New Mexico Itinerary 7 Days: Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos by Car

About 1h30, free. It is 15 minutes by car from the airport. Albuquerque was founded on this plaza in 1706, and the adobe houses around it now hold silver and turquoise jewellery shops, galleries and restaurants.

On the north side stands San Felipe de Neri, built in 1793 to replace the original 1706 chapel and still holding daily Mass. Buy Native jewellery only where the seller tells you which Pueblo they are from: that is how you avoid imported pieces.

Quick stop, 20 minutes, free from outside. It is 2.5 km east of Old Town along Central Avenue, which has carried Route 66 since 1937; the highway turns 100 in 2026.

The theatre opened in 1927 in the Pueblo Deco style, a blend of Art Deco and Pueblo motifs. KiMo means king of its kind in the language of Isleta Pueblo. Carry on along Central for dinner downtown or in Nob Hill.

About 1h15. The park is free but the Boca Negra car park charges a fee; the area opens 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with last entry at 4 pm. It is 20 minutes by car west of Old Town.

The monument protects more than 25,000 images carved by Native people and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago on basalt boulders. Boca Negra has about 100 of them along three short trails; Mesa Point climbs to the top of the escarpment, with views of the Sandia Mountains. Go early: there is no shade.

About 1h30, 12 dollars on weekdays and 15 at weekends, open 9 am to 5 pm. It sits on your way, close to where I-25 meets I-40.

The center belongs to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and tells each one’s story in their own voice, through pottery, jewellery and everyday objects. At weekends there are traditional dances in the courtyard, included with admission. It is the best preparation for Taos Pueblo on Day 6. Then take I-25 to Santa Fe, about an hour.

About 1h15. The portal is free; the museum, part of the New Mexico History Museum, costs 12 dollars for out of state visitors, 10 am to 5 pm. Santa Fe sits above 2,100 metres: drink water and take the first day slowly.

The adobe palace was the seat of Spanish government from the early 17th century and fills one whole side of the Plaza. Under its portal, registered Native artisans sell jewellery and pottery they made themselves, each in a marked spot on the ground. It is the safest place in town to buy an authentic piece, straight from the maker.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, free. It is one block east of the Plaza, closing the view at the end of San Francisco Street.

The stone cathedral, in Romanesque Revival style, deliberately stands apart from the adobe around it: it was the work of the French archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy in the 19th century. Look for the statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint from North America, in the front garden.

About 1h30, 24 dollars, open daily 10 am to 5 pm. Book online, especially during Balloon Fiesta, when the museum extends its hours and fills up.

It holds the largest collection of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work in the world: the giant flowers, the desert bones and the red hills of Abiquiú, where she lived. It is three blocks west of the Plaza; walk back through the Plaza and head south for the two chapels.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, with a paid ticket at the door. It is two blocks south of the Plaza on the Old Santa Fe Trail.

The Gothic chapel was finished in 1878 with no way up to the choir loft, and the wooden spiral staircase that solved the problem makes two full turns with no central pole. Tradition says it was built by a carpenter who vanished without being paid.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, 7 dollars, card only. It opens 10 am to 3 pm Monday to Saturday and noon to 3 pm on Sunday, which is why it comes before Canyon Road. It is three minutes on foot south of Loretto.

The adobe chapel was built in the early 17th century in the Barrio de Analco, across the Santa Fe River, and is considered one of the oldest churches in the country.

The whole afternoon, free. Walk up Paseo de Peralta to the start of the road, 10 minutes from San Miguel. The galleries fill adobe houses with sculpture gardens, and most are happy to let you just look.

There are more than 80 of them: painting, sculpture, jewellery and pottery. Have lunch at one of the patio restaurants near the bottom and save some energy: the top end is uphill, above 2,100 metres.

About 2h30, from 32 dollars, with prices that change by date: book online. It is 15 minutes by car from downtown, in a warehouse district to the south.

The House of Eternal Return was built by a Santa Fe art collective inside a former bowling alley. You walk into a Victorian house, open the fridge or the fireplace and fall into neon rooms, forests of light and a laser harp. There is a family mystery to solve, but you can simply explore. It is the most visited attraction in town, and deservedly so.

