The World's Friendliest Destination Still Resides in Mexico

Image: Aerial View of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico. (photo via iStock/Getty Images E+/ferrantraite)
Image: Aerial View of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico. (photo via iStock/Getty Images E+/ferrantraite)
by Valentín Fuentes
Last updated: 12:50 AM ET, Wed December 28, 2022

The tourist-friendly Mexican colonial town of San Miguel de Allende has been named the Most Friendly Destination in the World by the Condé Nast Traveler 2022 Readers' Choice Awards.

Following the latest honor, the city in eastern Guanajuato has now topped the list of the world's friendliest destinations for three consecutive years. It's a place where visitors feel at home as they walk through its picturesque cobbled streets and colonial architecture.

According to CN Traveler, San Miguel de Allende is a town that invites visitors to tour emblematic places such as Fábrica La Aurora, a former textile factory that today serves as space for various artists to present their works throughout the year.

The city also offers restaurants with an excellent gastronomic offer prepared, in many cases, with organic products grown in the area and accompanied by the region's beloved wines, cheeses and olive oil. In addition, the town houses excellent art galleries, museums, craft shops, and boutique hotels with high-quality amenities and services for visitors.

San Miguel de Allende, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, also has a lot of coffee shops and restaurants with terraces providing gorgeous views, especially from the iconic Parrish of San Miguel Arcángel, a neo-Gothic building in medieval European style that was built in 1709 and remodeled in 1890 by local architect Zeferino Gutierrez, who transformed the facade, niches, choir window, atrium, bell tower clock and altars inside.

This year's list highlights a dozen destinations in all, including cities in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. Elsewhere in Mexico, Mexico City also made the list, coming in at number five.

This year's Readers' Choice Awards also recognized San Miguel de Allende as the Best Small City in the World.


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Valentín Fuentes

Co Editor - Mexico & Latin America

Valentín Fuentes is a journalist who, over three decades of professional work, has ventured into various areas of communication...

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