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Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico. It’s an interesting city with plenty to see and do.
Introduction to Albuquerque
Before the foundation of the modern city, the area was scattered with Tiwa pueblos. In 1706, the Spanish governor of New Mexico, Francisco Cuervo y Valdés (1651-1714), founded La Villa de Albuquerque as an outpost on El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal Spanish road from Mexico City to Santa Fe. That outpost grew to become what is now the most populous city in the state.
After New Mexico Territory passed to the United States, a federal garrison and quartermaster depot operated there from 1846 to 1867. The city was occupied by Confederate troops for a month in February 1862.
Albuquerque grew when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1880. It was built 2 miles east of Old Town, and New Albuquerque sprung up around it. New Albuquerque was incorporated as a town in 1885 and as a city in 1891. Old Town remained a separate town until it was swallowed by Albuquerque in the 1920s.
The city became a stop on Route 66 in 1926, and many hotels, restaurants, and gift shops popped up. It kept expanding with the establishment of Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia Base in 1939, and Sandia National Laboratories in 1949, making it a key location of atomic development.
Downtown Albuquerque began to decline after World War II but has gone through a revitalization period in the 2010s. Urban sprawl and suburban growth continue today.
Overall, Albuquerque is a great city to visit, with plenty of opportunities for recreation. There are excellent museums, interesting cultural and historic sites such as Petroglyph National Monument, great restaurants, and a vibrant arts scene. It also makes a great base to visit other nearby towns and historic sites.
Getting to Albuquerque
Albuquerque has flights from all over the United States into Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ). It’s known for its architecture and cultural decor. The airport is also very close and well-connected to the city.
Where to Stay in Albuquerque
You’ll find plenty of good options for accommodation all over the city.
Howard Johnson Albuquerque Midtown (Permanently Closed)
We stayed at the Howard Johnson by Wyndham Albuquerque Midtown. It’s conveniently located a short drive from both downtown and Old Town and right off I-25. The hotel is what you’d expect from a Howard Johnson. It’s not great but it does the job. We did like the view from our room, however. (Note: The building now operates as Hotel 505.)
Old Town of Albuquerque
The historic Old Town of Albuquerque is where the original settlement of the city began. It’s a vibrant neighborhood full of restaurants, art galleries, craft shops, cafés, boutique hotels, and museums. It occupies just 8/10 of a square mile and is a great place to spend a half day or more.
Plaza
Old Town centers around the plaza. It was built in the traditional Spanish villa pattern surrounded by government buildings and a church. Today, it’s a pleasant space with a band shell in the center and tall trees to allow visitors to cool off in the shade.
The plaza is surrounded by historic buildings. Local artisans sell handmade jewelry and other crafts under the portal on the east side of the plaza.
Confederate Cannons
Also in the center of the plaza are two replica Confederate cannons used in the Civil War. In April 1862, when Confederate forces were retreating from New Mexico back to Texas after the Battle of Glorieta Pass (now part of Pecos National Historical Park), Confederate artillery commander Major Trevanion T. Teel, buried eight cannon barrels about 500 feet northeast of the plaza to prevent their capture by Union forces. Teel returned 27 years later to reveal the location of the cannons, and they were excavated from a chili pepper patch.
Two of the cannons remained in Albuquerque, where locals made new carriages for them. The originals stood in the plaza for several years until they were moved to the Albuquerque Museum. There have been calls to remove the replicas.
San Felipe de Neri Church
San Felipe de Neri Church (Iglesia de San Felipe de Neri) is a historic church on the north side of the plaza. It’s one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city.
San Felipe de Neri Church replaced an older church built in 1706 during the founding of Albuquerque. The first church was built under the direction of Friar Manuel Moreno, a Franciscan missionary and one of the original settlers of the city. That church collapsed during the winter of 1792-93.
The current San Felipe de Neri Church was built in 1793 and was administered by the Franciscans until 1817. Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy (1814-1888) of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe had the church remodeled to give it a more modern appearance, adding a pitched roof and Gothic revival spires in 1861.
In 1867, Lamy gave control of the church to Italian Jesuits. They built the Our Lady of the Angels School in 1878 and the Sister Blandina Convent for the Sisters of Charity in 1881. They also rebuilt the rectory in 1891 with a new portico and added a second floor. The church was handed over to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe once again in 1965.
Today, there’s a gift shop and a small museum displaying religious art and artifacts. They’re located in the former Sister Blandina Convent. The museum operates during gift shop hours when there’s a volunteer available.
Nave
Sen Felipe de Neri Church has thick adobe walls and a single nave. The altar and pulpit are made of wood but painted to look like marble. There’s a choir loft above the main entrance, and the pressed tin ceiling was added in 1916.
Rectory
The rectory sits in front of the garden and has a courtyard behind it. In the courtyard is a historical marker commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Domínguez-Escalante Expedition. It took place in 1776 and was led by two Franciscan priests, Atanasio Domínguez (c. 1740-1805) and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante (c. 1750-1780).
