Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende Tops Global Cities Ranking, Beating Out Paris and Tokyo
Mexico · Tourism
Key Facts
—Top Ranking San Miguel de Allende scored 93.07 out of 100 in the Travel + Leisure survey, placing it above global hubs like Tokyo and Florence.
—Reader Acclaim Travel + Leisure readers praised the city’s walkability, colonial architecture, vibrant art scene, and friendliness as key factors in the award.
—Heritage Status The historic center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, protecting the colorful facades and cobblestone streets that attract expats.
—Tourism Surge The city received over 2 million visitors in 2023, and post-award hotel bookings have jumped by up to 35% at premium properties.
—Expat Magnet A deep-rooted foreign community has existed since the 1930s, drawn by year-round springlike weather, low crime, and a cosmopolitan village feel.
San Miguel de Allende was named the world’s best city by Travel + Leisure magazine, achieving a reader score of 93.07 out of 100 and outshining major global destinations like Tokyo and Florence in the latest reader survey.
Colonial Charm and Global Recognition
Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2026 placed San Miguel de Allende at the very top of its cities category, ahead of Kyoto, Chiang Mai, and Oaxaca. The magazine’s editors and over 700,000 readers annually assess destinations based on culture, friendliness, food, shopping, and overall value.
This marks the fifth time the city has clinched the Best City in the World title, with previous wins in 2017, 2018, 2024, and 2025.
For readers unfamiliar with the survey’s methodology, the World’s Best Awards rely on a broad reader poll rather than a small panel of experts. That means the results reflect the tastes and priorities of ordinary travelers, not just industry insiders.
A score of 93.07 out of 100 signals exceptionally high satisfaction across every category the magazine tracks, from the warmth of local greetings to the quality of a simple street-market meal. In practical terms, a city that wins repeatedly is delivering a visitor experience that feels both polished and genuinely human, a combination that is surprisingly rare even among famous destinations.
Outperforming Global Heavyweights
In securing the number one spot, San Miguel de Allende did not simply lead a niche category; it surpassed some of the most iconic metropolises on the planet. Euronews coverage of the 2025 ranking confirmed the Mexican city placed first, followed by Oaxaca and Tokyo.
A separate analysis of the list noted the city ranked higher than Florence (No 6), Rome (No 14), and Tokyo (No 19) in the World’s Best Cities evaluation.
This outcome challenges a long-held assumption in global tourism: that a destination needs the scale and infrastructure of a capital city to top a worldwide ranking. San Miguel de Allende is not a sprawling metropolis.
Its power lies in a concentrated, human-scale historic core where visitors can cover most attractions on foot. The comparison with Tokyo is especially telling.
Tokyo offers endless novelty and flawless public transit, yet readers rewarded the Mexican city’s intimacy and slower rhythm. It suggests that many travelers today are prioritizing a sense of place and emotional connection over sheer variety or efficiency.
What This Means for the Expat Community
For the substantial international community living in San Miguel de Allende, the recognition validates a lifestyle choice made decades ago. The modern expat influx began in 1938 when American artist Stirling Dickinson helped turn the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes into an international arts colony.
After World War II, US veterans studying there on the GI Bill cemented its reputation as a haven for American retirees and artists.
The GI Bill connection is worth understanding because it explains why the foreign presence feels so deeply rooted rather than transient. After the war, the US government funded tuition and living costs for returning service members who wanted to study abroad.
San Miguel de Allende became one of those rare places where veterans could stretch their benefits while immersing themselves in fine arts training. Many stayed, married locally, and built the bilingual, bicultural foundation that later waves of retirees and remote workers now inherit.
That history means the expat community is not a recent transplant but a multi-generational fixture woven into the city’s identity.
Surge in Tourism and Property Demand
The title carries immediate economic weight. Official data confirms San Miguel de Allende received over 2 million visitors in 2023, a new record surpassing the 1.8 million tourists from 2022.
Mayor Mauricio Trejo stated this consolidates the destination’s world-class status. Following the 2025 award announcement, premium hotels such as Casa de Sierra Nevada and Hotel Matilda saw booking increases of up to 35% for the remainder of the year.
A jump in hotel bookings of that magnitude, concentrated at the high end of the market, typically ripples outward. It can push up short-term rental demand in the surrounding neighborhoods and intensify pressure on housing stock that already serves a mixed local and foreign population.
The city now faces a familiar tension for award-winning destinations: how to welcome the economic benefits of a tourism surge while preserving the very qualities, quiet cobblestone mornings and a living historic center, that earned the top score in the first place.
A Formula of Food, Art, and Walkability
The consistent top ranking across multiple years is not accidental; it is a direct response to the core pillars of the Travel + Leisure survey. Readers repeatedly cite the city’s outstanding gastronomy, ranging from street-side artisan markets to high-end dining.
The vibrant art scene, which includes high-end interior design stores tucked behind historic doors, merges with a walkable colonial core that eliminates the need for cars.
Walkability deserves special emphasis because it shapes the daily texture of a visit. In a city where the historic center is compact and largely pedestrianized, a traveler’s experience is not fragmented by taxi rides or subway maps.
Meals, gallery visits, and evening strolls flow into one another naturally. That ease of movement also encourages the kind of spontaneous encounters, with a shopkeeper, a street musician, or a fellow traveler, that reader surveys often capture under the broad label of “friendliness.”
What to Watch Next
Several open questions will shape how this recognition translates on the ground. Will municipal authorities introduce new measures to manage visitor flow in the most fragile historic streets, or will the current approach continue unchanged?
Can the city’s infrastructure, from water supply to waste management, keep pace with sustained tourism growth without straining services for full-time residents? And as the global travel industry watches these rankings closely, will other Mexican colonial cities such as Guanajuato or Querétaro see a spillover effect in their own visitor numbers and international visibility?
The answers will determine whether San Miguel de Allende’s fifth title marks a peak or simply another chapter in an already remarkable run.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times has San Miguel de Allende won Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best City award?
According to Guanajuato state authorities, San Miguel de Allende has been named the Best City in the World at least five times, with documented wins in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024, and most recently in the 2025/2026 rankings.
What major cities did San Miguel de Allende beat for the top spot?
In the recent Travel + Leisure rankings, San Miguel de Allende ranked above Tokyo (Japan), Kyoto (Japan), Florence (Italy), Rome (Italy), Chiang Mai (Thailand), and Paris, securing first place with a reader score of 93.07 out of 100.
Why is San Miguel de Allende so popular with American and international expats?
The city has been an expat haven since the 1930s, originally attracting US veterans and artists. International Living cites cobblestone streets, rainbow-hued facades, springlike weather, a low crime rate, walkability, and a welcoming 70-year-old foreign community as primary reasons expats choose to put down permanent roots.
Sources: Time, Travel and Tour World, Falling in Love with San Miguel, International Living, Mexico News Daily, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colonial Homes San Miguel
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