10 Best Sights in Old Town, Albuquerque

The city's foremost outdoor draw, the BioPark comprises four distinct attractions: Aquarium, Botanic Garden, Zoo, and Tingley Beach. Verdant grounds are the setting for summer performances, the River of Lights brings crowds over the winter holidays, and exhibits like River Otters, Komodo Dragons, and the Sasebo Japanese Gardens have year-round appeal. The garden and aquarium are located together, just west of Old Town (admission gets you into both facilities) while the zoo is a short drive southeast, off 10th Street SW, and Tingley Beach (and its trout-stocked ponds) lies between. An electric shuttle connects them all.

In a modern, light-filled space, the Albuquerque Museum serves up a brilliantly curated selection of contemporary art from the museum's own Southwestern artists–centric collections and world-class touring shows; it also presents illuminating shows with regionally topical themes. The must-see Common Ground galleries represent an important permanent collection of primarily 20th-century paintings, all by world-renowned artists with a New Mexico connection; a changing rotation of 19th- and 20th-century photographs from the museum's extensive local archive lines the museum's walkway halls. Other spaces dig even deeper into compelling aspects of Albuquerque and regional history.

The Sculpture Garden contains more than 50 contemporary works by an internationally known roster of artists that includes Basia Irland and Fritz Scholder; Nora Naranjo-Morse's spiral land-art piece resonates deeply in a place defined by water and land-rights issues. Visitors may pick up a self-guided Sculpture Garden map or come for the free (with admission) docent-led tours at 11 am Wednesday and Saturday (March through November); docent-led tours of the galleries, also free, are held daily at 2 pm, year-round.

With the landmark 1793 San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church still presiding along the north side, tranquil Old Town Plaza is a pleasant place to sit on wrought-iron benches under a canopy of shade trees. Roughly 200 shops, restaurants, cafés, galleries, and several cultural sights in placitas (small plazas) and lanes surround the plaza. During fiestas, Old Town comes alive with mariachi bands and dancing señoritas; at Christmas it is lit with luminarias (the votive candles in paper bag lanterns known as farolitos up in Santa Fe). Mostly dating back to the late 1800s, styles from Queen Anne to Territorial and Pueblo Revival, and even Mediterranean, are apparent in the one- and two-story (almost all adobe) structures.

Well over two centuries after it first welcomed worshippers, this lovely adobe structure is still active (mass is offered daily). A National Register of Historic Places site erected in 1793 (to replace Albuquerque's first Catholic church, which was founded here in 1706), its Spanish Colonial base was charmingly modified with a touch of Gothic Revival (note the spires) in the mid-19th century. Its tan stucco and fresh white trim stand out at the north end of Old Town's plaza, and while it has been expanded several times, a surprising amount of its original adobe walls (some 5 feet thick) and other features remain. Small gardens front and flank the church; the inside is a respite from the tourism bustle beyond its doorstep—the painting and iconography are simple and authentic, the atmosphere hushed. Next to it is a shop and small museum that displays relics (vestments, paintings, carvings) dating from the 17th century. Call ahead to arrange a tour. There's a hidden treasure behind the church: inside the gnarled tree is a statue that some speculate depicts the Virgin Mary.

A former lumber-yard building located by the one-time AT&SF Railway line in the city’s old Sawmill district has been turned into a grand food hall that resonates with a sense of history and place. Some two dozen dining, shopping, and drinks vendors offer an eclectic range of high-quality (and, yes, higher priced) wares. A carefully honed selection of mostly independent enterprises, all embrace a definitively fresh and local ethos—some by way of Santa Fe, like Dr. Field Goods (an established spot with food-truck roots), and others talented transplants from afar (Flora and Flora Taco-to-Go). Whether poké, sushi, taters, or tapas, a lush dessert, or a savory cone, the same commitment to in-state growers, makers, and suppliers is apparent. Stroll around a bit and you can’t help but appreciate the original architectural details (just gaze up at the fabulously restored wooden ceiling). Paxton’s Taproom has a seasonal rotation of New Mexico--brewed beers, as well as a steady set of the state’s best craft beers on tap (wines lean local as well as international). The cool Mobile Bar is ready to serve out on their grassy patio, where any food bought inside may be enjoyed as well.

