I love that Santa Fe's Historical District restrictions allow the Plaza to retain its old world…read morecharm and wide accessibility for the community. The rest of metro Santa Fe might be their version of suburbia, but the heart that anchors Santa Fe is right here. Yes, the shopping on the adjacent streets is a bit high end, but the classy charm of the plaza and the Tribal merchants across the street at the Inn of the Governors grounds the experience. Besides the interesting mix of people at the Plaza, I note 2 interesting experiences: 1. The Classic Car show on Friday night that circled the entire Plaza on the outside, accented by "Low Riders" occasionally circling. Our friend Laurie even found the model of car that her family drove around during her childhood. 2. The Santa Fe Plaza Obelisk, historically known as the Soldiers' Monument, was toppled by protestors in 2020 and its pieces are slated for a museum. What will become of the Monument proper is in community committee hands, which will probably go round and round without much meaningful progress short term.

Founded in 1609 by the Spanish, this plaza is the main heart of Santa Fe with a lot of shops and…read morerestaurants accessible from here. This was where El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal road of the interior, ended, having begun in Mexico City. This is where the Santa Fe Trail ended its 900-mile-long journey from Independence, Missouri. There are markers in the plaza commemorating both. The best part of the plaza is the Native American street vendors that sell arts and crafts on the street. Many of them have their ID card and we loved meeting Paul and buying some of the hand painted see pots him and his wife made with hummingbirds on them. We asked him what the bird meant and he said "the beauty of life" and it made it a must buy. We saw other vendors selling jewlery, turquoise, paintings, and sandstone art but this was the tail end of our trip and we had no space anymore. This is an idea/tip but we asked around for fry bread or other Native American foods and nobody knew anywhere close by that served it. A nice Native American food truck or small stand would make a killing in this area!

I have been to several capitols; this one is much different. Good parking, friendly staff, and easy…read moreaccess to both chambers for viewing how sausage is made. I live in Colorado - the differences are stark. What makes it worth your time is the art. Fabulous art of all kinds across the diverse spectrum of life in New Mexico! I asked for a pen and said the Governor of GA gave us pens. She mistook what I was asking as "pin". It's good to be clear, but the state pin was nice too.

We didn't get to go inside the Capitol building as we visited it on a weekend and it was closed…read more The building itself and the grounds around it are absolutely gorgeous and I love all the Native American heritage that is captured here. Whenever I visit a state's capital city, I always like to go and see their Capitol building so this was a treat to see!

The finest modern art museum/gallery in Santa Fe, and one of the best in the world…read more With no permanent collection, SITE is all about cutting-edge exhibitions and retrospectives. The curation here is spectacular, each show having something unique to say that you might never find in another museum. Their thoughtful and dramatic large scale installations aren't something you can see in other galleries. Every time I come in inspired (the "muse" in "museum") delighted and moved. It's a MUST-SEE for art lovers and curious minds of all kinds. Free admission ($10 donation requested -- and always well worth it). GO. SEE.

We can only base this review on the building itself. The architecture of the building is stunning…read more The building is located in the Railyard Arts District. Unfortunately it was closed the day we wanted to visit. A nice staff person was exiting and told us to return for contemporary artworks. Admission is free. The outside wall is decorated with murals. We will try to catch it on our next visit. Metered street and lot parking.

This place is like a HUGE 3-D game of Clue, designed by out-of-control artists. It's incredible, a…read moreplace where the more time you spend the more you discover! The people who work there are friendly and helpful.

A very engaging experience that can be enjoyed for up to ~2 hrs. Maybe more if you have drinks in…read morethe lobby beforehand ^-^ The experience is a trip all in itself. The mystery is left pretty open for you to come to your own conclusions

It's part of the Meow Wolf experience located in their parking lot. There are now three metal…read moresculptures with the third being a blue Coyote.. - Free! But you'll have to find parking. - If you eat at Tortilla Flats you get 20% off admission to Meow Wolf.

As a Texan, I'm used to things being big. But I ain't ever seen a 30 foot robot before! This huge…read morerobot is called, "Becoming Human" and was built by Christian Ristow outside of Meow Wolf. (If you're unfamiliar with Meow Wolf, check out their separate Yelp page) The robot looks like it used to be menacing, but now is picking a giant daisy! The robot sits out in the parking lot, so it's easily accessible for photos. Don't worry, he won't crush you and take over mankind with ruthless calculating prowess. He just wants to give you a daisy! The spider, named TaranTula, is pretty big, even by Texan standards, but we've been known to have some larger ones out near Amarillo. The spider was made by Christina Sporrong, from the Spitfire Forge in Taos. With the two giant creatures in the parking lot, it looks like some sort of strange sci-fi action scene is about to go down, and your ride is parked right in the middle of it! Food trucks can often be found out in front of the spider, along with places to chill. Please don't climb on the creations.

