Los Ranchos/North Valley

Many attractions lie north of Downtown, Old Town, and the University of New Mexico. Quite a few, including the Casa Rondeña winery and the Rio Grande Nature Center, are clustered in a contiguous stretch that comprises two of the city's longest-settled areas: the lush cottonwood-lined North Valley and Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, along the Rio Grande. Early Spanish settlers made their homes here, building on top of even earlier Pueblo homesteads. Historic adobe houses abound. The Montaño Road Bridge crosses through the area, making a sublime gateway to the West Side.