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Tucked within the ink-blue mountains of Northern New Mexico, Santa Fe is a uniquely striking place. With a name that translates from Spanish as “holy faith,” the city is small—it has a population of just 88,193—and features adobe buildings, phantasmagoric skies, and strings of Titian red Chile ristras that hang from wooden doors.
It’s also an old city—the oldest state capital in the United States, in fact—and has been inhabited since 1050 by members of Native American pueblos. By 1610, the area had emerged as a fixture on Spanish trade routes, leading to Santa Fe’s colonization. Today, multitudes of creatives, eccentrics, and seekers of beauty and/or desert solitude gravitate to Santa Fe, in a tradition stretching back to the early 20th century, when Los Cinco Pintores—the five painters—became the first group of artists to migrate to Sante Fe and set up an artists’ colony. You can see why they chose this place: The descriptor “magical” is overused, but Santa Fe is magical.
Santa Fe and its surrounding areas—Taos, Abiquiu, and Galisteo—have since attracted many esteemed talents. Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Julia Roberts, Tom Ford, and (perhaps most famously) Georgia O’Keeffe have all settled down, at least part-time, in Northern New Mexico.
The high-desert town has four seasons. There’s a snow-globe-esque winter marked by the Christmas Eve Farolito walk and the salient perfume of cedarwood. Spring is mild and festooned with cherry blossoms; summer, save for a few desert rain-drenched days, is hot, with feverishly intense light to match. Santa Fe’s autumn is defined by the scent of roasting chile peppers and the sight of leaves turning on the Aspen tree-covered mountains, a phenomenon that casts the town in a golden glow.
Aside from the busy holiday season, the winter months are quiet here. This makes Santa Fe a meditative retreat from everyday, errand-filled reality. And if you are looking for some action, there s still plenty: Though the town closes early (really, it can be difficult to get a drink after 9 p.m.) Santa Fe offers much to do, eat, and see.
Here, find Vogue’s guide to the very best of Santa Fe—this winter, and beyond.
Where to Stay
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A five-star resort set on 317 sprawling acres in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, Bishop’s Lodge laid its foundations in the mid-1800s. The property once belonged to the first archbishop of New Mexico, Bishop Lamy, and was later owned by the Pulitzer Family. A 75 million-dollar renovation by Auberge Resorts recently transformed the property into a luxurious yet unpretentious getaway spot. The spacious guest rooms are detailed with wooden vigas, caramel-colored leather furniture, New Mexican tapestries, and kiva fireplaces. Guests have access to Southwest-specific amenities: an equestrian ranch, fly fishing, hiking trails, a grand patio that overlooks the tree-dotted Tesuque Valley, and an original 1874 chapel. Book an outdoor dinner reservation at SkyFire to watch a sunset that drips into the mountains as you savor a hatch green chile margarita, Mesa grilled whole fish, viridescent shishitos, and Wagyu. Music lovers should visit in the spring when Bishop’s Lodge plays host to Nashville’s legendary The Bluebird Cafe—a listening room that’s launched a number of household names. During the days-long series of concerts, the resort’s Bunkhouse becomes the setting for musicians to perform their songs and share the stories behind them.
Amenities: Pool, spa, gym, restaurant, bars, café, biking, horseback riding
Address: 1297 Bishops Lodge Rd, Santa Fe, NM, 87501
Along the winding, juniper-lined paths of Ten Thousand Waves, nestled on the ski basin mountain, are fourteen Japanese Ryokan-inspired suites called the Houses of the Moon. Each is unique, with amenities ranging from private wildflower fields and sun-filled courtyards to personal hot tubs and art-making rooms. Guests are encouraged to wear kimono robes for the entirety of their stay—to the spa and tubs, around the tranquil grounds, and even for long, scenic lunches at Izanami.
