Santa Fe, New Mexico — Where to Go
Santa Fe Sightseeing Overview
Although Santa Fe isn’t particularly large, the city has more than 200 restaurants, 250-plus art galleries, 60 or so Native American jewelry shops, and more than a dozen museums, along with a world-class opera program and a good schedule of festivals.
Planning ahead will help you figure out which museums to see in the morning, which areas to choose for lunch, places to roam on foot through the afternoon, and galleries to pop into before having tea or a margarita in the late afternoon.
To orient yourself at the outset, explore the Plaza, Palace of the Governors and St Francis Cathedral first. Save the museums for another day (the Museum Hill bus is helpful) and a day of wandering along Canyon Road for still another experience - or you’ll risk overload.
Santa Fe Tourist Information
Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau
201 West Marcy Street
Tel: 1 800 777 2489.
Website: www.santafe.org
International visitors can also contact the Santa Fe Council on International Relations, Room 281 at La Fonda Hotel, 100 East San Francisco Street (tel: (505) 982 4931). Check the website for special savings offered at various lodgings, restaurants, and shops.
Key Attractions in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Palace of the Governors
Built as a government house by the Spaniards in 1610, this is the oldest American public building still in use. A cornerstone of the Museum of New Mexico, the palace houses an excellent museum and library of Southwestern US history; outside on the portal facing the Plaza, local pueblo Indians sell jewelry, pottery, baskets, weavings and other handicrafts.
100 Palace Avenue
Tel: (505) 476 5100.
Website: www.palaceofthegovernors.org
New Mexico Museum of Art
There are more than 20,000 pieces of art in the state’s oldest art museum whose collection includes major pieces by Georgia O’Keeffe. The 1917 building is in a Pueblo revival architectural style; just on the corner of the Plaza, this is a good place to begin exploring art of the Southwest.
107 West Palace Avenue
Tel: (505) 476 5072.
Website: www.museumofnewmexico.org
Museum of International Folk Art
Perhaps the most visually intriguing of Santa Fe’s museums, this facility includes the Girard Foundation Collection, a recreation of villages from 100 nations, made with miniature buildings, streets, and marketplaces. The Spanish Colonial folk art collection occupies an entire wing.
706 Camino Lejo
Tel: (505) 476 1200.
Website: www.museumofnewmexico.org
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Showcasing the work of one of the nation’s most important artists, this space just off the Plaza houses more than 1,149 of O’Keeffe’s paintings, drawings, pastels, watercolors, and sculptures. Don’t miss the film shown frequently throughout the day.
217 Johnson Street
Tel: (505) 946 1000.
Website: www.okeeffemuseum.org
Saint Francis Cathedral
Built in 1869, this exquisite creation of Archbishop Lamy features a French Romanesque style rather than the usual Spanish, but is easily one of the greatest landmarks in New Mexico. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, housing a wooden Virgin that came to Santa Fe in 1625, is all that remains of La Parroquia, the earlier adobe church structure at this site.
131 Cathedral Place
Tel: (505) 982 5619.
Further Distractions
Santa Fe School of Cooking
Enroll in one of the overwhelmingly popular half-day or day-long classes to learn how to reproduce the intriguing Hispanic and Native American cuisine peculiar to this region. Courses can be demonstration-style with a full and wonderful lunch or hands-on, with field trips to markets, farms and wineries. There’s an excellent culinary gift shop, too.
116 West San Francisco Street
Tel: 1 800 982 4688 or (505) 983 4511.
Website: www.santafeschoolofcooking.com
Ski Santa Fe
In winter, most visitors head up the fairly quick but twisting drive uphill from the Plaza to the area’s 3,710m- (12,175ft-) high ski mountain. Skiing and snowboarding keep snow bunnies happy from mid November through to at least early April. Ski Santa Fe offers numerous lifts to 67 trails. There’s a ski shop for equipment hire and a choice of restaurants on site.
2209 Brothers Road
Tel: (505) 982 4429.
Website: www.skisantafe.com
El Rancho de las Golondrinas
Once a stop on the Camino Real this 81-hectare (200-acre) ranch now functions as a living museum preserving the heritage of the Spanish Colonial and Territorial period.
334 Los Pinos Road
Tel: (505) 471 2261.
Website: www.golondrinas.org