The whole morning. Entry is 25 dollars per car, valid for seven days, and the park is cashless. Print the digital pass beforehand, as there is no phone signal in the canyon. It is about 50 minutes from Santa Fe.

In 2026 the internal shuttle is only mandatory when the canyon car parks are full; at weekends, arrive before 10 am. The Main Loop Trail runs about 2 km past the circular ruins of Tyuonyi pueblo and rooms carved into the volcanic tuff, some with ladders to climb in. If you have the energy, continue 1.6 km to Alcove House, 43 metres above the canyon floor, reached by four wooden ladders.

About 1h15, free. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm, closed on Monday. Los Alamos is 20 minutes from Bandelier, on top of the mesa.

The town was off the map during the Second World War: this is where Oppenheimer’s team built the atomic bomb. The national laboratory’s museum has more than 60 exhibits on that story and on today’s research. Drive back to Santa Fe for dinner, about 45 minutes.

About an hour, free, 9 am to 5 pm from October to April and until 6 pm from May to September. It is 40 minutes north of Santa Fe, and this is where the High Road begins, the mountain route through Hispanic villages to Taos.

The adobe church dates from 1816. In a small room beside the altar there is a hole in the floor filled with tierra bendita, earth many believers consider miraculous and carry home in little bags. During Holy Week, tens of thousands of people arrive on foot. Have lunch nearby at Rancho de Chimayó, which opens at 11:30 am and is closed on Mondays.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, free, about 20 minutes beyond Chimayó. The Hispanic village sits on a ridge, with its church, local artists’ galleries and views of the Rio Grande valley on one side and the Sangre de Cristo peaks on the other.

Stop at the roadside viewpoint just before the village. The High Road scenery, with villages like Córdova and their old churches, is the reason to take this route instead of the faster river road.

About 45 minutes, free, in Ranchos de Taos, 6 km before central Taos. Walk around to the back: it is from there, not from the front, that you see what drew the artists.

Franciscans built the church between 1772 and 1816. Its massive adobe buttresses were painted by Georgia O’Keeffe and photographed by Ansel Adams. Every June the community replasters it with mud by hand, in a gathering called the enjarre.

About two hours, 25 dollars, 9 am to 4 pm. Arrive at 9 am, when the guided tours start. The Pueblo closes for about ten weeks in late winter and early spring, and can close without notice for ceremonies: check the calendar first.

It is the only living Native American community that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inhabited for more than a thousand years. The multi storey adobe houses, with no running water or electricity inside the walls, stand on both sides of a stream flowing down from the sacred mountain. Photos are for personal use only, and never of residents without permission. Buy bread baked in the clay ovens and pottery straight from the homes.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, free, 20 minutes west of Taos on US 64. Park at either end and walk across on the pavement.

The 1965 steel bridge stands about 200 metres above the river, over a gash that opens suddenly in the flat mesa with no warning in the landscape. Vendors set up craft stalls in the car park.

About 1h15, 9 dollars, daily 9 am to 4 pm. It is 2.4 km northwest of the bridge, on the same road.

Earthships are self sufficient homes built from earth packed tyres, cans and glass bottles, heated by the sun, collecting rainwater and growing food in an indoor greenhouse. The visitor center is a real house with a self guided tour of panels and videos, and a whole community of them surrounds it. Head back to Taos for sunset on the mountain.

Quick stop, 45 minutes, free. The central plaza of Taos is ringed by adobe buildings with galleries, shops and cafés, and it is the place for breakfast before hitting the road.

For the return, take the river road, NM 68, which follows the Rio Grande and is faster than the High Road. Taos to Albuquerque is about 2h30.

About two hours, 35 dollars round trip plus a 3.75 dollar fee per purchase that includes parking. Open Wednesday to Monday, 9 am to 8 pm, closed on Tuesday; book online, as it sells out. It is in northeast Albuquerque, 30 minutes from the airport.

The car climbs 4.3 km over canyons and granite walls to the crest of the Sandia Mountains. It is much colder at the top than in the city: bring a jacket. The view takes in the whole Rio Grande valley. Come down with time to spare for an evening flight.