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

Notable graduates of this former Tridentine seminary, built in 1770, include independence hero José María Morelos, social reformer Melchor Ocampo, and Mexico's first emperor, Agustín de Iturbide. In the 1960s local artist Alfredo Zalce painted the extensive yet simplistic murals (on the stairway and second floor), which depict dramatic, often bloody scenes from Mexico's history. There's a tourist office here, too.

Dubbed La Casa de la Corregidora, this building now houses the city's municipal government offices, but in 1810 it was home to Querétaro's mayor-magistrate (El Corregidor) and his wife, Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez (La Corregidora). La Corregidora's literary salon was actually a cover for conspirators—including Ignacio Allende and Father Miguel Hidalgo—to plot a course for independence. When he discovered the salon's true nature, El Corregidor imprisoned his wife in her room, but not before she alerted Allende and Hidalgo. Soon after, on September 15, Father Hidalgo tolled the bell of his church to signal the onset of the fight for freedom. A replica of that bell caps this building, and two contemporary murals in the central courtyard depict key players in Querétaro's history.