Like many towns initiated by the Spanish, Santa Fe has a central square that is a gathering place for all types. For hours of entertainment, pull up a bench and people watch. Especially nice in the summer evenings as the temperatures drop (although rain may drop as well) and the people come out.

Museums

Santa Fe has a variety of interesting museums, most in the downtown area and easily reached on foot. Museum Hill, south of downtown, is accessible via public transportation. The first five listed below are sub-units of the Museum of New Mexico,, for which you can buy a shared pass that allows access to all five museums within a four-day period. If you only have time for one, individual passes are available.

 • Palace of the Governors, 105 E Palace Ave (on Santa Fe Plaza), 505-476-5100 - Tu-Thu, Sa-Su 10AM-5PM, Fr 10AM-8PM. The oldest public building in the United States, this 17th-century building houses a historical museum and museum shop, the latter with better Hispanic crafts than Native American. $7 (free Friday after 5PM).
 • Museum of Fine Arts, 107 W Palace Ave (just west of the Palace of the Governors), 505-476-5072 - Tu-Thu, Sa-Su 10AM-5PM, Fr 10AM-8PM. It has been outflanked by the O'Keeffe Museum to some extent, but has a somewhat more diverse, although still New-Mexico-centric, collection. The Museum's St. Francis Auditorium is one of the primary venues in town for concerts, particularly of a classical or folk flavor. $7 (senior/youth/resident discounts, free Friday after 5PM).
 • Museum of International Folk Art, 706 Camino Lejo (on "Museum Hill"), 505-476-1200 - Tu-Su 10AM-5PM. $7, with several discounts and occasional free days; discount pass for Museum of New Mexico applies.
 • Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, 750 Camino Lejo (on "Museum Hill"), 505-982-2226 - Tu-Su 10AM-5PM. $6 (discount pass for Museum of New Mexico applies). Newest of the Museum Hill museums.
 • Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, 710 Camino Lejo (on "Museum Hill"), 505-476-1250 - Tu-Su- 10AM-5PM. $7, with several discounts and free admission on occasion; discount pass for Museum of New Mexico applies. Includes the Laboratory of Anthropology.
 • Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, 217 Johnson Street (just north of downtown), 505-946-1000 - M-Tu, Th-Su 10AM-5PM, Fr 10AM-8PM. Devoted to the 20th-century artist who settled around Abiquiu, a small town north of Santa Fe. $8 (senior/youth discounts, free Friday nights after 5PM).
 • Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 704 Camino Lejo, 800-607-4636 - M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM. The only one of the Museum Hill museums that is not part of the Museum of New Mexico. Excellent Native American art collection, with a gift shop selling examples. Frequent special events. Free.
 • Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, 108 Cathedral Place (downtown across the street from St. Francis Cathedral), 505-983-8900. The Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA, web site ) is a long-standing Santa Fe institution that also sponsors the Santa Fe Indian Market (see under "Do"/"Festivals"). Its museum is in an old building on the National Register of Historic Places and is open M-Sa 10-5, Su 12-5.
 • Rancho de los Golondrinas is a "living history" museum portraying Spanish colonial days. Open April-October (fee), on Los Pinos Road well outside the center of town. In May you'll be dodging swarms of bored children on school field trips; visiting in the fall is better.
 • Speaking of children, the Santa Fe Children's Museum is on Old Pecos Trail a mile or so south of downtown. Many participatory exhibits and various accessible critters. Open Wednesday-Sunday; small fee.

Architecture

 • There are several photogenic churches in town, most of them open for visits during daylight hours when no church services are in progress (please be respectful and don't attempt flash photography):

 • St. Francis Cathedral, 213 Cathedral Place (downtown area), one of the "must-see" places in town. A tip for the photographer: the main facade faces west, so photographing the exterior (including several striking sculptures such as the one at the top of this page) tends to be most rewarding, atypically for Santa Fe, in the middle of the day, particularly the afternoon.
 • Loretto Chapel, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, intriguing legend attached
 • Santuario de Guadalupe, 100 Guadalupe (downtown area), a favorite musical venue
 • Scottish Rite Temple, 463 Paseo de Peralta (north of downtown but within walking distance of the Plaza), startling, bright pink

 • The State Capitol Building, corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta south of downtown, is one of the country's most unusual and striking state capitol buildings, and is usually open to visitors during working hours. It's known locally as "the Roundhouse," and even a casual look will tell you why.

Theaters

There are many movie theaters spread around the city, and lots of art houses that play some of the more off-beat and humorous movies. A concentration of them can be found near the Sanbusco Center just south of the Plaza area.