There is something for every kind of tourist in the City Different. Whether you’re just in town for the weekend or want to spend a few weeks seeing America’s second-oldest city doesn’t matter. We have put up a two-day itinerary for Santa Fe, including the best of what the city offers. The city of Santa Fe is best explored in its numerous forms, from the outdoors to the adobe buildings.
Day 1
Historic Downtown Santa Fe
Take a stroll around Santa Fe’s historic downtown on your first day there. Here is where you’ll discover many of the city’s historic landmarks, and exploring them can help you acquire a feel for Santa Fe, New Mexico. First, stop by Iconik Coffee Roasters off Guadalupe Street for breakfast and coffee. With their excellent espresso and streamlined menu, you’ll get the energy you need to see everything that Santa Fe has to offer.
The historic Santa Fe Plaza is one of downtown’s must-see cultural attractions. The famous town square is laid out in a traditional Spanish manner, and it is not uncommon to see singers and artists performing under the shade of the trees and near the fountain. You may stop at any eateries or art spaces along the perimeter. One of the most impressive sights on a stroll through Santa Fe’s historic city is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis. This cathedral from the Victorian period was begun in the 1800s but was never completed due to a lack of funding, leaving its two elaborate towers unbuilt.
International Folk Art Market
The International Folk Art Market (IFAM) aims to help folk artists all around the globe make a living while also promoting and preserving their own folk art traditions. This allows you to appreciate the handiwork of artisans and maintains cultural traditions while promoting folk artists’ activity. The next iteration of the festival, in which you may take part as either a spectator or a performer, is scheduled for July 2021.
Spanish Market & Indian Market
The final week of July is when the annual Spanish Market is held. More than two hundred and fifty artists from the area will be presenting their work. They sell various handiworks, including carvings, paintings, tin can art, silver jewelry, and more. Guests will gather in and around the Plaza de Santa Fe, a plaza that has been used for four centuries.
Taking part in the Indian Market will be possible in August. This is a chance to meet the creators behind today’s Indian art and culture.
Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta
Some of the top Santa Fe excursions, like the Taste of Santa Fe Wine and Lunch Tour and the Join-In Wine Tour, constantly run throughout the year. However, planning your trip to Santa Fe around September, you may partake in the regional celebration. Every year in September, Santa Fe has a five-day festival celebrating the city’s wine and chile producers. Therefore, if you want to enjoy some of the best food in the world, you should schedule your vacation to Santa Fe around the time of the Wine and Chile Fiesta.
The Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta also features over 90 wineries from throughout the nation, 75 of Santa Fe’s finest restaurants, and the one-of-a-kind customs and traditions from northern New Mexico.
Day 2
Railyard District
Located south of Santa Fe’s primary tourist circuit, the Railyard District is a hip neighborhood worth checking out. The park’s focus is Railyard Park, a reclaimed space with pleasant walkways and places to sit for outdoor get-togethers. This area’s abundance of cafés and coffee shops makes it a great place to spend the morning of your second day in Santa Fe. Take a photo in front of the abandoned train decorated with the New Mexico flag.
Visit on a Saturday if you can, since this is when Santa Fe’s famed farmers market takes place, and you’ll get to enjoy some of the most incredible produce and goods in the nation because they’re fresh and in season and because they’re made using ingredients that are unique to the area. Fruits and vegetables you’ve never seen before and snacks and delectable regional foods will abound.
Perhaps you would like to try the Native American cuisine at Amaya for brunch. Inside the city’s only Native American-owned hotel, the Hotel Santa Fe. In a pinch, you can pick up some delicious locally made bread and pastries from Sage Bakehouse or dine there. If you’re in the neighborhood around lunchtime, you can’t miss a meal of New Mexican food at La Choza. It’s the less formal sibling of the popular downtown restaurant The Shed and boasts far shorter wait times.
Zozorba Burn Him Festival
The Santa Fe Fiesta, which began as a religious celebration in 1712, has evolved to include a Fine Arts and Crafts Market, historical reenactments, and the Zozobra – Burn Him Festival, in which a marionette measuring 50 feet in height is set on fire. Since it was first done in 1924, Santa Fe has made it an annual custom to burn a 50-foot-tall effigy of Zozobra, Old Man Gloom.
Because it is a smaller regional airport, flights to Santa Fe may be more costly than those to larger cities. You may skip renting a vehicle if you don’t want to by taking one of the several shuttles that run daily between the ABQ airport and Santa Fe. Lastly, read more about travel around the world here.
