Going there for a wedding in late April. We have one full day on our own. Looking for things to do in the area and restaurant recommendations.

If you want a recommendation on excursions and tours send me an email. I will be there in May at Live Aqua and I'll be exploring a lot of the destination and have lots of food recommendations.

Whatever restaurant you want to go, you will need to get reservations for the rooftops. Sooner than later. I'll have to check some past recs from other people.

https://www.quincesma.com/sma/

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RfWN8kSWJ54r6c9R8?g_st=ic

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4A7M1wdfDG4jzunR6?g_st=ic

Just walk the town. It's awesome.

thread hijak.....In addition to restaurant recs, is the Rosewood best hotel in the city if you take cost out of the equation?

I've had multiple clients stay at Rosewood and the overall consensus is that it is the best!

We're here right now. A really cool place. I had no idea there was a place like this in central Mexico. Highs in mid 80s and lows in the mid 50s. About 5500' above sea level. Real friendly. Lots of Americans. We're staying at Apapacho Boutique hotel. Really nice and peaceful. I'm eating too much. Restaurant choices are pretty amazing.

Do not miss the Sunday brunch buffet in the courtyard at Rosewood whether you stay there or not.
Wife always schedules arrival or departure around not missing that food fest.

We're about to head out. We stopped by there yesterday. Nice place.

Dp

The rooftop is amazing in the evening. A sunset that's hard to beat.

Wish I would have seen this before you went, could have given you lots of recommendations. Daughters wedding was there last year in May... And we were there the year before checking out/picking venues... We will definitely be back when we wont have to spend quite the same amount...

Mind posting them? We go alot since we're already in Mx.

Well, Ole' Ole' was my favorite but like I said the business did not survive La Rona.

Our favorite restaurant was La Parada. This is a Peruvian restaurant. It was so good we went twice. There are many many restaurants in town though. Everything was great.

Currently in SMA doing site inspections as a travel advisor and exploring all of the cuisine, history, markets and art the city has to offer. It is such a unique destination

I'll be renting a house at Rosewood for Dia de Muertos, again, wife instructed me of this.

If anybody sees these types of shoes in a window display, please tag the store in Google maps for me. I saw them when I was there and was going to go back a couple days later but couldn't find the store.

When we went for a wedding last year, buddy had rented a place that had a glass bottom pool on the roof. It was quite interesting to watch the wives and gfs swimming from the 1st floor living area.

Those are Zull's.

https://www.manosconarte.com/en/products/zapato-boston-huichol-copia

See just needed someone from the Outdoors board to chime in...

They were probably 2-3x the price in San Miguel

I really doubt that. My son and I each had custom made suits done and dress shoes and it was like 320 for everything. It was cheaper there in every way, than it is here in CSTAT.

Yes. San Miguel is very inexpensive compared to anything in the U.S.

Ah. I was picturing those being sold in some fancy art shop. They're pretty cool.

Is it safe enough for a women traveling alone?

Yes. We saw no issues at all.

Absolutely. It's my wife's happy place. She's been there several times with my daughter. Rosewood also has a great baby sitter service on site. We have left grandkids there several times.

never heard of this place until this thread.

safe from cartel, violence stuff? Is speaking spanish needed to get around? pics from google remind me of old spain/italy somewhat.

Most places speak English. We felt very safe. I think the cartel stays away from there. The population is about 15% retired Americans and Canadians. In fact we ran into a couple from Tennessee looking for a place to buy for retirement. Your money goes a long way there. You can get a nice place for dirt cheap compared to America. And yes, it has an old Spain or Italy vibe to it.

For those that have been and to derail, where do you fly in to? We have done both Leon and Queretero. I think that we like Queretero. A neat town in and of itself.

Queretaro is where you want to go. They have several non-stops from DFW and Houston. Queretaro itself is a fairly modern city with over a million population. You will need to arrange transportation to San Miguel. It's a little over an hour away. The cost in a car is about $100.

We considered it very safe. While I can't say the Cartel is not there; it is not a border town, it is not a beach tourist town, so it is not a major thoroughfare to move drugs. I would consider it just as safe as any smaller city/larger town, in the US. It will look like Spain due to the Spanish settlers that essentially started it, i.e. the cathedral in the town center. Easily one of the cleanest cities I have ever visited. Agreed there are a lot of ExPats that live there US/Canadian/Brit-Europeans, probably 10% or so of the population, are the largest groups that I am aware of. As with anywhere, I would not want my early 20's daughter/son to walk at night alone in a poorly lit area, but her and her husband were very comfortable walking all over the city even in the wee hours of the morning. We will be making return trips at least every few years, as it is now a favorite for the whole family.

Both are about the same distance. So either is fine. We have done whichever was cheapest at the time, to include arriving in Leon and departing Queretaro.