a large expatriate community lives in the hills and haciendas around.
Riding in the Bajío is pleasant. The highway from Querétaro or Guanajuato is fast and well kept, and the land is a dry plateau of scrub, prickly pear and rocky hills, with bright skies. Rain falls in summer, mostly in afternoon storms, and the dry winters are cool in the mornings. The town centre is another matter: the streets are steep, cobbled, narrow and often one-way, and the stones are polished and slippery after rain. Leave the bike at a guarded car park and walk.
San Miguel has about seventy thousand people, with fuel stations on the outskirts and countless cafes and restaurants in the centre. Mexican breakfast of chilaquiles with a strong coffee suits the cool morning, and the rooftop terraces are good for sunset. The best months are October to April, and on weekends and holidays the centre is busy.