3 Best Sights in Dolores Hidalgo, San Miguel de Allende and the Heartland

Located in the former home of an Independence fighter, this charming museum facing the main square is also known as la Casa de Mariano Abasolo. While the placards are in Spanish only, most of the small artifacts on display—everything from finely embroidered tea towels, to lapel pins with the image of "President for Life" Porfirio Díaz, to carefully preserved cigar bands several centuries old—speak for themselves. There are also a number of black-and-white photos of Dolores Hidalgo in the days before the Mexican Revolution.

Once Father Hidalgo's home, Museo Casa Miguel Hidalgo is now a museum with copies of Hidalgo's important letters and other independence memorabilia.

If you're driving, you might want to make a stop at Santuario de Atotonilco, which is 10 minutes off the Dolores Hidalgo Highway. Named a World Heritage Site in 2008, the sanctuary was built by Father Felipe Neri de Alfaro in the 18th century. In 1810, Independence leader Padre Hidalgo and his troops stopped here to claim the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe before their successful march on San Miguel. The church is completely covered in murals that have earned it the title "the Sistine Chapel of Mexico." It also houses a venerated statue of Our Lord at the Column, a bloodied Christ leaning over a pedestal, which has been credited with several miracles. There's often a smattering of stalls selling statues, rosaries, crowns of thorns, and other religious souvenirs, and you may see pilgrims wearing bridal veils (even the men) and flagellating themselves as they enter the grounds for a week's penitence and prayer.