The City Different

Overview

Quote:

Santa Fe is an entity unto itself, or as Santa Feans put it, they are the City Different. Its expensive, charming, artsy, pretentious and unlike anything else on earth. It’s so different, that it has set its own style. Adobe houses, decorative pierced tin, rustic furniture, turquoise and silver, and broomstick skirts have made their way from this beautiful city halfway between mountain and desert to the four corners of the world. It’s not Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Anglo. It’s just Santa Fe. Anything goes here. Food? What do you want? Cheeseburgers or fried squash blossoms? Vegetarian or exotic game? Clothes? The more extravagant, wild, different, crazy the be...Read More

Santa Fe is an entity unto itself, or as Santa Feans put it, they are the City Different. Its expensive, charming, artsy, pretentious and unlike anything else on earth. It’s so different, that it has set its own style. Adobe houses, decorative pierced tin, rustic furniture, turquoise and silver, and broomstick skirts have made their way from this beautiful city halfway between mountain and desert to the four corners of the world. It’s not Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Anglo. It’s just Santa Fe.

Anything goes here. Food? What do you want? Cheeseburgers or fried squash blossoms? Vegetarian or exotic game? Clothes? The more extravagant, wild, different, crazy the better, all layered with turquoise jewelry. Art? Everything from the ubiquitous howling coyotes to priceless antiques. You can find just about anything you're looking for here.

Quick Tips:

The first thing you need to do is get a copy of the "Original Santa Fe and Canyon Road Walking Map." Its a large-scale picture map of the center of old Santa Fe with all the places you'll want to visit - sites, museums, shops. And, its free at most hotels and many shops.

The second thing you need to do is get off the Plaza. You don't have to go far to get away from the tourists. Wander up the narrow roads. Be a little adventurous and you'll find shaded neighborhoods, quiet restaurants, and interesting shops. Peek into courtyards. Summer gardens are spectacular and many boast fabulous sculpture.

Night life here is limited. Best bet is to get a copy of the Santa Fe Reporter and check the back page for what music is being played where.

Rule of thumb for shopping and dining - the further from the Plaza the more reasonable the price.

Best Way To Get Around:

Restaurants, shops, galleries and historic sites are all within a few blocks of the Plaza. Since the traffic is always terrible, park the car and get out and walk. There are dozens of public parking areas, though you'll have to pay and it runs about per day. Read Less

Cheer!
Flag

Mañana Restaurant and Bar

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Manana"

Quote:

This is one of my favorite lunch spots, primarily because it is rarely crowded and the food is consistently good and reasonably priced. It also has a great deal of charm, which is surprising because it’s a hotel restaurant (it’s part of the Inn of the Governors and just a couple of blocks from the Plaza). They have a beautiful courtyard where you can dine year round, as long as you grab a table near the kiva fireplace in the winter months. High walls, covered in vines and murals, separate you from bustling Water Street, providing a private garden where you can linger with friends over food and wine. The dining room is very southwestern, with pale adobe walls, kiva fireplaces, southwestern furnitur...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Mañana Restaurant and Bar
101 West Alameda
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 982 4333

Cheer!
Flag

La Plazuela at the La Fonda

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "La Plazuela"

La Plazuela Photo - La Plazuela at the La Fonda, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

Eating here is like eating inside a kaleidoscope. It’s sort of Mexican, sort of Southwestern, and very colorful. All four walls of the large room off the lobby of La Fonda Hotel, are made of glass, as it the ceiling. While the ceiling is shaded against the hot sun, the walls, divided into window panes, are painted in simple designs and primary colors, much like the windows D.H. Lawrence painted for Mable Dodge Luhan. Ficus trees are draped in strings of tiny white lights and the furniture is heavy, dark, and ornately carved. We had breakfast here. The menu is small and everything has a southwestern twist, even the Eggs Benedict which comes with sauteed tomatillos (they look like l...Read More

Eating here is like eating inside a kaleidoscope. It’s sort of Mexican, sort of Southwestern, and very colorful. All four walls of the large room off the lobby of La Fonda Hotel, are made of glass, as it the ceiling. While the ceiling is shaded against the hot sun, the walls, divided into window panes, are painted in simple designs and primary colors, much like the windows D.H. Lawrence painted for Mable Dodge Luhan. Ficus trees are draped in strings of tiny white lights and the furniture is heavy, dark, and ornately carved.

