Santa Fe Railyard
The Santa Fe Railyard is a revitalized historic rail district that blends art, food, and community space just steps from downtown. It’s home to great shops, galleries, farmers’ markets, performance spaces, a state-of-the-art 12-screen movie theater, and lots of breweries and restaurants, as well as more than 13 acres of open space complete with a park, plaza, and a pedestrian promenade.
The Railyard still has trains! In addition to a commuter train, the Rail Runner Express, there is also the Sky Railway Adventure Train, which takes guests on the historic railway between Santa Fe Railyard and Lamy, while they enjoy entertainers, music, food, and drinks.
See MoreSITE SANTA FE
You can’t miss SITE Santa Fe in its striking modern building in Santa Fe’s Railyard District. SITE Santa Fe is a leading contemporary art space known for cutting-edge exhibitions and international artists. It emphasizes experimental work, installations, and new perspectives rather than permanent collections. Even visitors who don’t usually seek out modern art often find something surprising here!
See MoreEl Museo Cultural De Santa Fe
Once a run-down liquor warehouse in the Santa Fe Railyard, this cultural center has grown into a 31,000-square-foot space to shine a bright light on the histories of the multicultural communities of northern New Mexico. Through rotating exhibits and community programs, it explores identity, migration, and heritage. Entrance is free!
See MoreNuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum
Celebrate New Mexico’s living traditions at the Spanish Colonial Art Society’s Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum. The museum features an incredible collection, a library, and an archive of artwork from the region, as well as historic pieces from around the world. You can see everything from weaving and pottery to metalwork and wood carving. Exhibits highlight the artists behind these crafts and how skills are passed down through generations. Entrance is free.
See MoreMuseum of International Folk Art
One of the world’s largest folk art museums, the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) in Santa Fe, is home to more than 160,000 objects from more than 100 countries! MOIFA has several galleries, including the popular Girard Wing, which showcases colorful textiles, toys, and ceremonial objects collected by designer Alexander Girard. The Bartlett Wing is the original gallery space created when the museum was founded in the early 1950s. The Hispanic Heritage Wing is dedicated to Hispanic folk art—it is one of the few museum wings in the country that highlights the art and heritage of Hispanic/Latino cultures.
See MoreWheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Dedicated to Native American art and culture, the Wheelwright Museum was founded in 1937 and focuses on contemporary and historic Indigenous expression. Its permanent gallery showcases the artistry and cultural history of Southwestern jewelry, and rotating exhibits often center on Native American voices and regularly feature shows by living artists rather than historic artifacts alone. The Wheelwright Museum’s circular adobe building even reflects Navajo ceremonial architecture.
See MoreThe Santa Fe Opera
Set on a dramatic open-air stage north of town, the world-renowned Santa Fe Opera has been operating since 1957 and is famous for its beloved performances, incredible acoustics, and picturesque views of the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountain ranges. The Santa Fe Opera’s season runs July through August, and its summer performances draw both artists and opera lovers from around the world, so book well in advance.
See MoreCenter for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe
Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe (CCA) is a multidisciplinary arts center offering film screenings, visual art exhibitions, lectures, and performances. It’s known for showcasing independent cinema, contemporary chamber music, immersive theater, contemporary art, poetry, and more. The cinema shows first-run independent and foreign films, and documentaries on two screens. The CCA Cinema Gallery, which is adjacent to the Cinema and Studio theaters, highlights emerging local artists and is free to enter.
See MorePalace of the Governors at New Mexico History Museum
The Native American Artisans Portal Program sponsored by the New Mexico History Museum is one of the most authentic cultural experiences in Santa Fe. Every day, Native artists sell their own handcrafted jewelry, pottery, textiles, and artwork beneath the portal of the Palace of the Governors on the Santa Fe Plaza—a place of trade and gathering for centuries. The tradition dates back to the 1930s, when organized markets were created to give Native artisans a direct way to share and sell their work with visitors.
Today, the program runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering travelers a rare chance to meet artists, hear their stories, and purchase work directly from the people who made it.
See MoreTesuque Glassworks
Founded in 1975, locally owned Tesuque Glassworks is one of the oldest glass studios in the Southwest. The studio specializes in hand-blown art glass, including sculptural pieces, vessels, lighting, and architectural installations, all created on-site using traditional glassblowing techniques. Visitors can watch glassblowers at work here every day (except Wednesdays) and browse colorful, hand-blown pieces. It’s a great stop for seeing art created in real time!
See MoreSan Ildefonso Pueblo
Just a few miles north of Santa Fe along the Rio Grande, San Ildefonso Pueblo sits beneath the dramatic rise of Black Mesa, a place shaped by centuries of movement, resilience, and art. Ancestors of today’s residents settled the area after migrating from Mesa Verde in Colorado and Chaco Canyon, eventually establishing the pueblo in its current location by the late 1500s or early 1600s.
San Ildefonso is best known for its artistic legacy, especially the iconic black-on-black pottery developed by Maria Martinez and her husband Julian, a style that continues to be made by local artists today. Visitors can explore the San Ildefonso Museum & Visitor Center and Than Povi Fine Arts Gallery, and in many cases purchase work directly from artists’ homes—this is one of the most meaningful ways to experience the pueblo’s living culture.
Note: Tours and photo permits are available at the sanipueblo.org website.
See MoreSanta Fe Children's Museum
If you’re traveling the Mother Road with children, make sure you stop here! Designed for hands-on learning, the Santa Fe Children’s Museum encourages kids to explore art, science, and imagination across 9 interactive exhibits. Kids can get a closer look at fossils with microscopes in the Animals & Plants exhibit, get their hands dirty in The Sandbox in the Dig & Harvest exhibit, or make some colorful and soapy creations in the Water Play exhibit’s Bubblearium!
Programs include daily drop-in activities, story times, and seasonal events, and the museum is fully wheelchair accessible in order to support all children of different abilities and learning styles.
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