I am a complete sucker for roadside attractions, oddities and little museums. Such explorations…read morehelp you really get to know the culture of the area you're touring. This chapel just off the Plaza did not disappoint! Out of curiosity, I read a couple of the other reviews before I began writing about my own experience. It's a chapel, so I wasn't expecting the tour I had at the Vatican. It's small and quaint, which is reflective of most religious edifices in the West built in the mid-1800s. The story of the stranger, the staircase and the miracle is fascinating. Whether you are a believer or not, the spiral structure is a delightful marvel. The detail and craftsmanship of the room itself are inspiring for anyone interested in architecture. It just glows and feels sacred. The cover is $5, which is nothing. I'd trade a burger for another trip through those doors.

Amazing staircase with its history of an unknown source of wood and the carpenter…read more Truly an experience.

Lots of shopping, art, historic sites. Loved our time here. Shops in all price ranges and options…read more Lots of food options. Beautiful and large.

I always wanted to visit Santa Fe and it didn't dissappoint! The historic district is so charming,…read moregreat to stroll its streets and discover it by foot. The Plaza is beautiful, full of charm, there are many historic buidlings around like the Palace of the Governrrs, many museums with architecture alike a pueblo, cathedrals in Spanish Revival sytle, great shops, art galleries, restaurants. This is the kind of place with so much personality that is hard to describe. They have events here often, market, the place is lively with lots of cultural activities to discovere, Georgia O'Keefe Museum is a must, but there are so many other great museums and small galleries that you can pop in any time. Santa Fe might remind you of a cute town in Mexico but it has its own original features, it is such an unique place!

It was New Year weekend and we were not lucky to get inside but still worthwhile to be there. It's…read morea quaint place and next to the visitor center (was closed unfortunately). A must visit and they have clear schedule where you could plan your visit much better than we did! Our visit was random and it was so well worth it!

This Catholic Church (opposite from The Pink Adobe) is possibly the oldest church in the US,…read moredestroyed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The current building dated from 1710, with major renovations. The docent who's working in the garden, is retired from San Francisco, "I volunteer here, do whatever, taking care of the garden, and docent a tour ..."

Santa Fe is a cool town but I was only excited for a few things there before visiting. When coming…read moreacross this place, I suddenly found myself in some type of wonder world. Walk around Santa Fe and you never know what could be around the next corner. This place isn't exactly a tourist destination. While I took pictures and walked around the place, I'm still not entirely sure of its purpose. It's my understanding that this church is named after a virgin from Mexico. Forgive my ignorance on the subject. You would think that a virgin church in the middle of many other churches(ONE OF THEM HAS TO BE HAS TO LIKE HER, RIGHT? RIGHT??)... virginity is rare so it has that going for it. Hook up with one of those other churches already! The place was locked as it was a mid-week weekday. We also weren't chased off by any type of security guard so we were able to snap pictures and view the outside. I wish it would've been opened so I could've checked it out.

Beautiful church away from the touristy Plaza. The grounds are covered with the most beautiful…read moreblooming rose bushes. The statue of Guadalupe catches your eye, but immediately in front of Guadalupe is a life size Rosary shown as pavers on the ground for the Rosary beads. Definitely a working church, as there were parishioners lining up for weekend mass while Hubby and I were visiting. We did not visit the sanctuary because of mass, but thought the grounds were beautiful.

OMG! Even if you're not interested in going to an art gallery, if you like gardens - go here!!…read more The garden out back is AMAZING and it presents a cool, relaxing oasis in such an arid climate. There's no place to sit and relax out there (intentional, as I'm sure else no one would want to leave), but it's really worth walking around (it's not huge and doesn't take long to walk around all of it - except for me since I dawdled because it was so lovely). OK, so I'm admittedly not an art gallery person (The Hubs is), however, I did like this gallery. They had a nice variety of different art media (medium?) that I actually found interesting. I'd definitely come here again. The art was very good, but the garden absolutely made my day.

Fine art in Santa Fe with beautiful sculpture garden in back. Our family has been visiting this…read moregallery every summer since I can remember. The best.