Amenities: Spa, private outdoor space, restaurant
Address: 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, Santa Fe, NM 87501
The Inn of The Five Graces is a jewel-like boutique hotel by Ira and Sylvia Seret nestled beside the oldest house and oldest church in the United States. The name “Five Graces” refers to an Eastern concept: The five graces of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Each of the hotel’s 24 suites is ornamented with tile mosaics and Afghan and Tibetan artifacts. The Inn recently introduced a set of elaborate experiential programs: Guests can take the Historic High Road to nearby Taos and Chimayo to visit a native weaving studio, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Taos Pueblo, and a 500+ year-old Puebloan home. There’s also an O’Keeffe-inspired outing to the ethereal Plaza Blanca, the white sandstone cliffs immortalized in O’Keeffe’s series “The White Palace”; the trip also includes a visit to the artist s famous residence. Rafting trips on the Rio Grande River take you to Vivác Winery for local wine tasting, and there are also guided cultural bike tours around Santa Fe.
Amenities: Pool, restaurant, bar, gym, spa
Address: 150 East DeVargas Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
La Posada is one of several allegedly haunted hotels in Santa Fe (La Fonda and St. Francis Hotel are two others). The resort and spa, dating from 1880 and located mere blocks from The Plaza, Santa Fe’s central square, offers lots of options—including casita-style two-bedroom suites that overlook the gardens—and a cozy, multi-room library bar.
Amenities: Pool, spa, restaurant, bar, gym, library, yoga classes
Address: 330 E Palace Ave, Santa Fe, NM, 87501
Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi has 58 rooms filled with hand-crafted wooden and leather furnishings; most rooms also feature private patios and fireplaces. The hotel offers in-room massages and aromatherapy sessions and has a sidewalk patio—a rarity in Santa Fe—where you can have a margarita and recharge. The location is unbeatable.
Amenities: Restaurant, bar, gym, wine cellar, library, bicycle rentals
Address: 113 Washington Avenue, Santa Fe, NM, 87501
What to Do
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Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch are sixty-three miles north of Santa Fe—not too far, but it feels like a trip back in time. At Ghost Ranch, tour Georgia O’Keeffe’s home and studio—a private, meticulously preserved adobe that the artist purchased from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1945—where O Keeffe lived until 1984. This airy, modern architectural wonder contains a personal collection of artwork including O Keeffe s own paintings and sculptures, as well as pieces by Alexander Girard, an iconic Eero Saarinen for Florence Knoll chair, and an Alexander Calder mobile. The black door depicted in many of O Keeffe s works floats on a sun-seeped patch of adobe outside.
After your tour, drive to Abiquiu Lake—in the winter it may be too cold to swim, of course, but the water gleams. Look to the left and you’ll see Pedernal: a forceful and distinctive mesa (essentially, a flat-topped mountain), where some of O Keeffe s ashes are spread.
Drive four hours south of Santa Fe to White Sands and behold an otherworldly landscape: bounds of white sand dunes where you can walk, meditate, camp, and witness pink sunrises and sunsets.
There’s a room with a dirt floor and a Holy Dirt well at the Santuario Chimayo in Chimayo, built in 1984, forty-five minutes from Santa Fe. The dirt, it’s believed, heals everything from heartbreak to cancer. You can buy small vessels in the gift shops to take dirt to your loved ones.
SITE Santa Fe is the commanding contemporary art museum in Santa Fe, and they’re ever-elevating their program. This year they presented New Mexico resident Bruce Nauman’s first-ever local solo show, and the museum has recently shown works by illustrious artists including Louise Bourgeois, Matthew Barney, Maurizio Cattelan, Jeffrey Gibson, Felix González-Torres, Jim Hodges, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Pierre Huyghe, Ellsworth Kelly, Ed Ruscha, and Ai Weiwei. Be sure to also visit the Vladem Contemporary Art Museum, a brand new facet of the New Mexico Museum of Art that sits just a few blocks from SITE. Their inaugural exhibition, which runs through the spring, features work by artists including Larry Bell, Nancy Holt, Yayoi Kusama, and New Mexico’s own Agnes Martin.
Go to the Farmer’s Market, which takes place at the Railyard on Saturday and Tuesday mornings, for locally raised, free-range meats and eggs, organic breads, berries, shishito peppers and greens, and soaps made of goat milk and lavender. For those who live in Santa Fe, trips to the Farmers Market are a staple of the local social life.
