What's on in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in January.

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Semana Santa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  14 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Two weeks of processions rather than one, starting with the Senor de la Columna walked in from Atotonilco before dawn on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. The town is full and the hotels know it. Source ↗

Busy — Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Semana Santa (14 Mar – 20 Apr (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Dia de los Locos, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Rainy season

  1 Jun – 30 SepMonsoon

  Storms in the late afternoon and evening, dry mornings, and the hills behind the town green for the only months of the year. The cobbles get slick and the jacaranda-lined streets flood at the corners.

• Festival

  Dia de los Locos

  14–20 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  On the Sunday after 13 June several thousand people in masks and costume dance through the centre throwing sweets at the crowd. It is a neighbourhood parade that outgrew itself, not a show for visitors. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Rainy season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Rainy season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Peak crowds — Independence and Sanmiguelada, Alborada

• Festival

  Independence and Sanmiguelada

  15–18 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The town is named for Ignacio Allende and takes the September holiday personally, with the shout in the Jardin on the night of the fifteenth and days of parades around it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Alborada

  26 Sep – 1 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  For the feast of the town's patron the fireworks start at four in the morning over the Parroquia and go on until sunrise. Nobody in the centre sleeps through it and nobody intends to. Source ↗

Still on: Rainy season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Peak crowds — Alborada, Day of the Dead

• Festival

  Day of the Dead

  30 Oct – 2 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Altars in the doorways, marigolds up the cobbled streets and the cemetery lit at night, plus a large arts festival that has attached itself to the same days. Book months out. Source ↗

Still on: Alborada (26 Sep – 1 Oct (usually))

Busy — Day of the Dead

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Day of the Dead (30 Oct – 2 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Las Posadas

  16–24 DecChristmas & New Year

  Nine nights of candlelit processions between houses, ending with punch and a broken pinata. In a town this small they pass the same few streets, so you will meet one whether you look for it or not. Source ↗