4 Days in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Last fall, I knew I wanted to take a trip for my birthday, but I wasn’t sure where to go. When I started planning, I came up with a few requirements for the trip. We had to be able to fly there on my Southwest companion pass, and it had to be place we’d never been, with great weather and enough activities for a three- or four-day trip. After finding a list of the best U.S. cities for fall travel, I had my destination: Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Now that I’ve been to Santa Fe, I’m surprised it took me so long to get there. Santa Fe is the perfect place for a couple’s getaway because of its romantic hotels, fine dining, great shopping, and world-class museums. Here’s a look at what we did with our four days in Santa Fe.

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Getting to Santa Fe

Although we couldn’t fly directly into Santa Fe, we were able to get pretty close. Santa Fe is just an hour’s drive from Albuquerque International Sunport via Interstate 25. If we’d hadn’t been so anxious to relax after a long travel day,  we could have opted to take the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway, which winds through several small mining towns.

Day 1

La Posada de Santa Fe

When we arrived in Santa Fe, we immediately fell in love with the adobe-style buildings and small-town feel of the historic area. We checked into our hotel, La Posada de Santa Fe, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio resort within walking distance of the Santa Fe Plaza.

The La Posada property was originally owned by the Staab family, who settled in Santa Fe in 1882. Today, guests can have drinks in the Staab House, a cozy bar in the original Staab family mansion, which features comfortable couches, a fireplace, and an outdoor terrace.

Guest rooms at La Posada are located in the original mansion or in a group of casitas. Each casita is different, and hotel reviews suggest the room quality varies, particularly with respect to the smaller Superior rooms. With our Marriott Bonvoy Suite Night Awards, we received a Deluxe King casita room with a fireplace and were very happy with our accommodations. In addition to a kiva fireplace, the room had a built-in seating area, an outdoor patio, and a wood-beamed ceiling.

After getting settled into our room, we stopped by the Staab House for a cocktail and a snack, sampling our first Christmas-style chile of the trip. I also ordered the Juliarita, the bar’s signature margarita made with apricot liquor, featured on the Santa Fe Margarita Tour.  

ELOISA Restaurant

That evening, we had dinner at ELOISA, a James Beard-nominated Southwestern tapas restaurant. As we walked by the restaurant, we were drawn in by its white-washed brick walls and warm contemporary décor. It turned out ELOISA’s food was as hip as its ambiance.

We tried a variety of tapas and large plates, including the sweet corn flan, Spanish piquillo peppers, and a broth-filled paella, all beautifully presented with twists on the traditional flavors. It was a great introduction to the city, and ELOISA ultimately became my favorite restaurant of the trip.

As we left, we could hear live music and happy chatter coming from the rooftop Bar Alto. Unfortunately, we didn’t have it in us to stay up any later, as we were still on Eastern time.

Day 2

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Assisi

On the second day, we headed out on foot to explore the city. Our first stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The Romanesque church was built in 1869 and is open daily to the public. Although we visited the church in the morning, the church’s exterior is actually at its most beautiful when its façade is lit by the afternoon sun.

Santa Fe Square and Palace of the Governors

Next, we walked to the Santa Fe Square and the adjacent Palace of the Governors, a landmark from the 1600s that served as the original capitol of New Mexico. The Palace of the Governors was closed for renovations during our visit, but we spent time shopping with the Native American vendors who set up their wares on the palace’s side portal.

I sometimes get flustered shopping in outdoor markets, but I felt completely comfortable dealing with the vendors. They were inviting, but not pushy, about inspecting their crafts and talking about their artwork. I also felt confident about the quality of my purchases, as the market is regulated by the Native American Vendors Program, the oldest public program of the Museum of New Mexico system.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

After buying some jewelry and souvenirs, we headed to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which boasts the single largest collection of O’Keeffe’s works in the world. The museum itself is small, with nine galleries and a short film, and it only took about an hour to see. I downloaded the museum’s tour app and listened to commentary about the works through my headphones.

Canyon Road

Our next stop was Canyon Road, an arts district lined with upscale galleries. Before starting our gallery stroll, we had lunch at Café Greco where we enjoyed sitting on the restaurant’s outdoor patio and listening to live music.

Depending on your interest in art, you can spend a little or a lot of time in the Canyon Road galleries. We wandered in and out of the shops for the rest of the afternoon. I loved seeing the kinetic wind sculptures that dotted the lawns of several galleries.

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Meow Wolf

Although we’d already packed a lot into our first full day, we weren’t finished yet. After a cocktail and a rest at La Posada, it was time for more art, this time of an interactive, contemporary variety. Meow Wolf Santa Fe’s House of Eternal Return is a colorful immersive art experience in a converted bowling alley with installations from more than 100 local artists. The goal is to solve an otherworldly mystery as you walk through its exhibits.

