My wife & I will be in Albuquerque during Balloon Fiesta. Although we will attend the event for one day, we will be in Albuquerque for a week. We will do several day trip to Santa Fe, etc., but want to spend some time in Albuquerque. For those of you who are familiar with the city, we are looking for "hidden gems" that tend to fly under the tourist radar. These could be restaurants, speakeasies, attractions, music events, etc. Any suggestions that you might have would be most appreciated. Thank you so much.

I sure liked riding up the Sandia Peak Tramway. The top has lush montane forest with great views of the valley floor. You can eat in the restaurant there and if you have a table by the windows you can have a fabulous view. Reservations required.

The tram is on my to-do list.

An hour west is Acoma: Sky City. Built on a mesa rising 357’ above the valley floor, this is one of three oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the U.S. It is thought it was built c.1250 A.D. The tour takes you through the adobe/stone village where one can buy lovely Indian pottery from venders for little money. The 1629 San Esteban de Rey Mission Church has five-feet-thick walls and impressive religious paintings from that period. It is quite an experience as I found out

Thank you! Whenever we travel, an integral part of our itinerary is sampling the culture & history of the area.

Also, be sure to eat traditional New Mexican food (different from TexMex) which includes green-chile stews, blue corn dishes, purple pinto beans, Chile rellenos, blue-corn enchiladas and Sopapillas. Check out Mary & Tito’s for authentic New Mexican cuisine.

Thank you for the good info. For me, an integral part of travel is to sample local cuisine that generally isn't available at home.

You're welcome. You also might try Native American cuisine at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen. .https://indianpueblokitchen.org/

The rattlesnake museum is quite interesting and not on the usual bucket list!