We had breakfast here. The menu is small and everything has a southwestern twist, even the Eggs Benedict which comes with sauteed tomatillos (they look like little green tomatoes, but have a sharp almost citrus taste) and Hollandaise sauce with cilantro, one of the basic ingredients in local cuisine.

You can order traditional huevos rancheros (eggs served on a tortilla with beans), breakfast burritos, and my choice – Huevos Oaxacas – scrambled eggs with roasted tomato salsa, tiny strips of fried tostadas, poblano chile (a mild chile) and served with black beans and potatoes and tortillas. When the food arrived, it looked as good as it tasted, served on brightly colored plates that pulled their hues from the painted windows. The atmosphere is relaxed and the tables are set far enough apart that you aren’t in everyone else’s conversation. Service was excellent and the price not out of line for Santa Fe.

The La Fonda is a landmark in Santa Fe and even if you don’t stay or eat here, you should walk around the public areas. They have quite a large collection of original art, and even keep a resident artist on staff (the current one did the windows in the restaurant). There are also several shops in the hotel, all a notch above the usual tourist fare you usually find in hotel shops.

There has been a fonda or inn in Santa Fe since the early 17th century when the town was just a dusty outpost on El Camino Real. Over the years it has hosted what sounds like a who’s who of the old west: Sheriff Pat Garrett, Kit Carson, Governor Lew Wallace (he wrote Ben Hur), Archbishop Lamy, and Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman.

La Plazuela is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 26, 2002

La Plazuela at the La Fonda
100 East San Francisco
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 982 5511

Cheer!
Flag

Farol

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "El Farol"

Quote:

El Farol is noted for its tapas and its music. Located on the upper end of Canyon Road, it has a long porch where you can sit and people watch in warm weather. If you want a little more quiet, there is a patio in the back and a room with windows that open onto the patio, as well as two small dining rooms. It also has a public parking area right across the street, making life a whole lot easier for those of us with cars. Its open for lunch and dinner, but its claim to fame, other than the tapas, it its rep as an upscale local nightspot – for upscale you can insert expensive. You can get a regular meal or order hot or cold tapas. I had the one of the tapas sampler platters, a selec...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on March 28, 2002

Farol
808 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 983 9912

Cheer!
Flag

Vanessie of Santa Fe

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Vanessie Photo - Vanessie of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

While there is quite a bit of theater and concerts during the year, there seems a limited amount of "nightlife" in Santa Fe, considering it is such a tourist town. The one place friends kept insisting was THE place to go is the piano bar at Vanessie. I'd been here for dinner – its an upscale steakhouse with steak, chicken, lamb, and seafood done very well – and I'd been there for wedding receptions, but never for the music. The piano bar is very local in clientele, more so than some because it's just west of the tourist route on San Francisco. High ceilings and lots of contemporary art on the walls and, in winter, fires in the fireplace. The pianists are great, th...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on March 30, 2002

Vanessie of Santa Fe
434 West Water St
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 982 9966

Cheer!
Flag

French Pastry Shop & Restaurant

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The French Pastry Shop "

Quote:

Tired of chile and beans? You’re in luck. There is a little French bakery and café on E. San Francisco, just steps from the Cathedral. Crowded tables, enticing case of pastries, gorgeous baguettes, quiches a mile high, crepes for a meal or filled with fresh fruits to end one. We settled down at a heavy wooden table for two in the back and sipped coffee and nibbled croissants while the world bustled by outside windows draped in Provençal-patterned fabric. Inside no one seemed to be in a hurry. Patrons were settled in behind newspapers, read books, sipped coffee or worked their way through pastries. There is quite a good menu chalked on a board behind the counter a...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 31, 2002

