Guanajuato: Mexico’s Most Beautiful City You’ve Never Heard Of

Of all the cities I’ve been to in Mexico, Guanajuato is probably the most beautiful. No, scratch that — it is the most beautiful. With its cosy squares, pastel and terracotta houses with wrought-iron balconies, and bougainvillea-covered facades, it’s an utterly peachy place. But far from just some empty Instagram backdrop, Guanajuato has a real substance to it. It’s a city you live in, not just look at. What’s crazy to me is that so few people seem to know about this city. Compared to the big hits such as Mexico City, Cancun, Oaxaca, or even nearby San Miguel de Allende, I encountered hardly any gringos here. There’s a reason for that, which I’ll get into — but it’s rare for a city this beautiful to still feel like a hidden gem. (Domestic tourists do know of Guanajuato, so the center is still alive with activity. But Guanajuato does not feel like a city built purely around tourism.) Guanajuato: a labyrinth of colorful alleyways and shaded squares Cradled in a narrow valley, Guanajuato eschews any sort of grid pattern, instead developing into one big tangle of sinewy roads and narrow alleyways. This alone makes it a joy to wander, though what I didn’t expect was the unusual degree t...