Albuquerque, New Mexico Review

My husband and I had been looking forward to celebrating our fifth anniversary in New Mexico and Albuquerque was the first stop on our trip.  We were a little disappointed in the downtown area and weren't sure if we had gotten our hopes up too high for a fabulous time in New Mexico.

We spent our first night in Old Town (see my hotel review at http://www.viewpoints.com/Monterey-Non-Smokers-Motel-Albuquerque-NM--160030-review-089e2), where we were dispirited to discover that everything closed early, even on a Saturday night. 

Still on Eastern Standard Time, we awoke early on Sunday and drove through the downtown area looking for coffee.  The only place that we could find was a Dunkin Donuts.  So much for a casual coffee on an outdoor patio in downtown Albuquerque.  I realize that most downtown areas aren't very populated on Sunday mornings, but downtown Albuquerque was kind of creepy, even in the daylight.  We couldn't tell if the city is in the middle of a renovation or a deterioration. 

That said, we felt perfectly comfortable walking around Old Town once the stores and museums were open.  It is a quaint (albeit touristy) area and we enjoyed browsing in the stores and taking pictures of the beautiful San Felipe Church and the town square.  There are several museums in the Old Town area that are worth visiting.

While we didn't explore the inside of The Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, we were very impressed with the bronze sculptures in front of the entrance.  They invoke the feeling of the old Southwest and it is worth a stop if you are in the area. 

To be fair, while my husband and I weren't impressed with much of downtown Albuquerque, there are a lot of attractions that are just outside of the downtown area that are definitely worth visiting.  Some of these attractions include the aquarium, botanical gardens, zoo, Petroglyph National Monument, and the Sandia Peak Tramway.

If we were to go back to Albuquerque, we would choose to stay outside of the downtown area and focus our visit on the outer-area attractions.  We may have been disappointed in our overall impression of Albuquerque, but we saw enough to know that there is much more beauty in the area and most people would enjoy their visit to this cultural city.