French Pastry Shop & Restaurant
La Fonda Hotel
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 983-6697

Cheer!
Flag

Guadalupe Cafe

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The Guadalupe Cafe"

Guadalupe Cafe Photo - Guadalupe Cafe, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

If the legislature is in session, you’ll find a few politicos amid the locals at The Guadalupe Café (it sits right next to the State Capital). Housed in a small adobe, it has the added attraction of actually having off-street parking behind the restaurant. The draw for me, other than the food, is the patio where you can sit and watch Santa Fe pass by. The interior, which has three smallish rooms, can get a bit crowded. The tables are tiny and closely spaced, to the point where it’s hard to wedge yourself in, which is why I usually go in summer and eat outdoors. The food is Southwestern, and there are warnings all over the menu that the chile is hot and since it is an integral ingred...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 30, 2002

Guadalupe Cafe
422 Old Santa Fe TRL
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 982-9762

Cheer!
Flag

Plaza Restaurant

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:

It’s kitsch with the look of a 50's diner. The food is good, the servings large, and the hot coffee just keeps coming. The Plaza Restaurant, which has been in this prime spot on the Plaza since 1918 (and, I was told, under the same family management since 1948), serves local food to local people – the kind like you and me who have to work for a living – though tourists do find their way here. The no nonsense décor includes a choice of red vinyl booths, a long low counter with silvery stools also covered in said red vinyl (alas, they don’t swivel – I tried) or, our choice, tiny tables for two wedged between the booths and the counter. The clientele is a mix of the th...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 21, 2002

Plaza Restaurant
54 Lincoln Avenue
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 982 1664

Cheer!
Flag

Celebrations

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Celebrations Photo - Celebrations, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

After a morning of gallery cruising on Canyon Road, one needs sustenance. We found ourselves about halfway down Canyon Road when hunger overcame cravings for art. Fortuntely, Celebrations was only a few paces away. Like many restaurants in Santa Fe, Celebrations is housed in an old adobe house with more charm than room, or as I like to think of it- cozy. The dining areas consist of a small room filled with linen covered tables, a smaller room filled with same, and a small bar with an exceptionally good wine list. There is also a patio and even though we were there on a blustery March day, the clear plastic covering the open sides and the crackling piñon fire in the...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 21, 2002

Celebrations
613 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 989 8904

Cheer!
Flag

Madrid

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Madrid Photo - Madrid, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

Madrid (that’s MAD drid) is a kick. It’s a wide spot on the Turquoise Trail, a bit north of halfway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The hippie influence of the 70s is still far more in evidence than its roots as a company town for the coal mines. Black tailings on the hills and a few tumbledown miners’ row houses are still in evidence, but most of the old wooden buildings have been renovated for shops, artists’ studios and eateries. You can find a variety of hand made items here – from to weavings to pottery to paintings. Tired with shopping? Stop by the Mine Shaft Tavern for a brew or catch a melodrama at the Engine House Theater (they used to repair locomotives here) and throw marshmallows at the ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 8, 2000

Madrid
Turquoise Trail
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Cheer!
Flag

Zozobra / Old Man Gloom

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Zozobra"

Quote:

I usually avoid festivals in Santa Fe because I really don’t like crowds. I do, however, make exception for an autumn ritual called the Burning of Zozobra that takes place every September. The event is still more local that touristy. The first time I went, I found it awesome and a little spooky, like slipping back a few centuries and witnessing the remnants of a pagan festival glossed over by Christianity. Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, is a fifty-foot marionette that is burned in effigy every year to dispel all the bad things that have happened in the past year. We usually go early to stake out a place to sit on the grass and have a picnic dinner while we wait for dark with the thousands of o...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 31, 2000

Zozobra / Old Man Gloom
Ft. Marcy Park
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Cheer!
Flag

Santa Fe Opera

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Quote:

