Santa Fe New Mexico Holidays

Santa Fe, New Mexico Holidays

Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital, sits in the Sangre de Cristo foothills. It’s renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture and as a creative arts hotbed. Founded as a Spanish colony in 1610, it has at its heart the traditional Plaza. The surrounding historic district’s crooked streets wind past adobe landmarks including the Palace of the Governors, now home to the New Mexico History Museum.

Santa Fe holidays

Today, Santa Fe is recognized as one of the most intriguing urban environments in the nation, due largely to the city’s preservation of historic buildings and a modern zoning code, passed in 1958, that mandates the city’s distinctive Spanish-Pueblo style of architecture, based on the adobe (mud and straw) and wood construction of the past. Also preserved are the traditions of the city’s rich cultural heritage which helps make Santa Fe one of the country’s most diverse and fascinating places to visit.

San Miguel Chapel nearby is said to be the country's oldest church. The city’s vibrant art scene encompasses endless galleries along Canyon Road and institutions such as the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, celebrating the namesake painter. The Museum of International Folk-Art displays vast international collections, while the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is devoted to Southwestern Native American heritage. Local culinary specialties include enchiladas topped with red and green chili. Outside town, Bandelier National Monument protects 33,000 acres of canyon and mesa country, including ancient Anasazi (Native American) ruins.