We spent a couple of hours wandering Meow Wolf’s rooms and weren’t even close to solving the mystery. I expect it takes many trips to figure it out. But we had a great time opening doors and peering into the nooks and crannies of the Meow Wolf multiverse.

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Second Street Brewery

We ended the night with a late dinner and craft beers at nearby Second Street Brewery. The brewery’s Rufina taproom is a stone’s throw from Meow Wolf and has a full menu, a rotating list of beers, and a live music stage. The great food, beer and service was the perfect end to our long sightseeing day.

Day 3

Loretto Chapel and the Historic District

On our third day, we began with a walk to the Loretto Chapel, a small nineteenth-century church with a storied set of cantilevered stairs. We then made our way to the San Miguel Mission and the Oldest House, before setting off for some shopping at the numerous boutiques and stores of the historic district.

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Santa Fe Botanical Garden

After our walk, we hopped in the car for a short drive to Museum Hill, which includes three different museums and a botanical garden. We visited the Santa Fe Botanical Garden first and were admitted free with our reciprocal membership from Atlanta Botanical Garden. The small 20-acre garden features native plants, annual art exhibitions, and a permanent sculpture collection.

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Museum Hill and the New Mexico Culture Pass

Across the street from the garden are the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and the Museum of International Folk Art. We planned to visit at least two of the three, so we bought a New Mexico Culture Pass. For $30 per person, the pass gives entry to 15 museums and historic sites and is good for one year. It can be purchased at the ticket desk at any of the participating sites.

Museum of International Folk Art

The Museum of International Folk Art is one of the most unusual museums we’ve been to so far. It holds the world’s largest collection of folk art, primarily comprised of 106,000 objects donated by architect and interior designer Alexander Girard. Ten thousand of those pieces—dolls, toys and masks making up just 10 percent of the entire Girard collection—are on display in the museum’s Girard Wing.  

Railyard District

After our visit to the Museum of International Folk Art, we left Museum Hill to grab lunch at the Railyard District. The Railyard District’s popular New Mexican restaurant Tomasita’s was closed for the day, so we ate at Boxcar, a large sports bar filled with football fans.

Although the Railyard District is on most Santa Fe to-do lists, I found it to be a generic shopping area with limited eating options. In my opinion, it’s not worth a visit unless you’re dining at Tomasita’s or checking out the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market.

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Following lunch, we returned to Museum Hill for a docent-led tour of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. The museum details the history of the indigenous cultures of the Southwest and includes artifacts, pottery, and re-creations of Native American life.

Geronimo Restaurant

To cap off our third day, we had a celebratory dinner at Geronimo, considered one of the best restaurants in Santa Fe. Geronimo’s ambiance is stylish and refined, and we were treated to excellent service from our first Manhattan to our last bite of dessert.

Day 4

Bandelier National Monument

Our last full day was spent mostly outside the city. We drove an hour to Bandelier National Monument, located 44 miles to the west of Santa Fe. Bandelier was home to ancestral Pueblo people who lived in rock dwellings built into the sides of Frijoles Canyon. Visitors can climb ladders to enter cave rooms, see a re-created cliff home, and view petroglyphs on the canyon walls.

During our visit, we walked the Main Loop trail to the Alcove House trail. The Alcove House is a can’t-miss. Four ladders ascend to a massive cave at the top of the canyon, 140 feet from the canyon floor. In the cave, we saw viga holes that had been bored into the rock to hold the beams of the ancient cliff dwellings.

El Santuario de Chimayo

After spending the better part of the day at Bandelier, we decided to take a detour to the town of Chimayo before heading back to Santa Fe. An old church, El Sanctuario de Chimayo, is often recommended as a stop for those driving the High Road between Santa Fe and Taos. But even though the rustic church is picturesque, we didn’t think it justified the extra time it added to our drive from Bandelier.

New Mexico Museum of Art

When we returned to Santa Fe, our last sightseeing stop of the trip was the New Mexico Museum of Art. With our New Mexico Culture Pass, we breezed in and wandered around until dinner. The museum, located in a beautiful Pueblo Revival building near the Santa Fe Plaza, focuses on New Mexican artists.

The Shed Restaurant

For our last dinner in Santa Fe, we were determined to try The Shed, which specializes in traditional New Mexican cuisine. We’d checked it out on several occasions during the trip, and each time, the line to get in the door was 20 tourists deep.

That evening, we put our name in as soon as the restaurant opened and spent some time shopping at the nearby boutiques while we waited for our table. All told, the wait was about an hour, and thankfully, we were able to end our trip with hearty plates of enchiladas smothered in chile sauce, served with posole and garlic bread.

All in all, we couldn’t have been happier with our Santa Fe couples getaway and hope to spend more time in the Land of Enchantment soon!