Casa de Ruiz
Along Church Street a block north of the plaza is the Casa de Ruiz. It was built in 1706, shortly after the founding of Albuquerque. It’s regarded as the oldest house in Albuquerque and one of the oldest structures in New Mexico. The structure remained a residence until its last inhabitant, Rufina G. Ruiz, died in 1991 at the age of 91. The building now houses the Church Street Cafe.
Albuquerque Museum
The Albuquerque Museum is located in Old Town. It contains exhibits on the history of the city as well as art from the Southwest. It’s open daily except Mondays from 9am to 5pm. Admission is US$6 for adults, US$4 for seniors age 65+, US$3 for kids age 4-12, and free for kids under 4 (as of May 2025). Admission is free for all visitors on Sundays from 9am to 1pm and the first Wednesday of every month.
The Albuquerque Museum, formerly the Albuquerque Museum of History and Art, opened in 1967 at the Albuquerque International Sunport. The collection soon outgrew the space there and the current building was built in 1979. The building was designed by American architect Antoine Predock (1936-2024) and was expanded in 2005.
American International Rattlesnake Museum
The American International Rattlesnake Museum is on a street southeast of the plaza. It’s a fun and interesting place to visit, especially if you’re traveling with kids. It boasts the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the entire world.
The American International Rattlesnake Museum is open daily except Mondays from June through August, and closed Sundays and Mondays the rest of the year. Admission is US$8.95 for adults, US$7.95 for seniors age 65+ and students with a valid ID, US$6.95 for kids age 3-12, and free for kids under 3 (as of May 2025).
The museum opened on May 5, 1990, and hosts an average of 50,000 visitors annually. It has appeared on several television shows and has been featured in many books.
There are 34 species of rattlesnakes on display in the museum, including western diamondbacks, tiger rattlesnakes, Costa Rican rattlesnakes, and Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes.
There aren’t just rattlesnakes! Other snakes include vipers and even an albino ball python. Other reptiles on display are a gila monster, tortoises, salamanders,
The African spurred tortoises, as all turtles at the museum, are rescue animals. They either escaped from their owners or could no longer be kept as pets.
In addition to animals, there are hundreds of pieces of snake-related artwork and memorabilia scattered throughout the museum. They include, toys, games, books, movie posters, paintings, photos, stamps, coins, religious items, movies, snakebite kits, advertisements, license plates, and more.
Bottger Mansion
Finally, south of the plaza on San Felipe Street is Bottger Mansion. Now a bed and breakfast, it was built in 1912 by Charles Bottger, who moved to Albuquerque from New York City in 1893. The house was designed by local architect Edward Buxton Cristy and was the first house in Old Town to have gas lighting.
Bottger died in 1914 and his wife, Miguela, turned the mansion into a boarding house in the 1940s. Notable guests include Machine Gun Kelly (1895-1954), Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. The house stood empty after a family dispute around 1970, and it was later sold. It was used as an art gallery, restaurant, beauty parlor, and other business before it became a bed and breakfast in 1989.
Shopping in Old Town Albuquerque
Walking through the few streets north of the plaza, you’ll find plenty of little shopping plazas with hidden art galleries and cafés. Down Romero Street is Plaza Don Luis and Plazuela Sombra.
There are plenty more along Church Street and San Felipe Street as well. Church Street connects Romero and San Felipe Streets while San Felipe Street runs to the east of the plaza.
It’s fun to walk into the little alleys and plazas because you never know what you’re going to find. There are lots of hidden gems and some great photo ops.
We just browsed through some of the shops and galleries and had some ice cream. We also bought some sweets at La Choco.
Downtown Albuquerque
Downtown Albuquerque is a bustling area full of restaurants, theaters, nightlife, and historic buildings. It’s the center of government and business in the city and contains several high-rise buildings. Historic Route 66 also passes through downtown Albuquerque along Central Avenue.
We didn’t spend much in downtown Albuquerque other than a quick drive down Central Avenue and a stop at the excellent New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum.
KiMo Theatre
One of the most recognizable landmarks in Albuquerque is the KiMo Theatre, which sits on Central Avenue. It was built by Italian immigrant Oreste Bachechi, who came to the United States in 1885, and opened on September 19, 1927. The architect was Carl Boller (1868-1946) of the Boller Brothers, who designed it in the Pueblo Deco style, which fuses Art Deco with Native American and Southwest elements. Pablo Abeita (1871-1940), the former governor of the Isleta Pueblo, won a naming contest for the theatre. It featured a new US$18,000 Wurlitzer organ to accompany silent films. Sadly, Bachechi died just a year after the theatre opened, and ownership passed to his sons.
The KiMo Theatre was owned by a handful of different companies throughout the years after the Bachechi family merged their interests with those of Joseph Barnett in 1935. It was damaged by a fire in the early 1960s and fell into disrepair. It was purchased by the city in 1977 and saved, with a series of renovations finishing in 2000. A replica of the original neon sign was added in June 2011. The KiMo Theatre currently seats 650.
New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum
The New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum is an excellent educational experience for anyone visiting Albuquerque. Admission is free (as of May 2025) and it’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 3:30pm. It’s located downtown at 616 Central Avenue SW.
