Planning Your Time

If you’re looking at a short trip, a three-day weekend in the city [1] is a perfectly good getaway; add a few days more to take a hike outside of town or make the drive to Taos [2], Los Alamos [3], or Abiquiu [4]. Mobs arrive in July and August, especially for Spanish Market [5] and Indian Market [5] (the latter coincides with closing night at the Santa Fe Opera [6]), so you’ll find the city a bit calmer—and the heat less overpowering—in spring and fall.

Choose spring if you’ll be primarily in the city—lilacs bloom in May, tumbling over adobe walls and filling the air with scent—but opt for the fall if you plan to do a lot of hiking, because October is when the dense groves of aspen trees on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turn bright yellow, a gorgeous sight enhanced by the crisp, spicy air at that time of year.

If you do come in the summer, however, you’ll find the gallery scene in full swing—plan to be in the city on a Friday night, when Canyon Road [7] galleries have their convivial openings.