What to See in Albuquerque - Top Sights and Attractions

Archaeological site with prehistoric art. Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles along Albuquerque, New Mexico's West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city's western horizon. Authorized June 27, 1990, the 7,236 acre monument is cooperatively managed by the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque. The western boundary of the monument features a chain of dormant fissure volcanoes. Beginning in the northwest corner, Butte volcano is followed to its south by Bond, Vulcan, Black and JA volcanoes.

Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including five volcanic cones, hundreds of archeological sites and an estimated 24,000 images carved by Ancestral Pueblo peoples and early Spanish settlers. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex. Their meaning was, possibly, understood only by the carver. These images are the cultural heritage of a people who have long since moved into other areas and moved on through history for many reasons. The monument is intended as a protection for these lands and sites from and for visitors to see and appreciate for generations to come. The national monument is managed in a manner that allows recreational use. The monument has four major sites that visitors can access, Boca Negra Canyon, Rinconada Canyon, Piedras Marcadas Canyon, and the Volcano Day Use trails.^[2]

Zoo. ABQ BioPark Zoo, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a facility of the Albuquerque Biological Park. Founded in 1927, the 64-acre and located within the Albuquerque Biological Park, the zoo was originally known as the Rio Grande Zoo until it was renamed to its current name. Some of the most popular of the over 200 species are seals and sea lions, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, elephants, polar bears, giraffes, hippos, camels, tamarins, koalas, Mexican wolves, cougars, monkeys, jaguars, zebras, and rhinos. Sections of the zoo include an Africa exhibit area, an Australia exhibit area, the "Cat Walk" and herpetology area. An endangered species carousel was added in 2016. A narrow-gauge railroad connects the zoo to the other facilities of the Albuquerque Biological Park. Walking distance through the zoo is 2.27 miles.

The Albuquerque Biological Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).^[3]

Riverside spot with animals and a train. The ABQ BioPark is an environmental museum located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It contains four separate facilities:

• ABQ BioPark Aquarium - An aquarium with a 285,000-US-gallon (1,080,000 l) ocean tank containing Gulf of Mexico saltwater species from estuaries, surf zone, shallow waters, coral reefs, and ocean, as well as many other exhibits.
• ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden - A 36-acre (15 ha) botanic garden that includes a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) glass conservatory housing plants from desert and Mediterranean climate zones.
• ABQ BioPark Zoo - A 64-acre (26 ha) zoo, with 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of paths and more than 250 species of exotic and native animals. Elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, snow leopards, polar bears, hippos, gorillas, chimpanzees, zebras, along with more unusual animals such as hyenas, white rhinos, Tasmanian devils, wombats and African wild dogs. There is a variety of birds, from storks and eagles to roadrunners.
• Tingley Beach - fishing lake, model boating lake, picnic areas, narrow gauge railroad, and paths.

The ABQ BioPark is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

City records indicate more than 1,100 animals are in the BioPark's care during the fiscal year (as of December 2016).

The ABQ BioPark also operates a 36" narrow gauge railroad that connects these facilities. Trains are not running at this time due to COVID-19.^[4]

Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Albuquerque Museum, formerly known as the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, is a public art and history museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The museum is located in the Old Town area and is operated by the City of Albuquerque Department of Arts & Culture.

The Albuquerque Museum is dedicated to preserving the art of the American Southwest and the history of Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. The museum also contributes significantly to the cultural and educational programs in the city of Albuquerque. The museum features art of the Southwest and its global influences, as well as 400 years of Albuquerque history with permanent installations and special exhibitions of national and international origin.^[5]

Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. San Felipe de Neri Church is a historic Catholic church located on the north side of Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and the only building in Old Town proven to date to the Spanish colonial period. The church is listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places and has remained in continuous use for over 200 years.

