Lodging

Most Santa Fe hotels, motels and B&Bs are in one of two areas: downtown (near the Palace of the Governors and Plaza) or on Cerrillos Road, the commercial main drag. The distance of the Cerrillos Road hotels from the downtown attractions isn't significant from a purely physical point of view; the most distant ones (near Villa Linda Mall) are still within a couple miles of the downtown area, which can be reached quickly by car or shuttle bus. However, the atmospheric distance is enormous.   More...

Get Out

One of the major contributors to Santa Fe's fame is the large number of American Indian pueblos (towns) nearby. Several are important centers for folk art; most permit visitors at dances and other tribal ceremonial events; and from a more contemporary perspective, several host casinos with gambling, night life, etc. There are also, however, some pueblos that jealously guard the privacy of their residents and admit visitors only grudgingly, if at all. Nearly all pueblos charge a fee for photography,   More...

Getting In

By plane

Commercial air service into the Santa Fe airport exists but is distinctly limited. If entering New Mexico via the larger Albuquerque airport, simply rent a car and drive, as there is currently no commuter air service connecting these two airports. The flights directly into Santa Fe all originate instead in Denver.

By rail

The major Amtrak route across the Southwest approaches but does not enter Santa Fe. The nearest Amtrak station is at Lamy about 15 miles south of   More...

Pubs & Bars

What to drink

Two of the ubiquitous alcoholic beverages in Santa Fe are the familiar margarita and the possibly-less-familiar sangria, a wine-based concoction incorporating fruit, more commonly associated with Spain and Central America. Most of the better New Mexican restaurants in town have their own house sangria; it goes well with New Mexican cuisine, and is claimed by some to be a useful antidote if the spicy food gets the better of you. It's considered much more of a   More...

Activities

Festivals

Santa Fe hosts a seemingly unending series of community fairs, festivals and celebrations, of which the most characteristic is the Fiesta de Santa Fe. This grand city-wide festival is held over a weekend in mid-September, after most of the summer tourists have left (and has been described as Santa Fe throwing a party for itself to celebrate the tourists leaving!). Festivities start with the Friday night burning of Zozobra, also known as "Old Man Gloom," a huge, animated   More...

Santa Fe

Santa Fe, founded in 1607, is the capital of the state of New Mexico in the United States. With an elevation of 7000 feet, it is not only the United States' oldest state capital but its highest. With a population of about 62,000, it's not the largest, but that's part of its charm. Santa Fe is consistently rated one of the world's top travel   More...