10 Wonderful Things to Do in Albuquerque, NM

Bugs Bunny used to say, “I knew I should have made a left turn at Albuquerque.” Unlike Bugs Bunny, if you are reading this article, you are not wanting to make a left turn at Albuquerque but you are looking to visit Albuquerque. The only problem is that you don’t know what to do in the city. Don’t worry, I have you covered. In this article, I share 10 things to do in Albuquerque, NM. From soaring high above the ground in a hot air balloon to taking a trolley ride through the city, there will be something for everyone.

Things to Do in Albuquerque

1. Balloon Ride

When I was looking at things to do in Albuquerque, taking a balloon ride seemed like something that could be a lot of fun. I knew my wife, Tonya, is afraid of heights but when I proposed the idea, she jumped at the chance. That is just one of the many reasons why I love her so much.

There are numerous companies that have balloon rides in the city but we chose to go with Rainbow Ryders. I am glad that we did since we had a great experience with them. Our pilot was Troy Bradley and he holds 64 world records pertaining to ballooning. We all felt like we were in good hands because of that.

We had a morning flight and we were in the air for just under an hour. It was surprising how calm that it was in the air. Troy took us a little over 1,100 feet above the ground. The views of the city and surrounding area were great. It is something that we would both love to do again.

If you are adventurous and want to see all kinds of balloons, then the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be for you. The fiesta lasts nine days and has over 500 balloons at the event. There are also other kinds of events that go on during the fiesta.

2. Balloon Museum

Just down the street from Rainbow Ryders is the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. That is a mouth full. We headed to the museum after our balloon ride. We didn’t have to pay to get into the museum since they have free admission on Sundays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. They also have free admission all day on Fridays.

The museum focuses on the art, science, culture, sport and history of ballooning. We saw all kinds of memorabilia and ballooning equipment. It took me back to my childhood since a number of the gondolas in the museum were from big balloon rides when I was growing up.

Overall, the museum blew Tonya and I away. There are all kinds of different exhibits and interactive displays that you can enjoy. They have displays that are geared towards kids and adults. It was really a nice surprise.

3. Old Town

The Old Town area of the city was the first neighborhood of Albuquerque and was founded in 1706. Many of the buildings in Old Town have an adobe style to them. In Old Town, you will find shopping, museums, parks, art galleries, gardens, and more.

If you like to shop, you will like the Old Town area. There are over 100 different shops in this area of town. Personally, I’m not much of a shopper but the thing that I liked best about this area was Old Town Plaza.

The plaza has nice shade trees as well as benches to sit down to relax. In the center of the plaza is a large gazebo. There were numerous bands playing music while we were there. Tonya and I got some Dole Whip and enjoyed it while sitting on one of the benches.

Right across the street from the plaza is the 18th century church San Felipe de Neri Church. You can go into the church but when we were there a wedding was taking place. I wasn’t dressed appropriately for the special occasion.

I love to eat at diners and cafes when we travel. Tonya and I ate at the Central Grill and Coffee House. It was really good and is just a few minutes walk from the plaza in Old Town.

4. Trolley Ride

The first thing that we did when arriving in Albuquerque was to take a trolley ride with the Albuquerque Trolley Company. They have a number of different tours to select from and we took the “Best of Albuquerque City Tour.”

The tour bus has wood benches with a roof and open sides. The tour lasted an hour and forty-five minutes. We drove by different places that were in the TV shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

We also went by Nob Hill, Sawmill Market, Museum Row, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the Rail Yards and more. One of my favorite things to see was the spaceship house. As you can see it looks like a spaceship, hence the name.

During the ride, there was a man who was narrating and telling stories and sharing history about the things that we were seeing. He even used TV clips at times to make his point. We really enjoyed the trolley ride since we saw many different things and learned more about the city.

My favorite story that he shared was the naming of the minor league baseball team the Albuquerque Isotopes. The name didn’t come from the fact that the area was involved in the atomic bomb or nuclear power but because of a Simpson’s episode.

5. Albuquerque Isotopes Baseball Game

Since I just mentioned the Albuquerque Isotopes, I figured this would be the best place to put them in the list. We decided to go see a game since they were in town the last night we were in Albuquerque.

The Isotopes are the AAA team for the Colorado Rockies. Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park is the name of the ballpark that they play in. The ballpark is very nice and seats 13,500 people. There is a berm area in right field that you can sit down on and watch the game. There is a play area for kids above the berm.