San Felipe de Neri replaced an older church, dating to the founding of Albuquerque in 1706, which collapsed in the winter of 1792–3. From its founding until 1817, church was run by Franciscan missionaries. During the Victorian era, under the influence of Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, the church was remodeled with Gothic Revival elements, including bell towers, a new pitched roof, and interior decorations, to give it a more European appearance. This combination of elements from different periods and traditions makes the church notable architecturally as well as historically.^[7]

Arboretum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The University of New Mexico Arboretum is an arboretum extending throughout the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The arboretum contains some 320 species of woody plants, including Albizia julibrissin, Buxus microphylla japonica, Campsis radicans, Cercis canadensis, Chilopsis linearis, Cotoneaster lacteus, Cupressus arizonica, Forestiera neomexicana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Fraxinus velutina, Ginkgo biloba, Gleditsia triacanthos inermis, Hedera helix, Juniperus communis, Juniperus sabina 'Broadmoor', Koelreuteria paniculata, Morus alba 'Pendula', Nandina domestica, Photinia serrulata, Pinus mugo, Pinus nigra, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus sylvestris, Platanus × hispanica, Poa pratensis, Populus canadensis 'Eugenii', Populus tremuloides, Rhaphiolepis indica, Salix babylonica, Ulmus pumila, Vitex agnus-castus.^[11]

Public university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The University of New Mexico is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, UNM offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs. The Albuquerque campus encompasses over 600 acres, and there are branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Rio Rancho, Taos, and Los Lunas. UNM is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, UNM spent $251 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 94th in the nation.

UNM's NCAA Division I program (FBS for football) offers 16 varsity sports. The teams are known as the Lobos, who compete in the Mountain West Conference. Two human mascots, referred to as Lobo Louie and Lobo Lucy, rouse crowds at New Mexico athletic events. The Lobos have won national championships in skiing and cross country running. The official school colors are cherry and silver.^[12]

Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Explora is a science center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, located near Old Town Albuquerque. Its name is the imperative form of the Spanish language verb explorar, which means to explore.

The museum employs a hands-on, inquiry-based learning approach to science, math and art. The museum has 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) of exhibit space on two floors, which contain over 250 interactive exhibits that cover a broad range of science, technology and art. Notable exhibits include a laminar flow fountain, an experiment bar, an arts and crafts area, and a high-wire bike. In addition to the exhibits, the building houses a performance theater, gift store, educational program areas, the in-house exhibit workshop and staff offices.

Explora is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). Explora, along with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, hosted the ASTC 2013 Conference in Albuquerque.^[13]

Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is a museum dedicated to the worldwide history, science, and art of all types of ballooning and lighter-than-air flight. It is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and is situated just outside the grounds used for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the world's largest yearly balloon fiesta, and is named for Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson, two Albuquerque natives who established several ballooning firsts, such as crossing oceans and continents.

Opened on October 1, 2005, it is owned by the city of Albuquerque and is a collaborative project of the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum Foundation, a 501 tax exempt not-for-profit corporation, and the City of Albuquerque's Cultural Services Division. It is a 59,000-square-foot facility with class rooms, conference rooms, and many exhibits on the history of ballooning, including items from famous balloonists such as Ed Yost, Joseph Kittinger, and Ben Abruzzo.^[14]

Brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Marble Brewery is a brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 2008. Its main brewhouse is located in downtown Albuquerque on Marble Avenue, which gave the brewery its name. The 30 barrel brewhouse is responsible for brewing all classic and seasonal styles, including Marble's most popular brew, Double White. As of 2018, it was the second largest brewery in New Mexico with an annual production volume of 23,000 US barrels. In 2016, the brewery completed a major expansion which increased the production capacity to 30,000 barrels. Its beers have won several awards and it was named Small Brewery and Brewmaster of the Year at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival.

The brewery operates two satellite taprooms in the Northeast Heights and on the West Side in addition to its main brewery and taproom downtown. Marble also previously operated a taproom in Santa Fe but it was closed in 2015. The Northeast Heights location is also home to the Mav Lab which houses a 10bbl brewhouse and creates a constant stream of specials that are distributed to all three taprooms.