Puccini didn’t write your favorite tunes? Get over it. The Santa Fe Opera is such a spectacle that even if opera is not your style, you should not miss a chance to go. Let’s start with the setting. The opera house sits on a hilltop north of Santa Fe. Until recently, there was a partial roof over the theater so you could watch the stars move overhead during the production. The fact that the opera season coincides with the monsoon season, made them rethink the design. The opera now has a complete roof, but still no sides. The surrounding hills are covered in pine forests and the night sky is filled with stars. I’ve seen productions where the only backdrop is the trees and the stars. Most of ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 31, 2000

Santa Fe Opera
U.S. Highway 84 / 285
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
(505) 986-5955

Cheer!
Flag

Jackalope

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Browser's Paradise Photo - Jackalope, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

Going to Santa Fe? Go to Jackalope. I’ve dragged my share of visiting friends here. The place covers an acre or so on Cerrillos Road and is something between a flea market, antique store, and a third-world crafts fair. They have stuff you didn’t know you needed, from hand-carved doors to rustic furniture to pottery. The store is comprised of several buildings, with aisles so filled with merchandize that you can barely walk through them. Tucked into corners, you can often find the artisans working on their creations, be it intricately carved gourds, fanciful figurines, or white Oaxacan dresses being edged with flower gardens created with needle and thread. Several of these crafts people, who com...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 25, 2001

Jackalope
2820 Cerrillos Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
+1 505 471 8539

Cheer!
Flag

Canyon Road

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Canyon Road Photo - Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

Canyon Road is said to be the oldest street in Santa Fe. It is certainly the most famous and in summer tourists swarm up and down the narrow road, completely clogging the traffic. Its claim to fame is the cluster of galleries, sprinkled here and there with restaurants. Most shops are housed in old adobes, some over 200 years old. Gardens shaded by cottonwoods are a riot of flowers in spring and summer. There is a great deal of traditional sculpture and painting here, but there is also a lot of whimsy like the kinetic sculptures outside one gallery or the life-size stone dog just inside the door of another, holding a biscuit on his nose to share with any warm blooded companion brav...Read More

Canyon Road is said to be the oldest street in Santa Fe. It is certainly the most famous and in summer tourists swarm up and down the narrow road, completely clogging the traffic. Its claim to fame is the cluster of galleries, sprinkled here and there with restaurants. Most shops are housed in old adobes, some over 200 years old. Gardens shaded by cottonwoods are a riot of flowers in spring and summer.

There is a great deal of traditional sculpture and painting here, but there is also a lot of whimsy like the kinetic sculptures outside one gallery or the life-size stone dog just inside the door of another, holding a biscuit on his nose to share with any warm blooded companion brave enough to venture into his domain. My personal favorite was the jackrabbit the size of a Percheron tucked into a tiny courtyard.

Much of the art is displayed outdoors and sculpture gardens fill courtyards and portals all along the Road. Side roads and courtyards lead to more galleries and more sculpture gardens. Don’t miss the little cottage garden tucked behind the Historic Santa Fe Foundation (its on the left as you walk up Canyon Road). It is a recreation of the garden originally planted by Adolph Bandelier (as in Bandelier National Monument) in the 19th century and boasts a peony bush a century old!

I usually have no plans when I come here. Whatever catches my fancy is where I head to marvel at what the creative mind can do. This trip, I stopped in one of the older houses, drawn by the sign on the door that suggested I push hard as the old door sticks. So I did and found myself inside a long, narrow house with wide wooden floorboards that creaked as I walked from room to room among the gloriously distressed antique furniture from Colonial Mexico and Spain. Such a perfect setting for such beautiful pieces.

Most galleries, however, have a more modern look – enlarged rooms, white washed walls, sparse displays. The art here is eclectic and most of it very interesting and creative. The galleries tend to have a lot of sculpture and paintings, though you will find glass, pottery, fiber art, wearable art, tribal rugs, antiques, collectables, posters, cards, furniture. The further up the road you walk the more scattered the galleries tend to be. Though most prices are frightening, there are a few items in the smaller shops that are actually affordable.

