Where to stay

Downtown Santa Fe is a great place to stay for numerous cultural attractions, from the New Mexico State Capitol and Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Find accommodations near Tesuque north of the city to enjoy outstanding musical performances in the striking architecture of the Santa Fe Opera House. Hotels just south of the center are ideal for visiting more than 100 galleries, restaurants, and shops in the Canyon Road neighborhood. Drive a few miles farther south for the Museum of International Folk Art. Stay in Los Alamos in the mountains to the north to explore the scientific innovations showcased in the Bradbury Science Museum.

Look beyond the brown landscape surrounding Santa Fe to appreciate the hidden treasures of this desert setting. Stay in Los Alamos to discover the diversity of the region's plants and animals with a visit to the Los Alamos Nature Center. Book accommodations in nearby White Rock for visits to the Bandelier National Monument, which offers hiking through canyon and mesa landscapes. Santa Fe itself is a great place to stay to relax in the downtown setting of the Santa Fe Plaza, or enter Hillside Park to climb to the Cross of the Martyrs. The Southside and Cuyamungue neighborhoods are convenient for playing pleasant rounds of golf in the region's dry air.

Santa Fe's history is visible in the downtown neighborhood surrounding the Palace of the Governors, a structure built as the seat of the Spanish regional government in the 1600s and now a state history museum. Stay in White Rock to explore the Tsankawi section of Bandelier National Monument, which includes ancient petroglyphs and an Ancestral Pueblo village. Accommodations in the town of Pojoaque are good for visiting the Poeh Cultural Center to study Tewa Pueblo history. Shift to more modern history with a stay in Los Alamos to learn about the beginning of the Atomic Age at the Los Alamos History Museum and Manhattan Project National Historical Park.