Marble currently employs over 100 people across its two breweries and three taprooms.^[16]

Over 1.5 miles of walkable garden paths. The ABQ Biopark Botanic Garden is a 36-acre botanical garden located at 2601 Central Avenue NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico, beside the Rio Grande. The garden showcases plants of the Southwest and other arid climates, and includes a 10,000-square-foot conservatory. One wing of the glass conservatory houses plants native to the Mediterranean climates zones of Spain, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, Chile and California. A second wing features xeric plants from North American deserts. The garden also features various exhibitions showcasing plants of different local habitats in New Mexico, medicinal plants, a butterfly pavilion and other attractions. The Garden's design was awarded as the 2019 Architecture + Community Award by the New Mexico Architectural Foundation.^[17]

Cultural institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The National Hispanic Cultural Center is an institution in Albuquerque, New Mexico dedicated to Hispanic culture, arts and humanities. The campus spans 20 acres and is located along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Avenida César Chávez and 4th St. Now presenting 700 events a year, the NHCC is home to three theatres, an art museum, library, genealogy center, Spanish-language resource center, two restaurants and the largest concave fresco in North America.

The NHCC opened in 2000 and is one of several institutions governed by the State of New Mexico's Department of Cultural Affairs. Events, exhibitions and programs are presented in the areas of music, theatre, dance, visual arts, culinary arts, film, history, literary arts and cultural-significant customs, featuring local, national and international artists, scholars and entertainers. In addition to its own events, the NHCC also hosts hundreds of rental events each year - in its theatres, ballrooms and outside plaza.

The NHCC sits within the Barelas neighborhood, a traditionally Hispanic neighborhood that has historically been a crossroads for New Mexico's people. The community was settled for its proximity to a natural ford in the Rio Grande and to the Camino Real, the Spanish colonial-era Royal Road used primarily for trade between Mexico and northern New Mexico, and later grew dramatically due to its proximity to the railroad.^[19]

Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Sunshine Building is a historic six-story building in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1924 by local theater owner Joseph Barnett and houses the Sunshine Theater as well as commercial space and offices. The Sunshine operated primarily as a movie theater until the 1980s, though it was also equipped for Vaudeville shows and other live performances. Since 1990 it has operated as a live music venue, hosting many notable acts. The building was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1985 and is also an Albuquerque City Landmark.

The building was designed by the El Paso firm of Trost & Trost and is of reinforced concrete construction with a facade of yellow brick. The architectural style is Renaissance Revival. The building was known for having what was believed to be the last manually operated elevator in New Mexico.

One of the building's longest running commercial tenants was F. D. Fogg and Company, a local jeweler which operated there from 1948 to 1985. The company closed in 2004 after 83 years in business.

The TV Show In Plain Sight filmed the exterior of this location, as the fictional office of the US Marshals' Witness Protection Service.^[21]

Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. First United Methodist Church is an historic Methodist church in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The church was chartered in 1880 and the original building, constructed between 1880 and 1882, was the first church in New Town. By the turn of the century, the original sanctuary was found inadequate and was demolished. In 1904, a new sanctuary, now known as the Fellowship Hall, was built to replace this original adobe church on the same site. The architect was Charles Frederick Whittlesey and Tiffany-style windows were installed some short time after the completion of the building.

By 1955, this sanctuary itself was outgrown and so a larger sanctuary was built on the property. The building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1975 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[22]

The John Milne House is a historic house in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1917 by John Milne, who was superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools for 45 years, from 1911 to 1956. During his tenure, he oversaw the growth of the school district from about 1,500 students to more than 38,000. The property was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1985 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

The house is a two-story, stuccoed frame building with a hip roof and full-width porch. It is rectangular in plan with a rear extension. The architecture is simplified Prairie School, with broad overhanging eaves and carved rafters. The front elevation has paired windows placed at the edges of the second floor, emphasizing the horizontal dimension. Wood-framed 3-over-1 sash windows are used throughout the house.^[23]

Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tingley Beach is a recreational area in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, located south of Central Avenue on the east side of the Rio Grande. It is part of the Albuquerque Biological Park complex. The series of ponds, originally known as Conservancy Beach, was built during the 1930s by diverting water from the Rio Grande and later renamed in honor of Clyde Tingley. After the beach was closed to swimmers in the 1950s, it was used primarily for fishing. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums awarded Tingley Beach with the '2008 North American Conservation Award'.

