|
Santa Fe Maps & Attractions Guide
Santa Fe maps & Attractions - Things to do
in Santa Fe
|
!
Search & Compare Cheap Santa Fe Hotels, Holidays
& Deals
|
|
?
More Information & Other Links
|
This map is interactive: Click and drag to view the map of Santa Fe.
Zoom in using the controls provided.
Santa Fe
Attractions - Things to do
1. Palace of Governors
www.palaceofthegovernors.org |
What is it? To begin sightseeing in Santa Fe, start where
it all began on the city's historic central Plaza, which is
dominated by the adobe structure known as the Palace of the
Governors, the oldest public building in the United States. The
palace was built in 1610 as Spain's seat of government for what is
today the American Southwest. It still bears the scars of having
survived Indian revolts and occupation, and Mexican Independence;
it was later occupied by Confederate forces when they attempted to
take New Mexico. Fittingly, in 1909, the building was converted
into the Museum of New Mexico and is now the principal of Santa
Fe's four museums, preserving 400 years of the state's history from
the 16th century Spanish explorations through the frontier era to
modern times. Exhibits range from a stagecoach and kitchen utensils
to paintings on bison hide and a state seal made from spoons,
quills and tacks.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm
Phone:(505) 476 5100 |
2. Museum of Fine Arts
107 W. Palace Avenue
www.mfasantafe.org |
What is it? Opposite the Governor's Palace on Santa Fe's
historic Plaza stands a prime example of Pueblo Revival
architecture, built in 1917, which houses the state's oldest art
museum, home to more than 20,000 works of art. The distinguished
collection spans the historic art colonies of Taos and Santa Fe of
the past 100 years, right up to contemporary art, focussing on the
southwest region. There is also a collection of photographs and two
sculpture gardens housing traditional and abstract
works.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm. Guided tours daily
10.30am and 2.30pm, and at 5.30pm on Fridays
Phone:(505) 476 5072 (recorded information) |
3. Museum of International Folk Art
Camino Lejo, Museum Hill
www.moifa.org |
What is it? The most important and comprehensive
collection of cross-cultural folk art in the world is housed in the
Santa Fe Museum of International Folk Art about two miles (3km)
southeast of the city's central Plaza, on the old Sante Fe Trail.
Fascinating for tourists, and a treasure trove for researchers,
scholars and contemporary artisans, the collection of the museum
runs to about 125,000 pieces, divided into different categories. Of
particular note are the Spanish Colonial collection, the
south-western Hispanic art collection of 20th century works, and
collections of international textiles and costumes. There are
examples of folk art from more than 100 different
countries.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Sunday 10am and 5pm; closed on major
holidays. Guided tours are available Tuesdays and Wednesdays
10.15am and 2pm, Thursday to Sunday 10.15am, 1pm and
3pm
Phone:(505) 476 1200 |
4. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
217 Johnson Street
www.okeeffemuseum.org |
What is it? The museum dedicated to the work of Georgia
O'Keefe opened in 1997, eleven years after the death of the artist
who loved the state of New Mexico so much. Since then the museum
has welcomed more than 1.3-million visitors, who come to enjoy the
exhibition of the works of one of the most important artists of the
20th century. Georgia O'Keefe created imagery that expressed
'wideness and wonder', and was a leading member of one of the
avant-garde art movements in New York in the 1920s. She featured
the high deserts and dramatic cliffs of New Mexico frequently in
her work. The Santa Fe museum's permanent collection contains more
than 130 O'Keefe paintings, drawings and sculptures, the largest
concentration of her work in the world and it is the only museum in
the United States dedicated solely to one woman's work. The gallery
itself is a former Baptist church with adobe
walls.
Hours of Operation: Daily, except Wednesdays, 10am to 5pm, Fridays until
8pm; from mid-June to October the museum is also open on Wednesdays
10am to 5pm
Phone:(505) 946 1000 |
5. Loretto Chapel
207 Old Santa Fe Trail
www.lorettochapel.com |
What is it? Although the Loretto Chapel on the Old Santa
Fe Trail is no longer used for worship, it nevertheless remains a
place of congregation, mainly for tourists who come to marvel at
the chapel's 'miraculous' spiral staircase. The chapel, copied from
Sainte-Chapelle Church in Paris, was built in 1873 to serve as
chapel for the Sisters of Loretto's school for young women. The
story goes that when the building was close to completion workers
discovered the design had not left sufficient room for the proposed
staircase to the choir loft. The only answer appeared to be a
cumbersome ladder, which was not an attractive proposition for the
Loretto sisters who decided to pray about the problem to St Joseph.
Their prayers were answered in the form of a carpenter riding a
donkey, who arrived and offered to build a spiral staircase. He
accomplished this with only a saw, hammer and T-square,
manufacturing a miraculous staircase, which is held aloft by no
visible means of support.
Hours of Operation: Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm (until 5pm in winter),
Sunday 10.30am to 5pm
Phone:(505) 982 0092 |
6. El Rancho de las Golondrinas
334 Los Pinos Road
www.golondrinas.org |
What is it? The 'Ranch of the Swallows' (El Rancho de las
Golondrinas) is a living history site that was originally a real
ranch, founded in the early 1700s, today offering an entertaining
and educational attraction about 15 miles (24km) south-east of
Santa Fe's central Plaza, on the Los Pinos Road. The ranch was once
the last stopping place on the thousand-mile (1,609km) El Camino
Real (Royal Road) between Mexico City and Santa Fe. It has been
fully restored as a living village with costumed villagers
portraying life in early New Mexico. The first weekend in June
brings the spring Festival, and the first weekend in October is
devoted to a Harvest Festival, which are highlights on the ranch
calendar. Every day, however, visitors can explore the hacienda,
village store, schoolhouse, chapels, kitchens and other buildings
on the ranch, pet farm animals and watch operations in the working
molasses mill, blacksmith shop, shearing and weaving rooms, winery
and so on.
Hours of Operation: Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm (June to September).
Tours can be organised from April to October
Phone:(505) 471 2261 |
7. Taos
www.taosguide.com |
What is it? The laid-back mountain resort town of Taos,
about 70 miles (113km) north of Santa Fe, is in the centre of New
Mexico's most sparsely populated region, serving as a popular ski
resort in winter and artist's colony all year round. The main
attraction at Taos is Taos Pueblo, the largest of northern New
Mexico's Indian pueblos where life has changed little since ancient
times. In the town, which sits between the majestic peaks of the
Rocky Mountains and the deep Rio Grande Gorge, the old Spanish
plaza is full of shops and museums and an unusual community who
live in half-buried houses and reject materialism. The arts scene
is particularly lively, and there are some excellent restaurants.
Some of the diversions on offer include llama treks, hiking, biking
and white-water rafting.
Hours of Operation:
Phone:(505) 758 3873 |
Santa Fe Holidays guide
|
Transport -Getting around town in Santa Fe is
relatively easy because the downtown area and surrounding historic
districts are compact, most conveniently explored on foot.
More information at the |
|
|
! Bookmark
Page
| Travel Alerts FREE newsletter - cheap flight alerts + more!
Subscribe now. |
|
