Things to do in Santa Fe
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Loretto Chapel
The gothic chapel is modeled on St Chapelle in Paris, and was built between 1873 and 1878 for the Sisters of Loretto, the first nuns to come to New Mexico. St Chapelle has a circular stone staircase, but when the Loretto Chapel was being constructed, no local stonemasons were skilled enough to build one and the young architect didn’t know how to build one of wood. The nuns prayed for help and a mysterious traveling carpenter, whom the nuns believed afterward to be St Joseph, arrived. He built what is known as the Miraculous Staircase, a wooden spiral staircase with two complete 360-degree turns and no central or visible support. He left without charging for his labors and…
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Gabriel’s
It’s worth the 12-mile drive north of Santa Fe to eat at Gabriel’s. The scenic patio and beautiful interior, hung with Miguel Martinez’s art, are fabulous spots to enjoy fresh guacamole, made to order at your table, excellent New Mexican cuisine and even better ribs. Plan to drop by if you’re headed to the flea market or points north.
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Cloud Cliff Bakery
Slip on some Birkenstocks and drop by for a stack of groovy blue corn pancakes (around US$6). Rainbow trout wraps (around US$9), organic lamb and quinoa (around US$9), and soups and sandwiches are served alongside organic wines and microbrews. As for side helpings, look for lefty commentary, live music, poetry or lectures.
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La Plazuela
Make reservations to dine on pork medallions in prickly pear-Tecate barbecue sauce, chipotle-glazed filet mignon and other gourmet goodies at this lovely spot in the painted-glass heart of La Fonda hotel, where local artist Ernest Martinez has graced more than 400 windows with his paintings over the last 50 years.
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La Cantina at Coyote Café
This lively rooftop cantina atop famed sister restaurant, Coyote Café, welcomes budget gourmets to sample chef Mark Miller’s cut-rate creations. Try the Oaxacan chicken mole ($11), spit-roasted pork tacos with pineapple ($13) and the signature mango margarita ($8). Sunsets are fabulous.
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Georgia O'keeffe Museum
Possessing the world's largest collection of her work, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum features the artist's paintings of flowers, bleached skulls and adobe architecture. Tours of O'Keeffe's house require advance reservations.
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Blue Corn Café & Brewery
This friendly brewpub wins awards for its Atomic Blonde Ale, High Altitude Pale Ale and others, served alongside burgers (around US$8), carne asada (around US$14) and Chuy's chalupas ($8). Live music, too.
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Bobcat Bite
Often voted as serving the Best Burger in Santa Fe by locals, this relaxed roadhouse beneath the neon really does an outstanding green chile cheeseburger ($7). The steaks are pretty darn good too.
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Shohko Cafe
Did you expect anything less? Even sushi comes Santa Fe-style - try the cream cheese and green chile roll. They also serve bento boxes at lunch and teriyaki dishes for folks who don't do raw fish.
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Railyard Restaurant & Saloon
Housed in a corrugated tin warehouse in the up-and-coming, gritty-artsy Railroad District, this conventional steaks-and-chops house also offers pastas, sandwiches and a bar menu. Service is good.
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Tesuque Village Market
In the wooded, horsy, upscale village of Tesuque, grab gourmet groceries or an excellent lunch - from subtle cheeses to various fajitas - and enjoy them on the pleasant outdoor porch.
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Bataan Memorial Military Museum & Library
A labor of both love and war, the Bataan Memorial Military Museum & Library exhibits an unusual collection of military mementoes. It began in 1947 as a display in the state capitol honoring the 'Battling Bastards of Bataan.' Today the museum occupies the former home base of the NM 200th Coast Artillery, captured when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942, and the very last unit to surrender.
Some 70,000 POWs, most Filipino, were forced to walk the brutal, 75-mile Bataan Death March. Of 1800 mostly Hispanic New Mexicans stationed in Bataan, only 900 returned. In addition to exhibits that tell their story, interesting examples of psychological-warfare leaflets from …
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Rancho de las Golondrinas
About 15 miles south of downtown Santa Fe, in the town of La Cienega, Rancho de las Golondrinas is a grassy oasis that has been a popular overnight for weary travelers for at least 10,000 years, and many of the historic structures housing this living-history museum were built by Spanish explorers who fortified the area in 1625. The 200-acre preserve has rescued dozens more original Spanish buildings from the bulldozers of progress and brought them from all over the Southwest for respectful renovation. Volunteers use centuries-old equipment to re-create colonial life, and blacksmiths, weavers and lots of cuddly livestock - including rare Churro sheep sheared annually at th…
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Historic Line Camp Gallery & Huichol Indian Museum
About 15 miles north of Santa Fe, the one-of-a-kind Historic Line Camp Gallery & Huichol Indian Museum is a gift shop and museum that claims the largest collection of Huichol Indian art in North America: Nearika, unbroken strands of colorful yarn coiled into tales of life and death, and chaquira, sculptures of animals covered in tiny, obsessively patterned beads, are said to depict the understandably wild dreams of the 'People of Peyote.'