Tingley Beach was thoroughly renovated starting in 2004, and was reopened to the public in November 2005. The facility features fishing ponds for adults and children, a model boating pond, paddle boats, nature trails, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a narrow-gauge railroad connecting Tingley Beach with the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, Albuquerque Aquarium, and Rio Grande Zoo.^[26]

The American International Rattlesnake Museum is an animal conservation museum located in Albuquerque, New Mexico in Old Town Albuquerque. The museum is devoted to snakes, particularly rattlesnakes, and is dedicated to rattlesnake education. With the staff that is a participant in regular international viper research events, the museum hosts a diverse collection of living rattlesnakes and an extensive library of study material and educational tools.

The museum has the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the world, which are presented in recreated habitats, and claims to host more rattlesnake species than the Bronx Zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the Denver Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo combined. In addition to rattlesnakes, the museum holds a live Gila monster, one of the few known venomous lizard species.

The museum also houses a large collection of snake-related artwork, artifacts, and memorabilia. The museum also contains a gift shop.^[27]

Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Historic Lobo Theater is the oldest standing movie theater located along historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States of America.

The Lobo Theater first opened on August 19, 1938. By the early-1940’s it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Hoblitzelle & O'Donnell. It reached out to area students and was a premiere venue for independent, classic and cult films. It also hosted concerts with local bands.

It was the primary setting for the 2002 independent film Collecting Rooftops, which started being filmed while the theater was under Bobby (Robert) McMullan's operation and finished its filming, in the theater, by the generosity of Amon Re (musician).

The Historic Lobo Theater will be reopening in late 2021 as the Lobo Lounge and Event Venue.^[28]

The AT&SF Freight Office is a historic building in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1946 and is a notable example of Mission Revival architecture. The building was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 2012 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

The Freight Office was built as part of the modernization of the AT&SF freight handling facilities, which also included a much larger wood-framed freight warehouse which extended 450 feet (140 m) south to the Coal Avenue viaduct. The warehouse and its associated loading platform were demolished in the 1980s when the railroad moved its regional freight operations to Belen. The Freight Office survived and is currently part of the Alvarado Transportation Center property, though vacant.

The building is two stories high with a basement and was designed in a stripped-down Mission style to harmonize with adjacent railroad buildings including the depot and the Alvarado Hotel, both no longer standing. It is built from structural clay tile with a concrete frame, and the exterior is finished with pebble-dash stucco. The front elevation of the building includes a flat-roofed entry porch, wood-framed sash windows with heavy concrete lintels, and original neon signs.^[31]

Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hodgin Hall, previously known at various times as the University Building, Main Building, or Administration Building, is a historic building on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Completed in 1892, it was the first building constructed on the UNM campus and the university's only building for almost a decade. The building was originally designed by Jesse Wheelock in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, but structural problems with the building's roof gave university president William Tight the opportunity to have it remodeled in his preferred Pueblo Revival style in 1908.

The remodeled building features stepped, asymmetrical massing, stuccoed walls, vigas, and other details characteristic of traditional Pueblo and mission architecture. As one of the first Pueblo Revival buildings in New Mexico, Hodgin Hall helped to establish the style both at the university and regionally. The building was slated for demolition in the 1970s but was preserved and restored through an alumni fundraising effort. Since 1983, it has housed the university's Alumni Association and Alumni Relations offices. Hodgin Hall is listed in both New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places.^[32]