The Lensic Performing Arts Center, housed in a gilded, renovated historic theater downtown, presents more than 200 theater, dance, musical, literary, lecture, and film events annually. The theater hosts local and global artists, with recurring performances by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Lannan Foundation, Chamber Music, Pro Musica, and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
The O’Keeffe Museum boasts the most extensive collection of O’Keeffe’s work of anywhere in the world. Works from each of her series—from the New York cityscapes to the paintings of mountains, flowers, and bones—and are on view.
The Santa Fe Opera is world-renowned, lauded by both opera and architecture lovers. Performances take place every July and August in a sweeping open-air scape, designed by architectural firm James Stewart Polshek and Partners and plotted on 155 acres of high desert land. The gliding, curved structure of the roof was inspired by the “shape of the sound,” and created in collaboration with acousticians Purcell Noppe Associates. From every seat, there are panoramic views of both the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountain Ranges. The performances draw a global audience and the Santa Fe sky—which flickers between glowing sunsets, a dazzling canopy of stars, and jazzy lightning performances—puts on its own unmatched show night after night.
Drive less than an hour outside of town to Bandelier National Monument, a 33,000-acre plot of dusty canyons and leveled mesas that protect 11,000-year-old visible Petroglyphs, hollow cave dwellings, cliffs, wooden ladders, and masonry walls. Trails lead you through the rugged, ancient landscape; along the way, you can climb into cool, shaded sand dwellings.
Where to Eat
The Shed is housed in the original 1692 adobe home and courtyard of the Spanish Royal Family. The prince established his family in these eighteen rooms built around three patios; since 1953, the property has been in the hands of the same local family. Their New Mexican recipes have hardly altered since—thank goodness! The Shed’s sister restaurant, La Choza, is also a must-visit. The two restaurants’ menus are almost identical, save for a few items (warm, pillowy sopapillas are served only at La Choza); highlights include the heart-warming green chile stew, enchiladas, and award-winning green and red chile. Wash it all down with the potent St. Rita margarita, which replaced orange liqueur with St. Germain.
Stop into La Boca for eight-time James Beard Award nominee chef James Campbell Caruso’s modern Spanish small plates. The tiny space, warmed with terra cotta-toned glazed tiles and cherry wood chairs, is ideally suited to relaxed enjoyment. Order the hearty grilled artichokes with sunshine-yellow zest, jet-black mussels in salsa verde, flat iron steak, Jamon Iberico (from olive and acorn-fed black pigs), and a glass of Spanish wine from La Boca’s extensive list. It’s a perfect nook for date nights, dining solo at the bar, or sharing family style with a small group.
Tune Up is a snug, fuschia-walled neighborhood restaurant with a menu that includes El Salvadorian Pupusas, New Mexican Green Chile Stew, lamb tacos, and perfect Caesar salads. The counter holds jars of agua fresca and Mexican wedding cookies, while the coffee is refilled almost too quickly—making Tune Up Santa Fe’s quintessential lazy morning nook.
The menu at Geronimo will transport you back to the golden era of 90s minimalism. Wasabi Caesar salad is served in a neat, leaf-wrapped stack, while paper-thin Wagyu carpaccio is accompanied by snowy shavings of Parmesan. Other standouts include melt-in-your-mouth sesame ahi tartare, miso sea bass, and rack of lamb in a Merlot reduction. The margaritas are made with house-infused green chile tequila. Everything is as delicious as it is visually enchanting, and the warm ivory dining room exudes classic Santa Fe elegance.
Izanami, The Michelin Starred, upscale Izakaya at Ten Thousand Waves, is set atop a snowy mountain on the way to the Santa Fe Ski Basin. Panoramic views of the mountains, year-round outdoor seating, tatami rooms, cascading lanterns, and a roaring waterfall entryway complement the menu, which is comprised of exquisite Japanese dishes. Almost everything at Izanami is locally sourced and organic, with a seasonal menu of brilliantly flavored dishes: Shoyu sesame miso wagyu beef ishiyaki cooked on hot stones at the table, flaky miso Chilean sea bass, roasted tamari yuzu butter Japanese mushrooms, and delicate petals of sashimi with shisho are a few of the standouts. Cups of sake are always poured until they overflow to symbolize kindness, celebration, and the enjoyment of life.
