Albuquerque is a city that had been on my list to visit for a while now, because I'd always heard how cool it was. Last year I ended up visiting twice, and, I have to say, both trips have been consolidated into this one (not super long) blog because I think I missed how "cool" it was. Don't get me wrong, the trips weren't bad, but I found Santa Fe to be WAY cooler and I can't wait to go back there instead.
Moving on.
Let's start with Old Town Albuquerque. It was founded in 1706, most of the buildings have been remodeled, and my understanding is that many of them aren't original anymore. It is still very cool to see and walk around, as there are shops and restaurants and a park in the middle of it all. Parking can be a bit of a challenge, but there are a couple parking lots nearby. My suggestion is to ride-share though. I went on a weekday in the afternoon and as you can see in the pictures below, it wasn't very crowded.
About 15 minutes from downtown Albuquerque is the Petroglyph National Monument. The guides will tell you that over 15,000 petroglyph's have been discovered there. I will tell you that I saw less than a dozen and I (regretfully) climbed to the top of the damn mountain. This is 100% not accessible by the way. If you've never seen a petroglyph before, you should go. If you have, I might say skip it.
View from the top:
Albuquerque is home to the world's largest hot air balloon festival so it makes sense that there is a balloon museum. The festival takes place annually in October and it looks absolutely incredible. This is so big, schools close because everyone attends the events (similar to Kentucky Derby Week in Louisville, KY).
During October the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum is free to visitors from out of state. I found this out by chance when I was there in October. I wasn't in Albuquerque for the festival, in fact I didn't realize I was flying out the day before it started, but I went to the museum and discovered it was free for me. I thought about extending my trip so that I could check out the festival, but as it turned out, the event was delayed by rain so I'm glad I didn't. The museum was cool, but you only need about an hour to go through it unless you are a hot air balloon enthusiast. It is ADA friendly and has an elevator to the second floor.
I think my favorite part was the globe outside of the entrance with a plaque that said "go on with a spirit that fears nothing."
Route 66. I'd driven down a portion of Route 66 in Texas and Arizona nearly 11 years ago, and it looked the same as it does now in Albuquerque in the pictures below (which is now I-40). Largely abandoned thanks to bigger and better highways. This was actually a highlight of the trip to me, to be able to capture a snapshot of history before it's demolished.
Nob Hill is a neighborhood that I had read was cool (nearly hipster) and had vintage Route 66 signs so I decided to check it out one afternoon. Maybe I misunderstood and it was the place to be at night? There were a few old signs, but I wasn't impressed. I realized while writing this that I didn't even take a single picture if that tells you anything. I did have lunch at II Vicino Wood Over Pizza though and the pizza and cannoli were delicious!
While I was in Albuquerque I also checked out the Breaking Bad filming locations and went to the Museum of Nuclear Science & History.
Here's what I'll say about Albuquerque: check it out for a couple days, you might find it more exciting than I did. Also, Albuquerque is a great starting point to explore other parts of New Mexico:
Los Alamos: 1 hour 36 minutes
Santa Fe: 1 hour
Roswell: 3 hours
White Sands National Park: 3 hours 30 minutes
Bandelier National Monument: 1 hour 45 minutes
Carlsbad Caverns National Park: 4 hours 39 minutes
Chaco Culture National Historical Park: 2 hours 36 minutes
*you can read about my visit to the ones that are linked!
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