Included in the largest collection of different species of living rattlers in the world are such rare and unusual specimens as an albino western diamondback and a melanistic (solid black) diamondback. From the outside the museum looks like just a plain old shop—aside from the friendly crew of tortoises who are usually there to greet you—but inside, the museum's exhibits, its engaging staff, and explanatory videos supply visitors with the lowdown on these venomous creatures. Did you know that they can't hear their own rattles and that the human death rate from rattlesnake bites is less than 1%? The mission here is to educate the public on the many positive benefits of rattlesnakes, and to contribute to their conservation.

Dedicated to the 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico, the multilevel semicircular layout of this museum was inspired by Pueblo Bonito, an astounding prehistoric ruin in Chaco Canyon, in northwestern New Mexico. Start by visiting their permanent exhibit space We Are of This Place: The Pueblo Story, which interprets the Pueblo people's legacy through carried-down traditions and remarkable pieces from their renowned holdings of fine Native American pottery, textiles, baskets, and other masterworks. Changing exhibits may feature close-ups of a particular artist, such as the colorful and gorgeously composed copper-plate prints of Santa Clara Pueblo painter Helen Hardin. Mural tours celebrating 20 large-scale painted works by Pueblo artists on display here are offered on Wednesday and Friday at 11 am and 1 pm. Ceremonial dances are performed year-round on weekends; artisans (with their handcrafted wares available for purchase) are on site Tuesday through Sunday, and there are often arts-and-crafts demonstrations as well. The museum gift shop provides a fine overview of current Pueblo arts. The menu at its Indian Pueblo Kitchen restaurant, an appealing spot (complete with a shaded patio) for breakfast or lunch, is tastily influenced by Indigenous food traditions. Note that the museum lies a bit northeast of Old Town—a five-minute drive away in the Los Duranes neighborhood.

The wonders at Albuquerque's most popular museum include the only Triassic exhibit in North America. Among some of the dinosaur rarities on display that were discovered right in New Mexico is the relatively youthful "Bisti Beast," a Cretaceous-period tyrannosaur found in the Four Corners area. A simulated volcano (with a river of bubbling hot lava visible through its glass floor) complements the geologic displays. Outer space gets its due here as well—changing exhibits have focused on Mars and the Perseverance lander—and the museum's planetarium is a state-of-the-art destination for dazzling constellation and other distant-space viewings, as well as the wildly popular First Friday Fractals show ($10; tickets available online only). The DynaTheater presents 3-D screenings on some stunning sea creatures and more.

Sourcing his grapes from vineyards throughout the state, South Valley vintner Sean Sheehan welcomes serious local fans and visitors from afar to his Old Town tasting room—an inviting destination for those seeking the best in “old vine” wines in a convivial but intimate space. Lighter, brighter, and spicier components bring a special experience to tastings of the award-winning and notable favorites like a Cinsault Dry Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve or the Riesling-based Cielo Dulce. A popular presence at festivals throughout the year, Sheehan Winery tastings here in Old Town might feature cheese board and charcuterie pairings (or you may bring your own), or simply focus on a delicious seasonal rotation of the finest reds and whites.

This imaginatively executed science museum—its driving concept is "Ideas You Can Touch"—is right across from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. ¡Explora! bills itself as an all-ages attraction (and enthralled adults abound), but there's no question that many of the innovative hands-on exhibits such as a high-wire bicycle and a kinetic sculpture display are geared to children. They offer big fun in addition to big science (and a good dose of art as well). While its colorful Bucky dome is immediately noticeable from the street, ¡Explora! also features a playground, theater, and a freestanding staircase that appears to "float" between floors.