Travel and Explore Santa Fe New Mexico

If you’re looking for color, adventure, a touch of history and antiquity, a wonderful blend of culture and tradition, this is the place to be – Santa Fe, New Mexico. A place which boosts of beautiful, quaint architecture set against the backdrop of the desert landscape, Sante Fe caters to lovers of art, natural beauty, and anyone who wishes to relax. In fact, it’s America’s top tourist destinations.

Founded by Spanish missionaries as their colonial capital in the 1600s, it is one of the country’s oldest and most beautiful cities. From the plateau of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, one can bask in the sight of the adobe houses and baroque churches and the city’s art galleries and museums famous all over the world.

Here are the eight hot tourist spots in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Grab your walking shoes (yes, the best way to explore is to walk along the streets) and some money (in case you come upon some beautiful Native American weaving or painting) and loads of film for your camera.

The Plaza of Santa Fe. This is the city’s most historic area. Practically every corner is dotted with museums, historical buildings, diners, hotels, galleries and shopping markets. This is the perfect place to start your exploration.

The Canyon Road. This is the historic road to the mountains and the city’s old neighborhood, which has become the place-to-be for art lovers, with its numerous galleries and sculpture gardens.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. The place showcases the works and masterpieces of Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as exhibitions of 19th-century and contemporary artists.

Museum Hill. The place to be for museum fanatics, Museum Hill is where one can find four of the country’s most interesting museums: the Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and culture, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. (talk about museum overload!) It has a plaza and footpaths connecting the museums.

The Railyard. A 50-acre railyard along Guadalupe Street is a work in progress. One can find here the SITE Santa Fe, a contemporary art museum and the Santa Fe Farmers Market. It promises of an extensive park and plaza, trail system, a movie house complex, and work lofts.

Bandelier National Monument. Take a trip back to history at Bandelier, a preserved pre-Pueblo community. One of the state’s most important archaelogical sites, it offers a look back to 1000 to 1500 AD when Native Americans once called this ‘home’.

St. Francis Cathedral Basilica of Assisi. Built in 1869 by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, it is the only French architecture church in the area. This is a dominant figure in the city’s landscape, and houses the La Conquistadora, a statue of the Madonna brought to Sante Fe by the Spaniards.

The Palace of the Governors. A haven for shoppers and artists, this one-story building on the north side of the Plaza is a good place for some strolling and shopping to do. It is the state’s history museum, featuring moving exhibitions and gift shops. Outside, one can choose from a wide array of trinkets and souvenirs – from turquoise and silver jewelry to beadworks – you can bring home at cheap prices.

A place that offers beautiful sceneries, a rich culture, magnificent art works, and a blend of history and the modern world, Sante Fe is the place you can go to for some sight-seeing, wining, dining, shopping, and pure aesthetic satisfaction. So, if you’re looking for something new, something different, but definitely something worth your vacation money, go explore Santa Fe, New Mexico.