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My husband and I are planning a few days in ABQ. Since reading this forum
we are curious what it is actually like.
What are some attractions that we can see and give
us a good feel of the city. Probably be in the summer months.
I used to live in Placitas, which is about 15 miles north of Albuquerque. When family/friends visited, they would sometimes say, "This is like visiting a foreign country", and I agreed. It is unlike Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, its neighbors.
The people who live in Abq make it unique. Sure, the landscape, mountains, sky, and river are impressive (and important). But the people are its soul.
Others will answer your question by offering various places of interest. My suggestion is to go to these places and observe the people. They make are the soul of Albuquerque.
In a few days you can see a number of things that are unique to Albuquerque if that's what you are looking for. If you are interested in museums check out the Balloon museum, Unser racing museum and the National Museum of Nuclear Science. Schedule time for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Take the tram to the top of Sandia Peak.
There are a lot of outdoor options. The Sandia foothills have lots of hiking trails. The volcanoes on the west mesa are an interesting place for an easy hike. There are other trails along the river in town. Tent Rocks offer an interesting hike and a slot canyon. If you want to see a pueblo you can take a tour of Acoma about an hour west. A little farther west and you will see the Malpais National Monument lava fields. As an alternative, you can go up into the Jemez Mountains and visit the Jemez Pueblo visitor center, visit hot springs at the village of Jemez Springs, visit the old Jemez mission ruins and continue on to Valles Caldera. Santa Fe is a little over an hour up I-25 or you can take the RailRunner commuter train. (But Santa Fe is worth a couple days in it's own right.) You can check these places out on Facebook or google.
If you are staying solely in Albuquerque I'd probably for sure hit the Tram. It's a quick way to get to Sandia Crest and the great views. Take a sweat shirt. I think that would be near the top of a limited must do list for me.
If you are venturing afield I'd have a thousand suggestions as would everyone else.
Love to get a sense of some urban flavor like Nob Hill. Definitely doing the tram. We went on one in Palm Springs. Was amazing that we went from 80 degrees to 30 in 10 minutes. Let's not forget some sunsets and the stars! :-)
Wish we were here for the Balloon fest, but that's in October.
Do you know of any nice hotels?
Love to get a sense of some urban flavor like Nob Hill. Definitely doing the tram. We went on one in Palm Springs. Was amazing that we went from 80 degrees to 30 in 10 minutes. Let's not forget some sunsets and the stars! :-)
Wish we were here for the Balloon fest, but that's in October.
Do you know of any nice hotels?
Definitely recommend the Tram (but be aware it is not quite as nice as the Palm Springs experience once you get up there). The rides up and down are quite dramatic.
Take in an Isotopes baseball game. Very chill.
Hiking at the Petroglyphs park -- just bring some water. Easy.
Be sure to hit some of the New Mexican restaurants favored by locals. It's a great restaurant town.
I like the Days Inn by the airport. Good value, nice people. I stayed there quite a few nights when I first moved here and it was terrific. You will need to drive to wherever, though.
Yes, we will be renting a car. I just read somewhere that there are walking tours of Nob Hill, etc.
Is the Petroglyph National Monument near a retirement community called Mirehaven? I thought
when reading the forum, that they are close. How far is that away from Nob Hill or Uptown?
Yes, we will be renting a car. I just read somewhere that there are walking tours of Nob Hill, etc.
Is the Petroglyph National Monument near a retirement community called Mirehaven? I thought
when reading the forum, that they are close. How far is that away from Nob Hill or Uptown?
I've walked various parts of Nob hill over the years. Here is the page that shows five neigborhood walks in the ABQ area, https://www.visitalbuquerque.org/thi...borhood-walks/ With the construction going on Central Avenue, I truly do not know the traffic or parking issues.
Mirehaven is about a 4 mile drive south of the Petroglyph National Monument taking Unser Blvd. I have not stopped at Mirehaven, have passed the turn off heading to I-40.
Nob Hill is a great neighborhood to live in, and its amenities such as restaurants, boutiques, and bars are definitely worth a visit.
By all means, if you are in Albuquerque, enjoy Nob Hill and take a walk around the area, but it is not like taking an architectural or historical tour in a major city. It is really just Albuquerque's little walkable human-scale neighborhood replete with lack of parking and good representation of whatever is trendy in food/drink/and so forth. I would combine a Nob Hill walk with a visit to UNM's campus which is kind of a pedestrian oasis with great architecture from neo-pueblo to our distinctive southwestern modern all among well gardened grounds and fountains set among mature cottonwoods, ponderosa pines, and garden specemin trees. Since the University is on the west border of Nob Hill, the two areas can make up a decent day of touristing around SE Albuquerque.
Know that there is a major construction project on Central Ave.which is currently making Nob Hill and University Heights kind of a pain. On the other hand, if the project is complete by the time you get here, the new bus infrastructure would ostensibly make getting to/around Nob Hill from other parts of the city convenient. Otherwise you will have to find a spot in the limited pay-to-park parking lots (or metered street parking) in the area. Some of the businesses do have free parking for patrons, but they are generally very vigilant about their lots and can and do boot people who park then leave their property.
Last edited by ABQConvict; 02-20-2017 at 10:59 AM..
Reason: typos, general cleanup
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