Visiting in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico opens up the eyes of each individual. Over four hundred years of culture and history, a walk on the streets of Santa Fe is a walk through time. Early settlers from the East found their way via the Santa Fe Trail. Today you can arrive via plane, train and auto. Be aware that the streets around the main plaza are very narrow. Out lying ones have the mechanical coin meters at $1.00 per hour. A commuter train runs frequently during the day from Belen through Albuquerque to Santa Fe. The bus transit system offers free rides to train ticket holders. The rate for seniors is only $0.50 or $1.00 all day. Remember this, flatlanders, when you walk around sightseeing. You are over 7,00 feet. Seeing Santa Fe takes your breath away in more ways than one.

Ask residents for "The Round House" and they will give you directions to the Capital building, a four-story circular building with a plaza in the form of the Zia Sun symbol, which also appears on the state flag. The three top floors are open for a self-guided tour. Check out the Visitor information desk on the main level and you might get lucky to meet Sarah Duran, a local resident with a font of knowledge. What she does not know, she will find out.

The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe, and is the 4th largest city in the state of Santa Fe County. It is well known as the center for arts which reflect the multi-cultural character of the city. Opera and music are respected in the city with the yearly Santa Fe Opera productions that take place between June and August. It has many world-class hotels and most of them are situated around the historic downtown. Other world-class museums are situated in the Museum Hill district. The city hosts an apparently unending series if festivals, celebrations and community fairs.

Sites to See in Santa Fe

Lorretto Chapel This chapel is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico and known for its unusual spiral staircase. Many who visit it and the sisters of this chapel consider the builder and construction of the staircase a miracle. The chapel is used on a daily basis by female students of Lorretto Academy and by its nuns until the chapel and academy closed as a catholic institution.