Maps of Canyon Road galleries and their specialities are available at most hotels and galleries in town. Pick one up before you head out and plan to spend at least two hours wandering. Do stop for coffee or lunch, especially if the restaurant has a patio or portal where you can sit and keep an eye on what’s going on in the street. In The City Different, people-watching is part of the fun. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 21, 2002

Canyon Road
100 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 983 7317

Cheer!
Flag

San Miguel Mission

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction | "San Miguel Church"

the Oldest Church in the US Photo - San Miguel Mission, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

When you consider the glorious cathedrals of Medieval Europe, this little church, said to be the oldest in the States, is not very impressive. However, the plain adobe walls, originally built in 1610 and shored up in the 19th century with massive stone buttresses, enclose a charming interior filled with uniquely southwestern artifacts. It's well worth the dollar it will cost you to get in. It’s open the to public and on Sundays you can attend Mass here. During the rest of the time, a continuously played 6-minute tape gives you an overview of the historic pieces inside the long, narrow church. Built in 1610, by the Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico, the roof was burned during the 1680 ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on March 28, 2002

San Miguel Mission
401 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 983 3974

Cheer!
Flag

Shidoni

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Shidoni Photo - Shidoni, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

I’ve always been intrigued with the physical process of art as well as the creative. To see how the bronze sculptures you see all over Santa Fe were made, we headed 10 miles north of the Plaza to to Shidoni. Shidoni, which is a Navajo greeting to a friend, is one of the premier art foundrys in the States. Georgia O’Keefe had her bronzes cast here (yes, she did sculptures), as did Allan Houser, who’s work can be seen all over Santa Fe, and hundreds of others. Their list of projects is impressive – life sized horses for the racetrack in Lexington, KY; Civil War Veterans tribute at Gettysburg, etc., etc. We went up on a Saturday when the foundry is open for self-guided tours to see...Read More

I’ve always been intrigued with the physical process of art as well as the creative. To see how the bronze sculptures you see all over Santa Fe were made, we headed 10 miles north of the Plaza to to Shidoni. Shidoni, which is a Navajo greeting to a friend, is one of the premier art foundrys in the States. Georgia O’Keefe had her bronzes cast here (yes, she did sculptures), as did Allan Houser, who’s work can be seen all over Santa Fe, and hundreds of others. Their list of projects is impressive – life sized horses for the racetrack in Lexington, KY; Civil War Veterans tribute at Gettysburg, etc., etc.

We went up on a Saturday when the foundry is open for self-guided tours to see how an artist’s original becomes a bronze statue. At the entrance to the 8-acre spread of buildings and sculpture gardens is one of the larger than life equstrian pieces poured here. The sculpture garden, about the size of a football field, is filled with other examples of Shidoni pourings - African animals, abstract pieces, whimsical birds pecking at the ground, bronze children playing, even aeolian pieces softly creating music in the wind.

In front of the building at the back of the garden is another, more intimate garden filled with smaller sculptures. From here you can enter one of the two galleries and the foundry itself. We picked up a brochure, detailing the ten steps from original to mounted bronze, watched the short video on how these processes are done, then started the tour through the 14,000 square foot foundry. Even though no work was being done at the time, you could still small hot metal, dust and wax in the air. If you want to see hands-on examples, you can watch a bronze pour on Saturdays.

You can also take a self-guided tour during the week, usually between 12 and 1. The gardens and the galleries are open to the public all week, and the work is really beautiful. I rarely see pieces I would like to have, but here I found three or four I would like to own if my purse would stretch that far.

