Biblioteca's House and Garden Tour

We hope that you will join us on any given Sunday for San Miguel de Allende's most popular tourist attraction, the weekly House & Garden Tour sponsored by the Biblioteca Pública.

The tours were started approximately 50 years ago by local foreign residents in order to provide visitors with the chance to see “behind the hidden walls” of San Miguel. We have over 300 houses on our roster with new homes never-before-seen on the tour being shown on a regular basis. The House & Garden Tour shows different homes every Sunday (with the exception of those which fall on a holiday).

The local weekly newspaper, Atención, gives descriptions of the properties to be shown every Friday as well as alerting visitors if a holiday is upcoming. Our website will also post descriptions of the homes shown that week or advise if a holiday, festival or fiesta prevents a tour. All the tours are conducted via local buses so normally very little walking is required, although we would like to advise visitors with walking problems to ask at the cashier’s desk on any given Sunday how much walking will be required.

On YOUR Sunday visit you may see anything from a Colonial mansion to a tiny adobe house, a splendid new home or an artist’s domain. Reservations are not necessary – just come to the Biblioteca Pública on a Sunday between 11AM and noon, and purchase your tickets at the door. Tickets can be purchased in advance at our ticket counter located just inside the Biblioteca's entrance on Relox 50 .

Breakfast is served in our beautiful patio from 9AM till 11.30AM prior to the tour and music is played in the main patio between 11AM and noon. We offer discounts for groups of ten or more, and tickets cost $200 pesos or $15 U.S.D. Cash only, no credit cards or Traveler’s checks are accepted. Please join us! Proceeds benefit the Biblioteca Pública and its educational programs for children.

Special groups or specific information can be obtained by contacting Jennifer Hamilton at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or calling 152-4987.

House and Garden Tour

August 22, 2010

House 1.  This enchanting home is nestled inside a concealed garden area just inside the Centro boundaries.  Cement arches give the feeling of ancient stonework and separate the downstairs living and dining rooms.  Glass shelves and incandescent lights are placed in the intimate TV room which also houses an attention-grabbing goat head sporting curved horns creating a fascinating shadow play on the wall. As one enters the stairwell a massive carved mirror with beveled glass is positioned on the wall going up the attractively tiled stairs to reflect additional light from the bóvedacúpula, plus a dramatic hand-carved stone statue to one side.  Further up the stairs is the master bedroom with its interesting bronze sconce above the headboard, a studio, and guest bedroom with its eye-catching iron beds.  Kilim rugs were placed in relevant areas throughout to create a cohesive atmosphere and add warmth. Many of the ceilings on the second floor are bóveda, and others are beamed.  The impressive large window in the master bath floods the entire space with light, lending a luminous feeling, and opens onto a private outside upper terrace.

House 2.  Our second house is a dazzling and colorful home built several years ago and in 2005 the owners asked local resident and artist Michael Sudheer to furnish and paint it in the Mexican style.   Rife with color, almost every wall, every piece of furniture is a different shade yet blends beautifully with each other, flowing from room to patio, roof garden to bedroom.  Modern lamps were found in Guadalajara, and the two collaged mirrors were created by Anado McLaughlin, another local artist of great repute.  A heart-shaped sculpture surrounds the Virgin of Guadalupe on the fireplace.   Cupboard doors were faced with sculptural pieces of tin to add yet more drama.   Two outdoor entertainment areas are separated by an iguana tiled fountain, a flood of flowers and a plethora of color.  A Guatemalan huipil adorns one of the walls in the guest bedroom with its metal bed and view of the patio and fountain downstairs.  For extra light, a circle was cut into a bóveda ceiling and fitted with glass.  A large roof terrace is rampant with plants and flowers adding yet more color to this fabulously fun yet comfortable home.

House 3.  Our last house house is elegant and spacious with artwork commissioned or purchased from local San Miguel artists.  Of special note are the coats of arms in the bedroom which belonged to Spanish Admiral Don Ramon Bonifaz, and on a wall a parchment signed by Napoleon.   A Bedouin tent surrounds the entertainment area.  All rooms face the lushly planted outside patio.  The living room contains two whimsical chairs of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  Outside are several seating areas with beautifully arched porticos on three sides thickly covered by vines and colorful bougainvillea.   The bar was originally a pulpit.  A smaller patio houses an enormous angel statue.    Three rooftop decks with unsurpassed views are perfect for that evening margarita watching one of the town’s sensational sunsets.