Late summer, early fall is my favorite time of year to visit Santa Fe. Caution in going too late in October as the temperatures can drastically drop 20 degrees overnight and generate lightening boosted thunderstorms with buckets of rain!

I’ve visited during the annual Indian Market and Spanish Market which offer hundreds of gallery openings, art shows and related events on both dates. Avoid the early October International Hot Air Balloon Festival and you will be rewarded with robin egg blue skies, huge puffy white clouds and endless landscapes of exploding gold Chamisa shrubs, cottonwood trees and golden aspens…just majestic, no camera filters needed!

Not one, but two delightful museums invite you to experience an authentic array of art culture and nature both on a hill overlooking the mountains. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the Museum of International Folk Art. And these are merely two of the many marvelous museums in Santa Fe, downtown museums and galleries are enormously easy to navigate on foot.

See exclusive post on Georgia O’Keeffe activities, day trips to Abiquiu.

Fall Offerings. Enjoy the thrill and passion of Flamenco dancing during holiday season in an intimate dinner theater setting. This special Spanish cabaret at Entreflameno runs nightly November 29, 2024 – January 4, 2025.

Entreflamenco is a nonprofit organization with cultural and educational purpose. The dance company was created and founded by Antonio Granjero in 1998 in Madrid, Spain, the company traveled throughout the Iberian Peninsula presented in places such as the Palau de la Musica de Barcelona, Festival de Verano de la Communidad de Madrid and Ciclos Culturales de Alcala de Henares (Madrid).The company has traveled throughout the United States performing nearly 100 performances year at EL FLAMENCO DE SANTA FE with four distinct performance seasons while creating a new generation of youth dancers for the future of flamenco in Santa Fe.

Take in a Show at the Lensic or The Santa Fe Opera. In the heart of summer experience Santa Fe Opera’s world-renowned performances or find some of the world’s most exciting performers at the Lensic, in their grand Pueblo Deco style structure on West San Francisco Street.

Shop From the historic Plaza to the oldest church in the United States to the Palace of the Governors, downtown Santa Fe is full of stories and classic architecture. The historic Santa Fe Plaza, and surrounding avenues offer something for everyone. 

Three shops on the Plaza owned by same family, you may not want to leave – and yes, they will stash your bags while you try on the gorgeous designer clothing. Workshop, Wild Life and Santa Fe Dry Goods. Wild Life has a stunning curated collection of home goods including Vessels of the Borana Peoples– I collect African art, but the food storage containers from Southern Ethiopia are unlike any I’ve ever seen. Unique designer clothing, take your breath away designers with a few hold your breathe price tags, but gorgeous!

Cicada Collection If you wear Black or White – you will be very happy here!

Savory Spice Shop- I buy spices wherever I go for myself for Benjamin and friends who love to cook. In cellophane packages or jars and they ship overnight, amazing service! Local indigenous spice packets and an array of international blends.

Secret & Sons. The Seret family who own Inn of Five Graces also own this shop. I’m spellbound in this exotic souk emporium, transported across the world with their impeccable taste in carpets, hand painted furniture, jewelry, Susanis from Afghanistan.  You don’t need a passport to shop here! 

Mediterrania Antiques, furniture, a significant collection of Uriarte Talavera  pottery, and they are only 2 doors away from Seret & Sons. 

 Santa Fe Vintage – Have our concierge book you an appointment at this unparalleled collection of vintage Levi’s, hats, and jackets. This is where the in the know glam stars shop for their looks!

Santa Fe Hat Company For the best selection of hats in the Southwest. A legend since 1976, offering custom, artisan and high-end brands.

Lucchese Bootmaker  If you have one more shopping stop in you, Lucchese boots is a short walk and offers the best you’re going to find.

4Kinship  This Navajo-owned (Diné) boutique for indigenous pieces, colorful up-cycled fashion, vintage denim, along with blankets courtesy and modern silver-turquoise jewelry.

Cielo Handcrafted, a few doors down you can shop local New Mexico and Latin America wares; colorful pillows handmade from Cusco, espresso mugs planters and more.

Stroll Canyon Road Art Galleries – filled with amazing art and galleries, including Morning Star. Many of the galleries on Canyon Road have established reputations with major art collectors, major art fairs, and museums throughout the country. With more than 80 galleries, studios, and designers in the Canyon Road Arts District you’ll find art that is contemporary, abstract, modern, expressionistic, digital, figurative, photorealistic, traditional, western and Native American.

Santa Fe Blue Gate Gallery represents this artist, whose work I saw at Bishops Lodge. Fritz Scholder, Hollywood Indian.

DINING Sazon Originally from Mexico City, Chef Fernando Olea has been enthralling diners in Santa Fe since 1991 with his unique interpretation of contemporary and traditional Mexican dishes.

315 Bistro Chef-owned and operated for nearly three decades, 315 is dedicated to serving both modern and contemporary French cuisine inspired by seasonal local ingredients.

La Boca Tapas and Spanish small plates are paired with Mediterranean & South American wines at this refined venue. Santa Fe owes a significant portion of its modern identity to Spanish influences, from architecture to cuisine. Nowhere is this cookery celebrated more keenly than the intimate La Boca, where Chef James Campbell Caruso delivers small plates that transport diners to the streets of Cadiz. Campbell Caruso, who has received multiple James Beard nominations, also imports Spanish sherries and wines to pair with small plates such as turmeric-yogurt grilled chicken thigh and chicharrones de Andaluz laced with harissa. If you’re not in a hurry, paellas in classic and vegetable versions 

The Compound One of my favorite restaurants! Designed by O’Keeffe’s close friend, Alexander Girard, in the heart of the historic Canyon Road arts district and near O’Keeffe’s Santa Fe residence.

Geronimo Fine dining in a 1756 adobe home. Warm and inviting, the elegant “Borrego House” was built by Geronimo Lopez in 1756.  Thick adobe walls, kiva fireplaces and wood beams surround. Geronimo is the recipient of the AAA Four Diamond and Mobil/Forbes 4 Star Awards.  Executive Chef Sllin Cruz creates the “Global Eclectic” menu that changes seasonally. The liveliest seat in the house is on terrace on summer evenings when Canyon Road gallery gazers stroll by.

The Shed Creative New Mexican Cooking on the Santa Fe Plaza. Family owned & operated since 1953. Has won the renowned James Beard Award and is a local favorite.

EscondidoSF Chef Fernando Ruiz, three-time Food Network Champion.

Tucked into the inky blue mountains of Northern New Mexico, a week in the high desert Santa Fe, might not be long enough to enjoy all this town has to offer. The oldest state Capital in the United States, inhabited since 1607, by members of Native American pueblos. The city is brimming with creatives, eccentrics and solitude seekers. City Map 2025 published for locals and visitors.

Highly Recommend, Santa Fe