2 Best Sights in San Miguel de Allende and the Heartland, Mexico

Although less visited than some of the city's better-known attractions, this excellent (and free) art museum shows thoughtful and well-curated rotating exhibits of contemporary art. It's on a hilltop in the attractive La Cruz neighborhood, in a beautiful historic building beside the imposing Santuario de la Santa Cruz de Los Milagros. There are two floors of galleries, and the art is by a mix of regional and international artists.

Focusing mostly on European and Mexican artwork, this baroque 18th-century Augustinian monastery-turned-museum exhibits paintings from the 17th through 19th centuries, as well as multiple rotating exhibits of contemporary art. Ask about the symbolism of the columns and the figures in conch shells atop each arch on the fascinating baroque patio.