Guanajuato is a landlocked state in Mexico's colonial heartland, built on centuries of silver wealth. Its UNESCO-listed capital, Guanajuato City, is a maze of tunnels, brightly painted hillside houses, and baroque churches, while the nearby Historic Centre of San Miguel de Allende draws artists and expatriates to its pink Parroquia and cobblestone streets. The state also holds Dolores Hidalgo, cradle of Mexican independence, and León, the country's leather and shoe-manufacturing capital.
Top food tours
Guided experiences that show you Guanajuato through its food.
Guanajuato City Enchiladas Mineras and Callejoneada Food Walk
A three-hour walking route through Guanajuato City's steep callejones pairing the miners' signature enchiladas mineras with a stop inside Mercado Hidalgo and a cantina tasting, tracing the silver-mining history behind the city's kitchen.
Includes: Enchiladas mineras tasting at a traditional restaurant near the Jardin de la Union · Guided walk through the historic callejones and plazas of the Centro Historico · Gordita and cecina sampling inside the 1910 Mercado Hidalgo · Mezcal or rompope tasting at a local cantina · Commentary on the silver-mining history and student callejoneada tradition
Mercado Hidalgo Market and Tasting Tour
A two-hour tasting tour through Guanajuato City's landmark 1910 market, sampling gorditas, tortas and aguas frescas from the ground-floor comedores between the crafts stalls above.
Includes: Guided walk through the 1910 steel-framed Mercado Hidalgo market hall · Gordita de horno and torta tastings from ground-floor comedores · Fresh fruit and aguas frescas sampling · Visit to the upper-floor crafts stalls · History of the market's construction under the Porfiriato
Dolores Hidalgo Nieves Tasting Tour
A plaza-side tasting circuit through Dolores Hidalgo's famous nevería stands, sampling everything from classic mango and coconut to exotic mole, shrimp and tequila nieves in the town where Mexican ice cream began.
Includes: Tastings at three or more nieve stands on the Plaza Principal · Sampling of exotic flavors including mole, shrimp, avocado and tequila · Explanation of the town's nieve-making history and technique · Free time to visit the Casa de Hidalgo museum next door
San Miguel de Allende Culinary Walking Tour
A multi-stop walking tour through San Miguel de Allende's colonial center, tasting chilaquiles, tacos, mole and mezcal across several restaurants and a bakery courtyard.
Includes: Tastings at four to six restaurants and food stalls around Centro · Sampling of chilaquiles, tacos, mole and local cheese · A mezcal or margarita tasting stop · Visit to a colonial courtyard bakery for pan dulce · Commentary on San Miguel's colonial and expat culinary history
Traditional Mexican Cooking Class, San Miguel de Allende
A hands-on cooking class beginning with a market visit for chiles and produce, moving to hand-pressed tortillas, salsa and mole, then finishing with a sit-down meal of everything prepared.
Includes: Market visit to select produce and chiles · Hands-on preparation of salsa, mole and hand-pressed tortillas · Full sit-down meal of the dishes prepared in class · Recipe booklet to take home · Wine or mezcal pairing
Guanajuato Wine Country Tasting Day Trip
A half-day route along Guanajuato's emerging wine region between San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, tasting local reds, whites and sparkling wine paired with cheese and a vineyard lunch.
Includes: Visits to two vineyards along the emerging Guanajuato wine route · Guided tastings of Guanajuato reds, whites and sparkling wine · Cheese and charcuterie pairing board · Vineyard-set lunch at a wine-country restaurant · Transport between estates included
Leon Guacamayas and Carnitas Street Food Tour
An evening street food route through Leon sampling guacamayas, carnitas and birria between stops in the city's historic leather-manufacturing district.
Includes: Guacamaya tasting at a longtime cart or stand · Carnitas por kilo sampling with fresh tortillas · Stop at a birria kitchen on weekend tours · Walk through Leon's historic leather district between food stops · Commentary on Leon's shoe-and-leather manufacturing history
Cecina and Cheese Tasting, Yuriria
A small-town tasting visit to Yuriria pairing a cecina producer's chile-rubbed dried beef with local lakeside cheeses, alongside a stop at the town's 16th-century ex-convento.
Includes: Visit to a family cecina producer to see the drying and chile-rub process · Cecina tasting plate with tortillas and salsa · Local cheese sampling from lakeside dairies · Walk past the 16th-century ex-convento on the plaza
Live-Fire Chef's Table, Nomada Cocina de Fuego
A counter-seat chef's table facing the open wood-fired grill at Nomada Cocina de Fuego, watching each course of the live-fire tasting menu prepared course by course.
Includes: Seating at the open kitchen counter facing the wood-fired grill · Multi-course tasting menu of live-fire dishes · Explanation of the wood-fire and comal techniques used · Mezcal pairing available as an add-on
Cajeta Making Experience, Celaya
A hands-on demonstration in Celaya, the town famous nationwide for cajeta, showing how goat's milk is slow-cooked into the caramel and finishing with a tasting of plain, vanilla and quemada versions.
Includes: Demonstration of slow-cooking goat's milk into cajeta · Hands-on stirring portion of the process · Tasting of plain, vanilla and burnt (quemada) cajeta · Small jar of cajeta to take home
Tour formats
Different ways to experience Guanajuato's food scene.
Description tours
Guanajuato state's food experiences split into walking tastings through Guanajuato City and San Miguel de Allende, plaza-based nieve tastings in Dolores Hidalgo, wine-route day trips, and hands-on cooking classes in San Miguel de Allende.
Items tours
Cooking classes
Take a piece of Guanajuato home with you.
Traditional Mexican Cooking Class, San Miguel de Allende
Live-Fire Chef's Table, Nomada Cocina de Fuego
Cajeta Making Experience
DIY self-guided food tour
A self-guided version of Guanajuato's food circuit is easy to build around three bases. In Guanajuato City, start at Mercado Hidalgo for gorditas and market snacks, walk the callejones to Jardin de la Union for enchiladas mineras at Casa Valadez or Truco 7, and finish with mezcal at a Centro Historico cantina. In Dolores Hidalgo, plant a base on the Plaza Principal and work through several nevería stands comparing exotic nieve flavors before or after visiting the Casa de Hidalgo museum. In San Miguel de Allende, a walk down Zacateros and Correo streets covers a bakery, a seafood spot and a wood-fired kitchen within a 15-minute radius of the Jardin Principal.
Foodie tips
Get more out of every meal.
Book San Miguel de Allende's destination restaurants such as Moxi and The Restaurant several days ahead, especially for weekend dinners
Dolores Hidalgo's nieve stands rotate exotic flavors daily, so asking what is fresh that day often reveals the best options
Guacamayas in Leon are a late-afternoon and evening food; carts are often closed at lunchtime
Wine-route tastings along the San Miguel-Dolores Hidalgo corridor are best booked in advance since many estates are open only on weekends
Cecina and carnitas are sold by weight in most markets, so confirm the price per kilo before ordering a plate