San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: A Photo Adventure with Merrill Images

Rich in history, with a sophisticated culinary scene and a vibrant arts community, San Miguel gracefully balances the old and new. It was voted the world’s best city in Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards for the past 3 years, and led Travel and Leisure’s list in 2021. Find out why in this article about its history and many charms. 

Join travel and social impact photographer Lisa Merrill and a small group of kindred spirits for a rejuvenating experience immersed in San Miguel’s stunning Spanish Colonial architecture and fascinating culture 

A world-renowned mecca for visual artists, San Miguel is home to workshops, studios, galleries, art schools, an artisans’ market and Fabrica La Aurora, a sprawling art and design center in a former textile factory.  It’s a foodie’s haven with more than 350 restaurants helmed by award-winning chefs, rising stars, and skilled abuelas. You’ll enjoy happy hours and delicious meals on elegant rooftops and in intimate courtyards. 

Photography instruction on this adventure is optional and informal. If you’d like to take advantage of her expertise, Lisa will offer on-the-spot guidance and encouragement. She’ll help you harness the transformative power of light, compose for impact, and intentionally make, versus take, photos.  As needed, she’ll demystify your camera’s features and settings.  Through experimentation you’ll discover new ways of seeing and photographing. 

There will be opportunities to capture majestic cityscapes and intricate architecture, create portraits of people at work and play, and dive into food and abstract photography. Image reviews will be a source of feedback, support and inspiration. Lisa will share tips to expand your visual toolbox so you can create high-impact images with a strong sense of place, and combine them into compelling visual stories.  

The photo adventure was designed to foster transformative travel, with a mix of group experiences and unstructured time to explore, reflect and relax on your own. Highlights include visits to a “mojiganga” giant puppet workshop, a street mural tour, lunch in an indigenous community, and a day trip to the abandoned silver mining town of Pozos.  Optional activities include cooking and art classes, spa treatments, horseback riding, yoga and other fitness, and a salsa dancing lesson.  

This will be a fun week of creativity, inspiration, learning, connection, and relaxation.  Non-photographers are welcome, as are artists working in any media – here are two gems painted by Lisa’s aunt Cynthia Walling: 

Tucked high in Mexico’s central highlands, San Miguel de Allende is a picturesque small city with charming cobblestone streets, pleasant climate and spectacular sunsets. Rich in history, with a sophisticated culinary scene and a vibrant arts community, it gracefully balances the old and new. For the past 3 years, San Miguel was voted the world’s best city in the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards, and it led Travel and Leisure’s list in 2021; here’s an article about its many charms.

Arrive at BJX or QRO airport with transfer to San Miguel de Allende, and check-in at Casa de la Cuesta B&B after 3pm. If you arrive early, you can start exploring San Miguel or book an on-location massage.    

Accommodation: Casa de la Cuesta

After breakfast at Casa de la Cuesta, we’ll enjoy a walking tour (approximately 3 hours) with our guide Isabel Mor in the Centro area of San Miguel. 

Optional activities: After your orientation to the city, lunch and the afternoon are on your own (or you can explore with Lisa). We’ll provide a list of activities and places to explore, including browsing the stalls of the artisan market, visiting the artists at the Fabrica la Aurora art and design center (with delicious on-site restaurants), observing and photographing life in the town square, starting a Photography for Good volunteer project at an NGO, enjoying spa treatments, a cooking class or an art class, or relaxing at our B&B. 

After a welcome margarita on our picturesque rooftop at sunset, we’ll get to know each other over a delicious welcome dinner. Lisa and her local partner Rebecca Eichler will provide an overview of the week ahead. In addition, we’ll have the opportunity to talk with our chef about Mexican cuisine, and those interested can dive into food photography. 

Meals: B, D 

Before breakfast, explore the city with an optional early morning photo walk with Lisa and Sean.

We’ll go together to the Colonia Guadalupe Arts District for a guided walking tour after breakfast. The walls of this neighborhood are covered with elaborate murals. Many feature Mexican themes, while others are abstract or reflect the multicultural origins of San Miguel de Allende’s population.  We’ll also enjoy a visit to Solo Burros, an unusual shop/gallery filled with eclectic antiques and art. 

We end our day with a group dinner at The Grazing Table, a food-sharing experience of gourmet delicacies by Lisa’s friend Sarah Fetzer, one of many ex-pats living in San Miguel. 

Meals: B, D

Lisa will lead an optional early morning photo walk before breakfast at Casa de la Cuesta. 

Mid-morning we’ll embark on a truly local experience: taking the city bus to “El Tianguis de Martes,” the sprawling open air Tuesday Market.  We’ll wander the aisles heaped with a cacophony of goods - everything from used clothes and shoes, counterfeit electronics, bulk candy and herbal remedies, the season’s freshest fruits and vegetables, incense, hand-carved wooden furniture, baby bunnies, fresh fish, and a wide range of food stalls.  Photo opportunities abound, and those who want to can sample tacos al pastor, huaraches, and gorditas.   

During the free afternoon, there is an optional Group Photo Review #1 with Lisa.

We’ll dine as a group at Restaurant SAM and enjoy a special 6-course Mexican/European fusion experience.

Meals: B, D 

Before breakfast, enjoy an optional early morning photo walk with Lisa and Sean.

After breakfast, we’ll depart via private transportation for the ghost town of Mineral de Pozos, where we’ll explore atmospheric streets of abandoned and decaying buildings draped in agave plants. stop for coffee at a local cafe, and then head to the long-cooled ovens of the Santa Brigida silver mines. We’ll enjoy a group lunch at Ceilo Abierto, an 1897 restaurant with a pre-Hispanic instrument demonstration and ritual, before heading back to San Miguel. For sunset, we will visit Minas 5 Senores and Triangulo for photo opportunities.