Westerners didn't encounter the tribe, which lives in a remote region of the Sierra Madre, until the 1930s. The small museum has a video as well as artifacts, including clothing, musical instruments, old photos and art, but the most impr…
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Santuario de Guadalupe
The adobe church is the oldest extant shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the poor in Mexico. It was constructed between 1776 and 1796 near the end of the Camino Real, a 1500-mile trading route from Mexico that ended in Santa Fe. There have been several additions and renovations since. The oil-on-canvas Spanish baroque retablo (altar painting) inside the chapel was painted in Mexico in 1783 by José de Alzíbar. For the trip to Santa Fe, the painting had to be taken apart and transported up the Camino Real in pieces on mule back. Look closely to see the seams where the painting was put back together.
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Indian Arts Research Center
Make reservations to tour the vaulted collection at the Indian Arts Research Center. The collection consists of more than 11,000 Native American artifacts, much of it pre-colonial, including textiles, baskets, jewelry and lots of pottery. It's not really displayed for public consumption, which makes the tour through the climate-controlled collection that much more interesting; you'll be surrounded by shelves packed with remnants of a time long past. The gift shop (08:00-noon & 13:00-17:00) has an outstanding selection of collection-related books by associates, faculty members and others.
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Museum of International Folk Art
Part of a collection of four very different museums. On Museum Hill, the Museum of International Folk Art houses more than 100,000 objects from more than 100 countries and is arguably the best museum in Santa Fe. The exhibits aren’t simplistically arranged behind glass cases; the historical and cultural information is concise and thorough; and a festive feel permeates the rooms. The Hispanic wing displays religious art, tin work, jewelry and textiles from northern New Mexico and throughout the Spanish colonial empire, dating from the 1600s to the present.
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Santa Fe Opera
At the Santa Fe Opera you can be a decked-out socialite or show up in cowboy boots and jeans; it doesn't matter. Opera fans (and those who've never attended an opera in their lives) come to Santa Fe for this alone: an architectural marvel, with views of wind-carved sandstone wilderness crowned with sunsets and moonrises, and at center stage internationally renowned vocal talent performing masterworks of aria and romance. The opera is 7 miles north of Santa Fe. Follow I-285 north to exit 168. Turn left off the ramp then right onto Opera Dr and continue 1.4 miles.
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Historic Santa Fe Foundation
On the site of El Zagúan, an expansive territorial-style mansion purchased in 1849 by Anglo entrepreneur James Johnson, the Historic Santa Fe Foundation is an unassuming little museum on Canyon Rd, with a few interesting exhibits - old photos, potsherds and whatnot. The lovely gardens outside are also worth a look. Create your own walking or driving tour of Santa Fe's historic best by consulting the foundation's registry (available on-site and on the website) of more than 70 Santa Fe buildings considered worthy of historical preservation. Each is marked by a bronze plaque.
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El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe
In a huge warehouse at the developing Santa Fe Railyard site, the kid-friendly El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe is an all-in-one museum, gallery, performance space and community arts center designed for local Hispanic youth. With exhibits by internationally known artists and others still in grade school, plus all manner of displays geared toward home-schooled kids, this is a great place to introduce your own children to la cultura Nuevomexicana. The huge warehouse space hosts art openings, live music and theater. The Santa Fe Farmers Market is also ensconced here in the winter.
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Palace of the Governors
Part of a collection of four very different museum. The Palace of the Governors is one of the oldest public buildings in the country. Built in 1610 by Spanish officials, it housed thousands of villagers when the Indians revolted in 1680 and was home to the territorial governors after 1846. Since 1909 the building has been a museum, with more than 17,000 historical objects reflecting Santa Fe’s Indian, Spanish, Mexican and American heritage. Volunteers lead free, highly recommended palace tours throughout the day; call for exact times.
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Museum of Fine Arts
Part of a collection of four very different museums. The Museum of Fine Arts features works by regional artists and sponsors regular gallery talks and slide lectures. It was built in 1918, and the architecture is an excellent example of the original Santa Fe–style adobe. With more than 20,000 pieces – including collections of the Taos Society of Artists, Santa Fe Society of Artists and other legendary collectives – it’s a who’s who of the geniuses who put this dusty town on par with Paris and New York.
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Café Pasqual’s
Make reservations for dinner if you’d like, but definitely wait in line to enjoy the famous breakfasts. We highly recommend huevos motuleños ($12), made with eggs and black beans, sautéed bananas, feta cheese and more; tamale dulce ($12), a sweet corn tamale with fruit, beans and Mexican chocolate; or the enormous Durango ham-and-cheese omelet ($13). They’re all served up in a festive, if crowded, interior. Grab a seat faster by sitting at the community table, where tourists and locals mix it up daily.
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Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco
One of the most revered flamenco artists in North America, Maria Benitez stopped performing in 2004 but still directs this outstanding troupe of protégées. She occasionally joins for a solo. These intensely focused and festively garbed performers have earned every accolade for their impressive Spanish dance and perform June through September at the Lodge. Can't get enough flamenco? El Farol stages performances on some Wednesdays, while El Mesón has flamenco on the first Saturday of each month.
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Tara’s Organic
Ice cream is what to order at Tara’s Organic, after you’ve had your fill sampling the tasty lunch specials. All the ingredients are locally grown – the lavender comes from Los Poblanos, a small town near Albuquerque, the green chiles are harvested on an Espanola farm. But back to the ice cream: Rosemary’s combined caramelized pear and allspice is the latest in a stable of all natural ice-cream flavors that often taste as wild as the nearby mountains – sage anyone?
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