- Plaza and Indian Market: The Santa Fe plaza has been a gathering place since the earliest days, and it's still a great place to rest and do a little people-watching. Native Americans sell their jewelry and pottery at the Indian Market in front of the Palace of the Governors facing the plaza.
- Loretto Chapel: The home of the famous "miraculous staircase" is now privately owned. It's getting quite touristy with an admission charge, a recorded narration playing over speakers, complete with pitch for donations. If you're taking a walking tour, admission to the chapel may be included.
- Chapel of San Miguel: The oldest mission in the United States faces the old Santa Fe Trail in the Barrio de Analco Historic District.
- Go Shopping: Shops selling Native American art, jewelry and fashions are all over town. For a break from silver and turquoise, don't miss the cartoon art and animation cels at Chuck Jones Studio Gallery. For truly serious Southwest art, take a stroll down Canyon Road, but if you want to buy, you'd better have a very high credit limit!
- What's Cooking? At the Santa Fe School of Cooking, you get a cooking lesson and a meal. You'll be entertained, learn more about New Mexico cuisine. Classes last about three hours.
- Gambling Fever: Several nearby Indian tribes have opened casinos on their land. Camel Rock and Cities of Gold are nearest Santa Fe. In an area that has little to offer in the way of nightlife, try a casino show.
- Indian Pueblos: Nearby Taos Pueblo is one of the state's most scenic, and most-visited, pueblos, but other pueblos around Santa Fe are open to the public, and some allow visitors during their annual festivals, dances and art shows. They also provide an opportunity to buy pottery direct from the pueblo's resident artists.
- Santa Fe Opera: From the end of June through the end of August, the world-famous Santa Fe Opera performs. Reserve in advance, then get there early to enjoy the free pre-performance lectures that start one hour before the performance.
- Wine-Tasting: Yes! New Mexico has a thriving wine industry, and at least six wineries are within driving distance of Santa Fe.
- Painted Ponies: Every year, a new herd of unpainted life-sized pony sculptures are delivered to New Mexico artists who deck them out in a wide variety of styles, then they go on tour. If they don't find homes at one of the annual auctions, they are rounded up at the Painted Ponies corral at the Santa Fe Premium Outlets where you can enjoy them year round.
Museums
Santa Fe, New Mexico, may have more museums per resident than any other American city, almost a dozen in total. They are concentrated downtown near the plaza and north of town on "museum hill." Unless you're a museum junkie, visiting them all may result in serious museum overload, but don't skip them altogether, especially if you want to understand the place you're visiting rather than treating it as a Disneyland attraction. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is an excellent place to learn about the culture and traditions of the native people, and El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a living history museum, is popular with children.Downtown, you'll find a museum of Southwest history at the Palace of Governors, the oldest public building in continuous use in the United States. Other downtown museums include the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of American Indian Art and the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. I found the Georgia O'Keefe Museum ratherdisappointing, with a very small collection of her work, and an even smaller selection of her Southwest pieces. O'Keefe fans may find their time better spent by visiting her home at Abiquiu.
If you're going to visit more than one of the Museum of New Mexico sites (Palace of the Governors, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture), buy a museum pass. You can visit their downtown museums free from 5 to 8 P.M. every Friday.