Joseph s is the antidote to a cold night in Santa Fe. The dimly lit interior is petite, and the menu is concise but well-considered, with inventive dishes like Christmas (red and green) chile beef tenderloin stew and delicate hamachi sashimi accented by grapefruit, tamari, and wasabi. The local lamb green chile burger with sheep s cheese on a house-made English muffin is a must—many locals return once a week to order a burger and a glass of great red at the bar.
There are myriad places in Santa Fe to get an early bite before setting out for a hike or a day of visiting museums. Stop at Cafe Fina for local coffee, organic eggs, and crispy bacon with green, red, or Christmas chile, a breakfast burrito or morning soup (organic New Mexico chive-y lamb bone broth with egg) at Dolina, huevos Motuleños (Yucatan-style eggs with feta, peas, chile, and plantains) at Pasquals, or a paleo Golden Turmeric Wrap at the serene and completely gluten-free Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen. If you’re going on a day trip, stop at Bread Shop for picnic essentials: straight-from-the-oven sourdough, organic crudites from Ground Stone Farm, a tin of Fishwife rainbow trout, and imported cured meats.
Nearly everything Vinaigrette serves is grown on its farm just outside of Santa Fe, which can be tasted in the incredible flavors of the produce. The kale Caesar with marcona almonds and Parmesan will, likely, leave you dissatisfied with nearly every other salad in the world.
Where to Drink
The bars at Geronimo and The Compound—both of which are located on the gallery-lined Canyon Road in the Historic East Side—are elegant Santa Fe stalwarts that serve perfect cocktails.
Los Poblanos, a romantic Albuquerque plot of lavender fields, farms, and an inn, recently opened an outpost in downtown Santa Fe. Its Bar Norte is a dark, cozy tasting room with garden-infused cocktails that highlight local ingredients like lavender from their fields, earthy sage, and rosemary. Attached to the bar is Farm Shop Norte, a one-stop store for gifts like midnight black and bone-colored Onora ceramics, lavender lotions and potions, bottles of their own garden-infused spirits, candles, and packets of floral seeds plucked from the Los Poblanos farm.
Cult Japanese brand VISVIM opened its first womenswear store in the U.S. here in 2017; directly across the street, you ll find Sazon, James Beard Award-winning Chef Fernando Olea’s Old Mexico restaurant. Sazon is best known for its molés—the main dining room even has a mural by Mexico City artist Federico Leon De La Vega that illustrates all of the ingredients found in Olea’s New Mexico Mole. Before dinner, grab a seat in the cozy wooden bar and order a Sazonrita with Mezcal, chilled cucumber, and red chile salt, or a Diego Rivera, with Mezcal, lichi, passion fruit, hydrating coconut water, and an edible orchid.
Secreto, in The St. Francis Hotel, makes seasonal cocktails from mostly organic, local produce—order the Smoked Sage Margarita, and burning fresh sage will scent the bar.
The Dragon Room at Pink Adobe is an old-school Santa Fe favorite with a fireplace and fire pit, colorful walls, and bizarre, dragon-themed art.
Santa Fe Spirits is a distillery with a tasting room on Santa Fe’s East Side. Handmade liquors are folded into perfectly made cocktails—martinis, gingery Scotch concoctions, and Manhattans.
Where to Spa
Ten Thousand Waves Japanese Spa is without contest the most incredible spa in Santa Fe. The grounds are tranquil and gracious, with private and (semi)-public hot tubs, a restaurant, and spa services that include hot stone massages, Shiatsu, and salt glow treatments.
