Anyone have any recommendations for must see things to do in Santa Fe, NM? The wife and I will be there for only 2 days. Any ideas on restaurants, scenery, things to do, etc?
wow. have you ever been before? if not, i would predict this to be the first of many visits. hard to see in 2 days. walk around the plaza, down canyon rd. eat at the shed (inexpensive), don pasqals or geronimo (expensive). loretto chapel, georgia o'keefe museum are both worth a visit.
If you fly into Albuquerque, take 14 up to Sante Fe, stopping in Madrid for some grub. The Folk Art museum on Museum Hill is very cool. If you want to drive up for some more scenery without going all the way to Taos, drive up to Chimayo (check out the weaving), continue on to Truchas (some cool galleries there), circle back on 75 through Dixon (visit the Chiripada Vineyard), then take the low road back to Sante Fe. Besides the Shed, we like the Pink Adobe and El Farol (on Canyon Road). Also, you can eat in the bar at the Ore House and it is a little less expensive.
315 (formerly bistro 315) is a wonderful restaurant. great food and large outside dining area. in the heart of town close to the plaza.
Stay at the La Fonda. Great hotel, good food, nice bar. It's right on the Plaza, which is a shopping bonanza.
The wife and I really like Paul's on West Marcy. It's near the federal courthouse and J-Crew. Great food. If you have time, or next time you go, you have to try Ten Thousand Waves. I'm not a spa guy but I end up going there everytime I'm in Santa Fe.
Stay at my Dad's, the food is better and it is cheaper! Seeing these threads brings back memories. You cannot go wrong with any of the suggestions given so far. Check out the Shidoni Foundry if it is still in Tesuque. Drive up the Ski Basin to Hyde Park and camp if you have time in the open walled covered places. Read up on bears first, however. 10,000 Waves. The concept is nice and what went on there when I was a kid (had a friend that worked there) probably does not now so it is um, safe. But man, some of the **** we did in that place, yeah, um. Surely it is okay and you will enjoy it. Most of the things here listed are touristy things. The real Santa Fe is not openly shared, sadly. Enough tourists act like asses that there is an underground of local things. I am not up on what they are or where but if you see a group of people likely not tourists, go there. Have fun and soak it in. You will fall in love.
Campus, Can you recommend any scenic mtn. bike trails my wife and I should do? We have no problem driving to Taos if that is the place to go. Don't really want to do more than 25mi and care more for scenery than workout although we are in good shape.
The climb up Taos Canyon is awesome on a bike. There are logging trails everywhere that would be great on an MTB. As far as the original poster, if you go to Chimayo, save room to eat at Rancho De Chimayo. Their Chili Colorado is allsome. I'd second the recommendation on Pascual's. Good stuff.
Our favorite restaurant is Guadalupe Cafe at 422 Old Santa Fe Trail. 10,000 Waves is fun, but pricey. Driving up to Hyde park.
We used to hit the logging trails like mentioned above. They rotated the trails every year or so. This is so that none would be too eroded. I am sure they have a local club with the best trails and their degrees of difficulty listed. I'd google and see what I came up w/ if I were you. No need to go to Taos just to ride. There is a host of things to do up there too. Enjoy. Breathe deep.
I know I am about to give a horrible description, but what is the name of the restaurant that is on the Rio Grande about 30 min or so past Santa Fe towards Taos - maybe it is around Espanola on the Rio Grande? It is right on the river and is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It had outdoor seating if I remember right and perhaps it was an old train depot.
That place was closed in March. I don't know if it was permanently, or if they just hadn't opened for summer yet.
Hiked near Jemez Springs at a place called Battleship Rock, yesterday. It was pretty nice - They have a couple "warm" springs about 2.5 mi in and a waterfall about 4mi in. Good fishing around there too. Drove by some caldera which is about 14 mi wide and is the site of where the tallest volcano once sat (estimated at 70,000 ft. which is over 3 times higher than mt. everest. A disney movie titled WIld Hogs with John Travolta was being filmed nearby. I might meet him because he is staying in the same place that I am. I did meet Vic Damone if anyone here knows who that is.
Today we went mtn biking near taos after a meal at Michael's Kitchen. From town we went about 12mi on 64 and then up 437. We biked about 20mi along the mtn.. ridge. Beautiful scenery. Very green. Wild Flowers were in bloom. Huge aspen grove. Nice.
I'm not comparing it to anyplace else, just throwing the name out because we enjoy staying there... El Paradero It is not as centrally located as La Fonda.
Wifey and I love La Fonda. Call or email for the availability of the special packages--excellent value!
if you want to find singletrack to ride trails.com and dirtworld are decent. I'd recommend posting a query in the sprocket rockets forum at tetongravity.com for the Taos/NM residents to reply to.
There are thousands of houses to be rented for the same price as a hotel. Many with hot tubs. Lots of B&B's as well. Inn at the Loretto, El Dorado, Inn of the Anasazi, Bishop's Lodge to name a few other hotels. I've always satyed in houses. For 15 years we stayed in a house off Canyon on Camino del Monte Sol for Christmas. If you go to 10,000 waves for a massage do it the first night. If you wait a day or two you will have gas from the altitude and food and won't be able to relax for fear of fumigating the room. They have a couples massage that is really reasonable. Santa Fe only has about 75 restaurants worth trying 3 or 4 times. My wife and I made 8 restaurants in 3 days one March about 10 years ago.
Just got back from another great Santa Fe visit. Restaurants from this trip: Geronimo (unbelievable! very, very expensive, but honestly worth every penny); Celebrations (excellent lunch spot on Canyon rd.); Pink Adobe (only food disapointment of the trip; heard from multiple folks that food has taken turn for the worse; good bar scene; excellent staff, but food was blah; more overpriced than typical santa fe); Pasquals (my first time and i loved it; best breakfast in a long time, make sure you try the durango omelette); Stayed at LaFonda as usual. Didn't mention this in my previous post, but LaFonda has seen better times. Kind of kitschy, but considering location, overall feel and the fact that we only paid $150 a night on a weekend, I don't think there is a better hotel to stay at in SF. If you have the money to spend, try Inn of Anasazi (sp?) or ElDorado, they are top-notch.
Here's a second on Pasquals. We also like La Choza, which is New Mexican food at a reasonable price . It is near the intersetion of Cerrillos and ST Francis. It is about a block N and a block W of that intersection
Pasqual's is top drawer...one of the best breakfasts I've ever had -- Smoked Trout Hash with eggs. We also enjoyed The Shed, Julian's and a little local place on San Francisco Street called Tia Sophia's that is only open for breakfast and lunch...OUTSTANDING lunch specials and the best Green Chile Stew we had on our trip.
77, on behalf of my family and friends in Santa Fe...Damn you. Damn you for posting about La Choza. The fewer tourists the better. Let 'em think they know what is good and go to the restaurants that they are steered towards like cattle, the ones the locals don't like to go to. Damn you!