Free time upon return and dinner is on your own – one option is nearby Milagros, which also has lovely views. 

Meals: B, L 

Lisa will lead an optional early morning photo walk before breakfast at Casa de la Cuesta. 

After breakfast, we’ll take a private transport to Los Guerreros and El Salto Otomi villages. Get an authentic peek into rural life, and enjoy a group lunch and visit the Chapel of Jimmy Ray.

Optional dinner plans: we can reserve a table at the Rosewood Hotel’s Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar for a no-host happy hour with spectacular city views at sunset, and you’re welcome to stay for dinner. 

Meals: B, L 

Lisa and Sean will lead an optional early morning photo walk before breakfast at Casa de la Cuesta. 

After breakfast we will visit a Steampunk Mechanical Art Workshop, with an optional lunch at Tacos Don Felix, around the corner from the workshop location. 

Your final afternoon is on your own, or you can join Lisa for a final photo walk or photo review session. In the evening, we will visit the San Lucas/San Francisco winery to learn about their process of natural winemaking, followed by a wine tasting with charcuterie and sunset views.

Optional for dinner, enjoy a no-host dinner at Merken Restaurant, Orizaba 15, San Antonio.

Meals: B, Wine & Cheese pairing 

Prepare for the journey home, exchange contact information with new friends, and reflect on our shared experiences.  Lisa will lead a photo walk to the El Charco del Ingenio botanical garden for those who have time before breakfast and their airport transfers. 

Meals: B 

This fun week of creativity, inspiration, learning, connection and relaxation with Lisa and a small group of kindred spirits includes a daily group experience and meal, along with opportunities to explore on your own (or with Lisa).  Highlights include: 

• Connect with Mexicans through visits to homes, markets and galleries, and discussions with artists, entrepreneurs and guides   
• Relish traditional and Mexican fusion cuisine at rooftop restaurants and our delightful B&B 
• Indulge in massages, hot springs, and spa treatments   
• Learn about San Miguel’s challenges and opportunities in the face of tourism and development 
• Enjoy mindful photography (with any camera, including a phone) and strengthen your ability to tell compelling visual stories of the places you explore and the people you meet 
• Stay at the exquisite Casa de la Cuesta in a quiet neighborhood close to San Miguel’s main plaza 

Pricing for this trip (Click on "Cost $" for more pricing information);

• Single occupancy room w/private bath: $3,200 
• Double occupancy room w/private bath: $2,900 
• Triple occupancy room w/private bath: $2,500 

Stellar reviews on TripAdvisor include:  “An inspiring, art-filled oasis in the perfect location! If you want an experience rooted in tranquility, Mexican art, and no superficial flare, this is where you stay in San Miguel. Beauty surrounds you in every moment at this place. The property itself is an absolute gem with stunning views that make sipping coffee in the morning feel cinematic. Each room is a work of art. An added plus is the Mask Museum and Art Gallery which are part of this magnificent place.” 

Accommodation: Casa de la Cuesta

“I had the pleasure of taking a photo tour to Cuba led by travel photographers Lisa and John Merrill, and it changed how I look at the world and think about what I am photographing.” – Sharon L 

“I had the opportunity to explore Tucson with Lisa Merrill and was impressed with all aspects of the tour. Lisa had covered all the bases for accommodations, transportation and landmarks, and researched different photo opportunities, morning and night. She made sure each of us had our fair share of her attention and guidance. It was an unequivocal success. Lisa definitely helped me up my “game” with photography which I deeply appreciate.” – Kathy H 

“Even after 43 years of photography I am still a constant learner. Thanks for the creative nudges you gave me during our UnCruise in Panama and Costa Rica.   The reminders to pay more attention to the subtleties of creating an image helped me improve my compositions.” – John W 

This adventure has been designed to include curated group experiences along with ample time to explore San Miguel on your own or in small groups. Rebecca will help make transportation arrangements or reservations for optional activities and non-group meals.   

Here is a list of just a few of the experiences you might choose to have during “on your own” time. You’ll receive a longer list with recommended restaurants a few weeks before our photo adventure. 

• Mercado do Artesania handicrafts market 
• Ignacio Ramirez food market 
• Fabrica la Aurora - art and design center in former textile factory 
• Art galleries 
• Shopping for clothing, jewelry, handicrafts and home decor 
• Massage 
• Spa treatments 
• Cooking class 
• Art class (many media) 
• Yoga or pilates class, or a workout at a fitness center 
• Organic farm 
• Wineries 
• El Charco del Ingenio botanical garden 
• Use your photo skills for good via a volunteer project at Casita Linda or another 
• Photograph egrets build nests from the roof of Kouyin restaurant 
• Private photowalk and/or image review with Lisa 
• Relax on the lovely terrace of our B&B 

This tour is moderately strenuous and requires good mobility. 

Navigating the streets of San Miguel can be difficult. There are steep hills, including the street where our B&B is located, which is approximately 3 blocks uphill. All streets in Centro are cobblestoned, and sidewalks are narrow, uneven, and oftentimes slick. Buildings can be centuries-old with high thresholds to step over, may lack customary US safety controls such as hand railings and protective barriers, and may have steep and/or narrow stairways to climb with no elevator access. 

Excursions outside of San Miguel are in rural areas with dirt roads and require the ability to walk on uneven surfaces.