Shidoni is well worth a stop, even if all you do is walk through the gardens and galleries. If you do want to watch a pouring or take a tour during the week, call ahead to verify times. You can even bring a lunch and sit on one of their picnic tables. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 28, 2002

Shidoni
1508 Bishops Lodge Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87574
(505) 988-8001

Cheer!
Flag

Santa Fe Children's Museum

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Rock Climbing Lessons Photo - Santa Fe Children's Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

If I were under the age of eight, I would probably want to move in here. It's not so much a museum as a huge playground. There is a wall to climb; bubbles the size of basketballs to make with huge hoops; a loom just ready for a weaver to create a multicolored tapestry from the handy box filled with cotton scraps; a quiet room filled with paper, glue, and stuff for a one-of-a-kind collage. Outside, kids can dig for earth worms, play with rats (Blossom was actually a very elegant little rat in her black and white fur, which when I was there, she was thoroughly cleaning with tiny pink feet), cuddle with guinea pigs or lop earred rabbits, play oversized musical instruments -- the list of things to...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 30, 2002

Santa Fe Children's Museum
1050 Old Pecos Trail
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
+1 505 989 8359

Cheer!
Flag

Loretto Chapel

Attraction

Quote:

The Loretto Chapel is an absolute gem of a place. Tall and narrow like Saint-Chapelle in Paris after which it was modeled, its gothic touches – spires, ornate moldings, and even a rose window – stands out in this adobe town. The stained glass which fills the small chapel with beautiful light was made in Paris and brought the last leg of its journey along the Santa Fe Trail. It’s claim to fame, however, is the "Miraculous Staircase" and its mysterious origins. In the mid-19th century, Archbishop Lamy brought an order of nuns (the Sisters of Loretto) west to establish a girls school. The chapel was built with a choir loft, but no access to it other than the suggestion that they use ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 30, 2002

Loretto Chapel
207 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 982-0092

Cheer!
Flag

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Museum of Indian Arts and Culture"

Beautiful exhibits - beautiful view Photo - Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

I visited the museum to see the display of pottery by Maria Martinez, the San Ildefonso potter famous for her black-on-black work. I was, however, charmed by the entire museum and the subtle way the art and culture of the Pueblo Indians was presented. The feel is very open, almost sparce. The pottery exhibits, Maria’s (which was punctuated with photographs and biographical notes about her work) and the permanent exhibit in the next room which covered all the Pueblos with examples of their works from about 600 to the present is presented in large glass cases set against the walls of the room, leaving the center open. It gives you a sense, not only of space, but of being surrounded b...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 30, 2002

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
710 Camino Lejo
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
+1 505 982 4636; +1

Cheer!
Flag

Santuario De Chimayo

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction | "El Santuario de Chimayo"

Chimayo Photo - Santuario De Chimayo, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

The Santuario is a beautiful old adobe church (built in 1816) and one of the most recognizable landmarks in New Mexico, thanks to hundreds of paintings and photographs of its exterior. It is also one of the most revered and has acquired the nickname "Lourdes of New Mexico". We were here a week before Easter and the roadsides were already crowded with people making the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario. Some walked alone, some in groups, some carried crosses, others swigged long-neck beers. Now and again, we spotted a pair of porta-potties along the roadside. By Good Friday, the trickle of pilgrims walking from Santa Fe and Española would swell to thousands making their way to Chimay...Read More

The Santuario is a beautiful old adobe church (built in 1816) and one of the most recognizable landmarks in New Mexico, thanks to hundreds of paintings and photographs of its exterior. It is also one of the most revered and has acquired the nickname "Lourdes of New Mexico".

We were here a week before Easter and the roadsides were already crowded with people making the annual pilgrimage to El Santuario. Some walked alone, some in groups, some carried crosses, others swigged long-neck beers. Now and again, we spotted a pair of porta-potties along the roadside. By Good Friday, the trickle of pilgrims walking from Santa Fe and Española would swell to thousands making their way to Chimayo.

It is a small church and the inside has heavy, carved vigas supporting the ceiling, carved pews, a beautifully painted alter screen, and retablos throughout the church. We were there during Mass, and the church was filled to capacity and then some as pilgrims crowded the courtyard outside the main doors.

The focus of the annual pilgrimage is the healing powers that comes from dirt taken from a small hole in the ground behind the alter. Early in the 19th century a local friar saw light burst from a hillside wherein was found a crucifix. Each time the crucifix was taken to a nearby church, it reappeared in the hole where it was found. Eventually, the friar caught on and the crucifix remains Chimayo, but it is the dirt from the pit where the cross was found, that seems to have the powers to heal, as is evidenced by the room near the alter filled with crutches no longer needed by their owners.

