Albuquerque Travel Guide

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Inside ScoopFrom Albuquerque Locals

Happy Hour in Albuquerque

Happy hour specials in Albuquerque, NM offer something for everyone. If you are...Read More

Albuquerque with Tweens: A Perfect Family Day

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Albuquerque OVERVIEW

San Felipe de Neri Church

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Petroglyph National Monument

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Sandia Peak Tramway

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Civic Plaza

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Scenic View

Corbis

In the past, Albuquerque travel involved maybe one night in a motel, en route to grander destinations along Route 66 or up north in Santa Fe or Taos. But in recent years, savvy travelers have been making Albuquerque their first and only stop, taking time to enjoy the quirky populace—aging hippies, college professors, outsider artists and science nerds abound—as well as the incomparable natural setting. Albuquerque is more than a mile high with defunct volcanoes along one edge, a dramatic mountain range along the other, and the Rio Grande running right through the middle. Here, you can start the morning with a bike ride, hike in the mid-day, hit a museum in the afternoon then enjoy a nice dinner in Nob Hill. And best yet, you can do most things here on the cheap. New Mexico’s distinctive cuisine—laced with spicy-hot, earthy red and green chiles—is at its best here, at mom-and-pop lunch counters, raucous diners and even a bowling alley. But you can also dine with a James Beard-nominated ...See More chef—for a fraction of what you’d pay in Santa Fe for a similar meal. So pull off the interstate and cruise the surface streets, where Western sprawl narrows to old adobe neighborhoods and patchwork-painted bungalows, where horse paddocks replace front yards, and where low-riders cruise under the neon signs. Albuquerque travel is worth every minute—and certainly every cent. See Less

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Albuquerque Itineraries

Don't know where to go? Check out our 2 and 7 Day Itineraries to get an idea of what you could do in this great city!

2 DAY ITINERARY

1 Have breakfast at the Frontier, followed by a walk around the university campus to see the oldest buildings.
2 Browse the shops in Nob Hill.
3 Have lunch at Flying Star.

FULL ALBUQUERQUE ITINERARY »

7 DAY ITINERARY

1 Get up at dawn for your hot-air balloon ride. Make plans at Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.
2 Have a celebratory brunch at the Frontier.
3 Stroll around the UNM campus.