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e easiest way to travel to San Miguel is via the Cross Border Xpress, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border and provides access to Volaris airline flights from the Tijuana airport to Leon. From there, it's about an hour and a half by car to San Miguel, and most area hotels are happy to organize the transfer. We stayed at the lovely Casa de Sierra Nevada, a Belmond Hotel, which occupies a half dozen historic buildings in a central location. (One of these is the Sazón Cooking School.) Our spacious suite was in the Casa Palma building, my first choice because it's close to a beautiful pool and is near the lovely Andanza Restaurant. I also appreciated the easy access to Tunki, the hotel's rooftop bar with Peruvian flavors and a priceless view of the landmark Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the neo-Gothic, 17th-century church renowned for its soaring pink spires and lofty, ornate sanctuary. San Miguel de Allende is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its 16th-century Spanish Colonial Baroque architecture, the city's cultural integrity, and the excellent condition of its historic downtown. ese qualities attract a steady stream of international visitors, and some of them are too smitten to leave. In fact, of the 180,000 or so people who live in San Miguel, almost 20 percent are expats — mostly from the U.S. and Canada. ey are attracted by the mild climate, lower cost of living, low crime rate, and opportunities to pursue various art forms. Some people become permanent residents and others have homes on both sides of the border. One San Diego couple told me that they bought a house in San Miguel de Allende a few years ago and go back and forth at least once a month. She takes pottery classes and does watercolors and he plays golf and unwinds in the mellow surroundings. I was curious about how San Miguel became such a hotbed for art and artists, so I introduced myself to a local guide who specializes in history and culture. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised to learn that the first expat artist in San Miguel was Stirling Dickinson, a Chicago native who rode into town on a donkey in 1938, saw the magnificent Parroquia, and made the decision to stay. I later learned that a significant number of WWII veterans used their GI Bill benefits to study in San Miguel with Diego Rivera, Mexico's famous muralist, further establishing the city as a center for creating art. When we walked around town, my favorite sights were the rows of houses painted in the seven or eight approved colors, including lemon, mango, olive green, sky blue, and peach. ese hues essentially turn the streets of San Miguel into an expansive work of art draped with strands of red bougainvillea and bright pink fuchsia blossoms. Is San Miguel perfect? Not quite. Because of the cobblestone streets, the city is sometimes referred to as "the city of falling women," and the altitude of 6,400 feet presents a challenge for some people. detour destinations << ranchandcoast.com 62 JANUARY 2025 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE