Santa Fe Flights And Sights

Santa Fe basks in a rich blend of contrasts. Fueled by Native American, Latino and Western cultures, here's a city where the fine arts flourish, Southwestern food reigns supreme and adobe is still the preferred building material. Constructed on a Spanish model, Santa Fe grows out of a central city square, the Plaza, center stage for restaurants and galleries. St. Francis Cathedral symbolizes the traditions that have grounded America's oldest state capital for 400 years.

Things to Do

Santa Fe's grandest building is a towering French-Romanesque church, St. Francis Cathedral, which traces its roots to the small adobe building out back -- Our Lady of the Rosary chapel, founded in 1610. Think of this New Mexico city as a large collection of historic artistic and architectural gems, more examples of which are displayed at the New Mexico Museum of Art. The early Pueblo Revival-style building houses 20,000 regional masterpieces.

Shopping

Santa Fe's art scene is one of the world's finest, drawing from the rich blend of American Indian, Hispanic and Western artistic traditions. Canyon Road is packed with galleries featuring traditional and contemporary themes, as is Santa Fe's central Plaza. A rich tradition of Indian arts and nearby turquoise mines account for the plethora of silver, turquoise and coral necklaces, earrings, and belt buckles sold by Indians under the portal of the Palace of the Governors.

Nightlife and Entertainment

In a city renowned for culture, it's no surprise that Santa Fe has a thriving performing arts scene. The world-famous Santa Fe Opera performs only in the summer, but their performances are so good that it's worth thinking about planning your trip around them. A variety of free concerts are also staged throughout the summer in the Plaza. Other performing arts worth considering includes the Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Restaurants and Dining

It's true: New Mexico's official state question is, "Red or green?" The reference is to chili, with green chili hotter, red more pungent. Try them both at restaurants on the Plaza. The Blue Corn Café serves typical New Mexican food like tamales, enchiladas and tacos as well as their own house-brewed beer. Coyote Café has earned a reputation for adding creativity to New Mexican standards, like porcinis and prawns over corn cakes or rib-eye steak with chili onion rings.

American Airlines flights to Santa Fe help you explore this mystical destination. The wide array of things to do in Santa Fe may surprise you. There are, of course, significant historic sites, a rich cultural scene and divine spas, plus challenging golf courses. But there are also creative, hands-on ways to experience the city -- after all, Santa Fe is the first U.S. city to be chosen by UNESCO as a Creative City, and one of only nine cities in the entire world to hold this designation.

One of the most well-known activities in Santa Fe centers around the city's dedication to culture and the arts. There are approximately 300 galleries and dealers in Santa Fe, more than a dozen museums with diverse exhibits of art, culture and history and the outstanding Santa Fe Opera.

For those seeking places with historic significance, there is a delightful variety of things to do in Santa Fe. From ancient Native American ruins where you'll be able to view petroglyphs to a living museum featuring Spanish Colonial life, there are places you'll find captivating. We especially enjoy the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, where you'll see astounding geological formations that occurred almost 7 million year ago. Over time, wind and water helped create canyons and ravines, where bands of gray blend with beige and pink-hued rock of the faces of cliffs. In addition, the Monument includes several important archaeological sites. Several large ancestral pueblos were established in the 14th and 15th centuries (the Pueblo de Cochiti), and descendants of the original inhabitants still live in the surrounding area.

If you enjoy a more interactive experience, you'll enjoy activities in Santa Fe that promote creative tourism. Classes, hands-on demonstrations and more let you be as involved as you'd like. You can find classes in painting, jewelry making, glass blowing, photography, pottery, sculpture, cooking -- the list is truly impressive.

Long cherished for its sense of connection to the earth's essential elements, the city is known for its opportunities of spiritual exploration. Some of the most popular things to do in Santa Fe include yoga and even a unique blend of both yoga and hiking in the scenic desert.

Those who find peace in shopping will also have plenty to enjoy: Santa Fe Plaza, the old city square, offers any number of shopper's delights.

American Airlines makes flying to Santa Fe simple and convenient. Let us help you plan your journey to the City Different today.