Top Reasons to Go to Albuquerque

For a drive up the Camino Real (N. 4th St.) or south into Barelas where you'll glimpse vintage shops and taquerias with hand-painted signage in idiosyncratic script and blazing-hot colors. Be sure to pause for a bite at Red Ball, Barelas Coffehouse, or Mary & Tito's.

To visit thespectacularly embellished Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre, in the center of downtown right on old Route 66.

To walk or bike the Paseo del Bosque along the Rio Grande. The scenery along the 16-mi trail is a menagerie of cottonwoods, migrating birds, and the ever-present river rippling quietly at your side.

To experience The National Hispanic Cultural Center, a one-of-a-kind music and arts venue.

To witness the sunset over the volcanoes in the Western desert—a brilliant pink flood that creeps over the valley making its way east to illuminate the Sandias before disappearing. Even better when the scent of roasting green chiles fills the late August air.