The church is well worth a detour off the main highway. Chimayo is one of the little towns on the High Road to Taos (think The Milagro Beanfield War which was filmed a bit further north in Truchas). Once you turn off Hwy 285, the road winds its way through the cottonwoods, giving up glimpses of adobe houses along the way. Then you turn a corner, come out of the trees, and the whole world is spread before you. This is the New Mexico landscape I just adore. Red earth, sculpted by the wind of eons, hills blending in series until they disappear on the horizon dotted with the dark green of juniper and piñon.

There is a small gift shop outside the church and a taco and burger place, though I’d recommend going down the street to Rancho de Chimayo for a meal. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 26, 2002

Santuario De Chimayo
Chimayo
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Cheer!
Flag

Tesuque Market

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Tesuque is just north of the Plaza Photo - Tesuque Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

The center of town. One stop sign, three roads leading north, south, and south (again) with a triangle of dirt in the middle barely big enough to hold the stop sign. Off to one side is a rambling building sporting a sign that says Tesuque Market and Restaurant. There’s a porch with picnic tables on it (that’s the restaurant), a few cars (its early yet), and couple of locals coming in for the morning paper. Hard to believe you're only a couple of miles from the Santa Fe Plaza. Several friends recommended I stop here and pick up a few picnic goodies for the day’s rambles north. From the Plaza, we followed Washington Avenue north until it became Bishop’s Lodge Road. A couple of mil...Read More

The center of town. One stop sign, three roads leading north, south, and south (again) with a triangle of dirt in the middle barely big enough to hold the stop sign. Off to one side is a rambling building sporting a sign that says Tesuque Market and Restaurant. There’s a porch with picnic tables on it (that’s the restaurant), a few cars (its early yet), and couple of locals coming in for the morning paper. Hard to believe you're only a couple of miles from the Santa Fe Plaza.

Several friends recommended I stop here and pick up a few picnic goodies for the day’s rambles north. From the Plaza, we followed Washington Avenue north until it became Bishop’s Lodge Road. A couple of miles out it takes a dip and becomes a winding, twisting road with hairpin turns and blind corners and, to add excitement, its barely two-lanes wide with no center stripe. Its also one of the prettiest drives in the area, tucked in amid the cottonwoods, which now and again part long enough to afford you a glimpse of everything from run down shacks to monumental adobe homes.

Inside the Market it is cramped and crowded with shelves and cases and people. There’s a deli case with delectible looking salads, meats, cheese, and cheesecake slices big enough to satisfy the Jolly Green Giant. A rack of locally baked bread that smelled like Heaven. In the back is another small room, also part of the restaurant. To the right, the building rambles off and is filled, surprise, surprise, with an extensive selection of wines, many of them local – yes New Mexico has quite a few wineries and some have excellent wines. Beyond that, another room with coolers for cheese, sodas, butter, etc. shelves of canned goods, etc. Didn’t take us long to put together a lunch and head out on the road north.

It might not have been crowded when we were there, but a few hours later, after lunch, we came back through this way and the place was packed. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 26, 2002

Tesuque Market
Us Highway 85
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 995-8626

Cheer!
Flag

Drive the Back Road - The Turquoise Trail

Best Of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Sunflowers along the Turquoise Trail Photo - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Quote:

This is the back road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and also goes under the name of North 14. The two-lane highway swings and curves around and through the Ortiz Mountains east of I-25 and is a gorgeous drive. I was up there in late July and bright yellow daisies lined the road as far as the eye could see. In spring and fall, the fields are covered in wildflowers and the views to the west are spectacular any time of year. There are three ex-ghost towns along the way. The first as you head south is Cerrillos. This tiny village with its pretty church under the cottonwood grove will be familiar to anyone who saw Young Guns. Madrid is a bit further south. Revitalized in the 70s, the town has gone f...Read More

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

Santa Fe Journals

Upload Photos