The New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum was founded in 1998 and opened its doors in 2001. It was founded by Holocaust survivor Werner Gellert (1926-2019), his wife Frances, and Julianna Lerner. The goal of the museum is to eliminate hate and intolerance through education. They provide tours for school groups, host monthly discussion groups, and provide training for teachers and school administrators about intolerance and hate prevention.
The museum covers a broad range of historical conflicts, including local, national, and global issues. The exhibits include artifacts, photos, documents, videos, memorabilia, books, and more. There are permanent exhibits as well as temporary exhibits throughout the year.
Holocaust Exhibit
About 60% of the museum focuses on the Holocaust, covering the atrocities committed by the Nazis against both Jews and non-Jews.
The exhibit contains some horrifying photos and artifacts from concentration camps, including armbands from Dachau, and a child’s shoe and gas shower head from Majdanek. There are also works of art that capture the horror of the Holocaust.
Another section contains information about Holocaust remembrance and survivors. One board includes photos of the Righteous Among the Nations. They were non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
Genocide of the Christian Minorities in the Ottoman Empire
One particular exhibit that affected me personally focused on the genocide of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. It comes complete with maps, photos, telegrams, and quotes describing the murders of Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek citizens of what is now Turkey.
Armenian Genocide
The section on the Armenian Genocide includes several photos and a brief history of how the perpetrators systematically erased the Armenian people from their homeland of 3,000 years. It also covered the continued genocide denial by Turkish authorities. It’s estimated up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed, sent on death marches, or deported between 1915 and 1917.
Greek Genocide
The section on the Greek Genocide was very emotional for me, as my ancestors who survived had to live through the pain of being expelled from their homeland. It’s estimated between 350,000 and 900,000 ethnic Greeks were killed, sent on death marches, or deported between 1913 and 1922.
In Smyrna (now Izmir), thousands of Greeks were forced into the sea. The city burned while those who could reach boats were taken to safety. The sea was red with blood and bodies floated on the waves.
The Pontic Greeks, living along the Black Sea and in cities such as Samsun and Trabzon, had to endure mass deportations and massacres. Today, many of their historic monuments have been left in ruins and the Turkish government is uninterested in restoring them. They prefer to erase as much of this chapter of their history as possible.
Native American Genocide
A section on the Native American Genocide displayed several photos and some artwork. The before and after photos of Native Americans forced to assimilate at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania are heartbreaking.
African-American Experience
The African-American Experience highlights the evils brought on by slavery, the Civil Rights movement, and the rise of hate groups within the United States. Along with photos, there were accounts of slaves describing their sale and life with their owners.
Rwandan Genocide
The final exhibit on display during my visit covered the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. It explained the roots of the genocide dating back to the 19th century and Belgian occupation along with photos and videos.
Unser Racing Museum (Permanently Closed)
There’s no better racing family to open a racing museum than the Unsers, and the Unser Racing Museum is the perfect way to honor their accomplishments. (Note: The museum permanently closed on May 29, 2023, after a funding dispute with the local government. The collection was transferred to the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska.)
The Unser Racing Museum opened in 2006 and contains interactive exhibits about the family that’s won nine Indianapolis 500s. There are plenty of cars driven by different members of the Unser family as well as plenty of personal items on display.
We only had about 40 minutes to go through the museum, which doesn’t do it justice. There’s a wealth of information about each item in the museum, videos, oral histories, and much more.
Jerry Unser’s Garage
Most of the museum highlights the Unser family history and contribution to racing, including Jerry Unser’s garage. Jerry (1932-1959) was the first member of the family to compete at the Indianapolis 500. There are tools, photos, and other memorabilia on display.
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The museum continues with the family’s rise at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which has taken place since 1916. The Unser family has won the race a whopping 26 times, starting in 1934 with Louis Unser (1896-1979), who ended up winning a total of nine. Bobby Unser (1934-2021) won ten, while Al Unser Sr. (1939-2021) won two, Al Unser Jr. won one, and Robby Unser won four.
On display is a car built by Jerry; a car driven by Bobby; a car driven by Al Sr.; displays about Al Jr.; and much more.
Indianapolis 500
A section on the Indianapolis 500 covers the history of the race and the Unser legacy. As I mentioned earlier, the Unsers have won 9 Indy 500s: 1968 (Bobby), 1970 (Al Sr.), 1971 (Al Sr.), 1975 (Bobby), 1978 (Al Sr.), 1981 (Bobby), 1987 (Al Sr.), 1992 (Al Jr.), and 1994 (Al Jr.).
It also covers the current and future generation of the Unser racing family and how they aspire to race in and win the Indy 500.
On display are trophies and memorabilia from Al Jr.’s two wins as well as the car he drove to win the 1994 race. Memorabilia from Al Sr.’s wins sit behind a glass case.
Other Items
There’s much more than just race cars. One display includes a 1922 Ford Model T, while there are also a couple stock cars in the collection.
There are also classic motorbikes used in racing.
Another section covers motors used in racing and their evolution over time. A section on tires explains how they’re built and when to use certain types of tires.
