Albuquerque, New Mexico — Activities
Albuquerque Culture
Albuquerque's culture is steeped in its past, with strong ties to both its Hispanic and Native America heritage. You can learn about Hispanic culture at the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico. An excellent way to get oriented with the region's indigenous culture is to visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (see Key Attractions).
The city's Public Art Program is one of the oldest in the country and contains more than 400 works of art. A large concentration of the collection is downtown as well as in the University/Nob Hill and historic Old Town areas. Visit www.cabq.gov/publicart to obtain a map/brochure listing the sites.
For information on cultural events, contact the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (tel: 1 800 284 2282; www.itsatrip.org) or pick up free newspapers in dispensers around the city.
Music: No matter what music appeals to you, Albuquerque likely offers some form of it - the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra, Albuquerque Youth Symphony, Baroque Chamber Music Society, Opera Southwest and much more. Many performances take place at the University of New Mexico, including a series called Popejoy Presents, a wide range of entertainment at Popejoy Hall, Center for the Arts, at the University (tel: (505) 277 4569; www.popejoypresents.com).
More intimate places to hear classical, chamber, renaissance and liturgical music are the beautiful Cathedral Church of St John (tel: (505) 247 1581; www.stjohnsabq.org) and St Paul Lutheran Church (tel: (505) 242 5942; www.stpaulabq.org).
Dance: The New Mexico Ballet Company (tel: (505) 292 4245; www.newmexicoballet.org) offers performances at the KiMo Theater (see below) and other sites throughout the city.
Theater: A seminal example of pueblo deco architecture, the KiMo Theater (tel: (505) 768 3522; www.cabq.gov/kimo) is the city's architectural gem and plays host to a wide variety of local, national and international performance events. Several other small theaters are located downtown and around the University of New Mexico.
Film: There are plenty of mainstream blockbuster cinemas in Albuquerque, but for alternative stuff and movies that just aren't shown elsewhere in the city, visit Guild Cinema (tel: (505) 255 1848; www.guildcinema.com) and Basement Films Inc. (tel: (505) 842 9977; www.basementfilms.org).
Albuquerque Tours
A number of professional tour operators offer trips of all types around the city and region, from hot-air balloon rides to pueblo tours. A good place is the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (tel: 1 800 284 2282; www.itsatrip.org), which has information on tours and tour groups as well as free self-guided itineraries on everything from Route 66 to exploring the Sandia Mountains. Most of New Mexico's 19 pueblos are within two hours' drive of Albuquerque.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW (tel: (505) 843 7270 or 1 866 855 7902; www.indianpueblo.org) offers several Pueblo-owned and -operated guided bus tours, which provide a fascinating look at the Native American cultural experience.
Several companies offer hot-air balloon rides, including Skyspan Adventures (tel: (505) 293 6800 or 1 800 351 9588; www.skyspanadventures.com), which provides complimentary shuttle service, light breakfast, local sparkling wine, flight certificate and a commemorative pin.
A ghost tour through Old Town Albuquerque by Tours of Old Town (tel: (505) 249 7828; www.toursofoldtown.com) details stories of vengeful lovers, murdered soldiers and mysterious spectres.
The Arts Crawl (tel: (505) 244 0362; www.artscrawlabq.org) is a self-guided tour through local galleries held the first Friday of each month; you can also obtain information on visiting galleries at other times from the website.