The gym and Spa of the Five Graces are transporting. The sprawling adobe structure is detailed with intricate mosaics, exposed earth walls, imported statues, ornate ceiling panels, and talismans. Each treatment room boasts a roaring fireplace, fountain, or glowing skylight. Schedule an Augustinus Bader facial and a Himalayan Salt Stone massage.
The wellness program at Bishop’s Lodge casts a wide net. Treatments include acupuncture, sculpting lymphatic drainage facials, Qi Gong, and ayurvedic full body massages juiced with CBD.
The Rancho Encantado Four Seasons spa just outside town is a serene escape, replete with billowing white curtains on light plaster, orchids, and a Zen rock and sculpture garden. Their spa menu, with treatments like a Moisture Drench Facial and an adobe clay cocoon massage—is designed to complement the experience of the high desert. Encantado also has a yoga program, full gym, and EQUUS equestrian experience.
Where to Shop
Santa Fe Vintage is accessible by appointment only. It’s well worth making a booking: The warehouse space, which sits on the outskirts of town, holds an incredible collection of vintage denim, distressed T-shirts, outerwear, and Western wear, not to mention swathes of indigo-dyed fabric. A treasure trove, in other words. If you derive pleasure from sifting through vintage, it’s not to be missed.
Double Take is a three-wing store: It has one wing for consignment “contemporary” clothing (which can be skipped over), one for Western wear (which, if you’re in the market for leather cowboy boots, suede jackets, and vintage denim, is pretty great) and one for designer and vintage pieces from the last few decades.
Doodlet’s sells a thoughtful but chaotic selection of overpriced, precious trinkets: stickers, foil-wrapped candies, books on Santa Fe, miniatures, charms. It’s a perfect place to buy gifts for children, but you’ll likely end up wanting a few things for yourself as well.
Shiprock, located above the Plaza, showcases and sells a succinct, impressive selection of woven textiles, Zuni Fetishes, Native American pottery, and vintage sterling silver and turquoise jewelry. It’s expensive, but each piece is remarkable and the space feels like a gallery.
Directly below Shiprock you’ll find Santa Fe Dry Goods—the only store in Santa Fe that carries labels like The Row, Dries Van Noten, Issey Miyake, and Lemaire. Their neighboring home store, Wild Life, carries brands including Mad et Len and Astier de Villatte.
Collected Works and Garcia St. Books are independent, locally-owned bookstores located downtown. Both are well-stocked and thoughtfully laid out spaces designed with passionate readers in mind.
Every wall of Keshi is lined with glass cases of Zuni Fetishes—small, carved stone animals and figures that are an integral feature of the Zuni Pueblo. Each animal represents a different virtue or symbol of intention—protection, courage, love, motivation, etc. The store sources their fetishes directly from the Zuni people, which is important.
Seret and Sons, a store by the same family behind Inn of the Five Graces, carries an extensive collection of pieces that the family collects while traveling. Think, hand-carved wooden doors from India and Afghanistan, upholstered furniture, tapestries, and colorful woven rugs.
SOTE, formerly Spirit of the Earth, is the longest-standing clothing and fine jewelry store in Santa Fe. Its airy new space is home to clothing brands including Raquel Allegra, Rachel Comey, and Kallmeyer. It’s worth making a pilgrimage just for the fine jewelry, made by a mix of local and global designers. SOTE also has a great selection of art coffee table books, ceramics, Frama furniture, and apothecary items by brands like Ayond and D.S. Durga.
As previously noted, VISVIM put down roots in Santa Fe a few years ago, opening on the city’s historic East Side. The brand’s serene, gallery-like boutique carries designer Hiroki Nakamura’s signature pieces—lots of Japanese denim, naturally-dyed shirts, immaculate workwear—as well as a few Santa Fe-specific treasures like soft moccasins, antique pottery, and woven rugs.
What to Pack
Suede and denim are quintessentially Southwest; bring some cowboy boots and a jacket for a fall trip to Santa Fe along with some trusty denim. With so much local pottery, jewelry, and textiles to shop, you ll need a spacious weekender to carry it all home—this caramel-colored pick from Bottega Veneta fits the prompt.
