The Discover Santa Fe Blog

Santa Fe Plaza Self Guided Tour

Discover All You Need to Know About Santa Fe!

Santa Fe is a city bursting with history, culture, and attractions. Visiting here is made all the better when you learn about this city’s exceptional heritage! The team at Discover Santa Fe has put together all our local knowledge and expertise to help enhance your journey to Santa Fe.

Our travel guides are the perfect complement to our Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Historic Santa Fe Plaza, where you’ll get to experience the city’s stories in real time! Keep reading for all our local insights and top travel tips. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

A vintage photo of a small settlement in New Mexico's mountainous landscape, featuring several wooden buildings that hark back to the Gold Rush era. Sparse vegetation is visible in the foreground, adding to the historic allure of this scene near Dolores.
30 January 2023

Dolores, New Mexico – The West’s First Gold Rush

In 1821, Spain signed the Treaty of Córdova and New Mexico became part of the new Republic of Mexico. In 1827, placer gold was discovered in the Ortiz Mountains south...
A stunning metallic sculpture of a large dog proudly stands outdoors in Santa Fe as part of the Art in Public Places program, basking under the sun with a clear blue sky and scattered clouds enhancing its majestic backdrop.
15 December 2022

Santa Fe’s Outstanding Art in Public Places Program

The City of Santa Fe’s Art in Public Places has contributed greatly to Santa Fe’s overall visual appeal. This includes the creation of a giant metal dog with a bench...
A vintage black and white portrait of a young woman from the late 19th century, featuring intricate hair styled into an elaborate updo with a decorative hairpiece, dressed in a dark, textured garment with a high collar and a large button. The photograph captures a formal yet serene expression, reflecting the fashion and photography style of the period.
15 December 2022

The Ghost of Julia Staab

One of Santa Fe’s more “solid” ghosts, Julia Staab, is said to haunt various rooms of her former home, today’s La Posada de Santa Fe hotel. Her ghostly apparition is...
A group of people stands in front of the grand columns of the Palace of the Governors, with a wooden wagon partially visible on the left.
15 December 2022

Palace of the Governors: Ears on Walls

Photo of the Palace in the early American Territorial era. When American military forces occupied Santa Fe in 1862 at the beginning of the Mexican-American War, they were reportedly appalled...
A rustic hallway with wooden beams, decorative tiles, and colorful glass windows bears witness to lively dustups of design opinion. Chairs line one side, and a sign reads "Jhinga's Interiors.
22 September 2022

Dustups, Mass Deaths & Assassinations in Santa Fe’s Living Room

Santa Fe has never been a pacifist’s enclave. In fact, over its long history it has seen heads on spikes on the Plaza, dozens of Texans’ ears nailed to walls...
A cowboy, reminiscent of Billy the Kid, rides a white horse through a desert landscape with hills in the background under a cloudy sky.
22 September 2022

The Mysterious Remains of Billy the Kid

Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, New Mexican of all time is the much maligned, often glorified, and definitely mysterious young gunslinger, born in 1859 as Henry McCarty. He was...
A spiral staircase in a chapel, surrounded by stained glass windows and archways, evokes the same awe as witnessing miracles.
21 September 2022

Do You Believe in Miracles? Loretto’s Miracle Staircase

Santa Fe’s Loretto Chapel is an exquisite Gothic-style structure, the oldest in the West. It features a beautiful altar and acoustics that make a concert here a real treat. It...
America's oldest church, with a fascinating history, stands as an adobe structure featuring a wooden door and a cross on top. Under the clear blue sky, the shadows of trees dance gently upon its weathered walls.
5 September 2022

Fact or Fiction? America’s “Oldest” Church

Santa Fe’s historic San Miguel Chapel is undeniably old. Age oozes from its thick earthen walls, the paintings on curling buffalo and deer hides, its dark, musty viga ceiling. If...
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A historical black-and-white photo captures a cowboy standing tall, wearing a hat and holding a rifle by his side, evoking the mystery surrounding infamous outlaws. Will the Real Billy the Kid Please Stand Up? This image challenges you to test your knowledge of this famous New Mexican figure.
21 June 2022

Will the Real Billy the Kid Please Stand Up?

Test your knowledge of Billy the Kid with this short quiz.
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A man in a blue shirt carries a young girl on his shoulders. The girl is wearing a hat and pointing forward. They are in front of a brick building.
7 January 2022

Five Family-Friendly Walking Tours in Santa Fe!

Explore ancient civilizations, create your own "kids rule" work of art, make new animal friends, and discover strange and unusual facts about Santa Fe with our top walking tours recommendations...
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A man and a woman stand on a dimly lit street in Santa Fe at night, their faces illuminated by the glow of a smartphone. In the background, the lights twinkle, adding to their sightseeing adventure.
30 December 2021

Six Sightseeing Tours Around Santa Fe

Six sightseeing tours around Santa Fe, including hot air ballooning, whitewater rafting, Canyon Road art walks, fat tire mountain bike tours, guided canyon hikes, guided downtown Santa Fe scavenger hunt,...
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A cozy Adobe-style abode with wooden beams and small windows, set in a garden of red flowers and green shrubs, under the clear blue sky. This City Different charm feels like a hidden treasure among New Mexico’s enchanting hotels.
22 June 2021

Cozy Abode: Hotels in the City Different

For generations Santa Fe has provided accommodation to travelers from near and far. From the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to the “end-of-the-road” trade destination of the 1800s to the...
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