A Good Walk: The Plaza

Begin your walk on the Plaza. You can get an overview of the history of Santa Fe and New Mexico at the Palace of the Governors on the campus of the New Mexico History Museum, which borders the northern side of the Plaza on Palace Avenue. Outside, under the palace portal, dozens of Native American artisans sell handcrafted wares. From the palace, walk across the street to the New Mexico Museum of Art, where the works of regional masters are on display. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, on nearby Johnson Street, exhibits the works of its namesake, New Mexico's best-known painter.

From the O'Keeffe Museum, return to the Plaza and cut across to its southeast corner to Old Santa Fe Trail, where you can find the town's oldest hotel, La Fonda, a good place to soak up a little of bygone Santa Fe. One block east on Cathedral Place looms the imposing facade of St. Francis Cathedral Basilica. Across from the cathedral is the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (part of the Institute of American Indian Arts). A stone's throw from the museum is cool, quiet Sena Plaza, accessible through two doorways on Palace Avenue.

Timing

It's possible to zoom through this compact area in about five hours—two hours exploring the Plaza and the Palace of the Governors, one hour seeing the Museum of Fine Arts, and two hours visiting the other sites.