Santa Fe Tourist Attractions

Santa Fe Opera Chapel Staircase Film Festival Art Galleries

Santa Fe, New Mexico offers a variety of interesting museums, historical landmarks, fun attractions, and things to do for the whole family to enjoy. From historic churches to spectacular mountain skiing, hiking and biking, interesting museums, art galleries, and much more, Santa Fe offers a variety of fun attractions that are sure to make your vacation in New Mexico a memorable one. The Santa Fe Luxury Inn is centrally located in Santa Fe, just a few minutes away from some of the best attractions in the area. Stay with us and enjoy a wide range of exciting indoor and outdoor recreational activities, family attractions, local entertainment, and tasty regional cuisine just a few minutes away from our budget hotel.

Santa Fe Opera. The Santa Fe Opera offers standard as well as innovative new opera performances, including a summer opera festival at the dramatic Adobe Theater in Santa Fe. Individual tickets range from $26-$180. Visit http://www.santafeopera.org/ for ticket availability and schedule.

Loretto Chapel. Located in Santa Fe, the Loretto Chapel is a Gothic Revival style chapel designed by French architect, Antoine Mouly. With its stunning stained glass windows, impressive buttresses and spires, the chapel resembles the Sainte-Chapelle church in Paris and attracts visitors from around the world to climb its famous staircase. www.lorettochapel.com.  [Top]

Loretto Chapel Staircase. Shrouded in mystery, the Loretto Chapel staircase was said to have been built by a single, nameless man over a three-month period. Constructed out of non-native wood, the spiral staircase ascends twenty feet and 33 steps, without the use of glue, nails or center support. Some historians believe the staircase was built by Francois-Jean Rochas, a French artisan, but there is no absolute evidence supporting this fact. www.lorettochapel.com.

Santuario de Chimayo Church. Known as the “Lourdes of America,” the Santuario de Chimayo is a sanctuary for prayer and meditation and home to the legendary Crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. Legend says that in 1810, Don Bernardo was drawn to a light shining in the ground. Digging with his hands, he found a Crucifix and sent for the priest. The priest carried it to the local church, but in the morning the crucifix was gone and found in its original location. The priest attempted to bring the Crucifix back two more times, but it always returned to the place it was found. So, a small chapel was built and the legend spread. Open daily, 9am-4pm Oct-Apr, 9am-5pm Jun-Sept. Masses held daily at 11am Jun-Sept, 7am Oct-May. Sunday Mass held at 12 noon year ‘round. http://www.archdiocesesantafe.org/AboutASF/Chimayo.html.  [Top]

Santa Fe Film Festival. The Santa Fe Film Festival highlights New Mexican, American and foreign films in a non-commercial setting in late November and early December each year. Offering more than 200 films and 80 educational programs over five days, the Santa Fe Film Festival attracts more than 7,000 annual attendees. Tickets range from $10 for individual films to $450 for an all-inclusive Festival pass. www.santafefilmfestival.com

Santa Fe School of Cooking. The internationally acclaimed Santa Fe School of Cooking offers Southwest cooking classes focusing on New Mexican, Mexican, Native American, and Spanish cuisine. Cooking classes are taught by top Santa Fe chefs throughout the year. Call (800) 982-4688 or Visit www.santafeschoolofcooking.com for class schedules and fees.  [Top]

Santa Fe Art Galleries. As an important art center, Santa Fe is renowned for its Southwestern landscape painting and traditional Native American crafts. But, this vibrant city also offers a wide range of other styles of arts and crafts, from glass to Asian art to photography, for connoisseurs of every genre to enjoy. www.santafegalleries.net

Palace of the Governors. Located on the Plaza in Santa Fe, the Palace of the Governors is the oldest public building in the US. Made from adobe, this historic structure was originally built in 1610 and served as the Spanish seat of government as well as the first state Capitol. Now a popular museum, the Palace of the Governors houses a permanent collection of Spanish, Mexican, and state exhibits and artifacts. Open Tues-Sun, 10am-5pm, with free daily docent tours. www.palaceofthegovernors.org

Abiquiu Ghost Ranch. The Abiquiu Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre retreat run by the Presbyterian Church. Made famous by painter Georgia O’Keefe, the Ghost Ranch is also well known from the spectacular 1885 discovery of over 1,000 dinosaur fossils in the area and the stunning sandstone cliffs and rock formations that attract visitors from around the world. www.ghostranch.org.  [Top]