The tickets to get into the ballpark and the parking were minor league prices. We sat in the last row behind the visitors dugout and those tickets cost us just over $20 per ticket. There was plenty of parking across the street from the stadium which cost us $7. The thing that had major league pricing was the food and drink. It kind of shocked me how much things cost.

The temperature during the game was in the upper 90s. Our seats were in the shade plus there was a nice breeze. It didn’t feel like it was that hot out to us. That is saying something, since my wife doesn’t like those temperatures. We both had a really good time and would do it again.

6. Petroglyph National Monument

The Petroglyph National Monument is a 15-20 minute drive from the downtown area of Albuquerque. The 7,236 acre park is home to over 24,000 petroglyphs that were carved by Pueblo Indians and Spanish settlers.

There is a Visitor Center close to the main gates to enter the park. We stopped there to ask some questions to a park ranger. She was in a small shed outside of the main visitor center. There is a gift shop located in the visitors center.

There are 3 different areas where you can go look at petroglyphs. We went to Boca Negra Canyon. This area of the park is 70 acres in size. There are 3 short self guided hikes in the Boca Negra Canyon where you can see around 100 petroglyphs.

You will want to make sure that you take some water with you while hiking. There is no shade in this part of the park on the trails. The Boca Negra Canyon area of the park is the only part of the park where you will find restrooms, a drinking fountain and man made shade.

7. Street Murals

I’m not the type of person that is going to go to a museum to see all kinds of different art. I’m not that cultured or refined. What I really like to do is to walk around the streets of a city to enjoy the different murals they have to offer.

If you’re someone who likes street murals like myself then you are going to love Albuquerque. The city has over 500 street murals to select from to enjoy. You can find them on the sides of buildings, in alleyways, and under overpasses.

The earliest known mural in the city was painted in 1983. You can walk or drive to see the different murals on your own. This map will show you the different locations of murals throughout the city.

Another option to see some of the murals is an Artwalk. The Artwalk takes place in the downtown area once a month. On the tour, you will learn about various murals in that part of the city.

8. Eat at the Dog House

I have to confess that I never got into the TV show Breaking Bad. My daughters watched the show. If you are a fan of the show, I’m sure that you know that Albuquerque was where the show was shot.

While on the Albuquerque Trolley Company tour, we went by a number of places where the show was filmed. The Dog House Drive In was one of those locations. So, Tonya and I, in honor of our daughters, decided to go to the restaurant to eat.

At the restaurant, you can stay in your vehicle and they will come and take your order. We decided to go into the restaurant. The restaurant is pretty small inside. There is a bar area that seats around 6 people and there are 6 or 7 booths.

I got a couple of chili dogs and Tonya and I shared some onion rings. The chili was really good. It had a nice spicy kick to it which I like. The onion rings weren’t overly battered and were really good. The hot dogs were good but they were pretty small in stature. They were not that big around or long. I would give the restaurant a 4 out of 5. If the hot dogs were bigger, it would be a 5 out of 5.

9. Sandia Peak Tramway

A great place to get a great view of Albuquerque and the surrounding area is on top of Sandia Peak. You can drive up to the top of the mountain but where is the fun in that? Instead, you can take the Sandia Peak Tramway to the top of the mountain.

There are two trams that run to the top of the 10,378 feet mountain. The ride takes around 15 minutes. Once on top of the peak, you can see 11,000 square miles on a clear day.

Besides taking in the great views at the top of the mountain, you can also eat at the TEN 3 restaurant. There are also some trails where you can do some hiking. We really enjoyed the whole experience and would do it again.

Make sure to buy your tickets online since they don’t sell tickets at the tram. You can get great views as you travel up and down the mountain because the tram is all windows. The day that we went to the top, the temperatures were in the low 90s at the bottom of the mountain and at the top of the mountain it was in the low 70s.

10. Drive the Turquoise Highway

I really enjoy driving scenic roads. Two of my favorites that I have driven include UT 128 and Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. In doing research for things to do in Albuquerque, I saw the Turquoise Highway Scenic Road. So, I knew we needed to drive it.

The Turquoise Highway is NM Hwy 14. The 52 mile road starts on the east side of Albuquerque and runs up to Santa Fe. Along the road, there were hills covered with pinion and juniper trees. We also saw rock outcroppings and the road went through numerous small towns.

One of the places that Tonya and I stopped at was Cerrillos Hills State Park. It is located just outside the town of Cerrillos. We did a couple of small hikes in the park. One of them was a short hike that overlooked the town of Cerrillos.

As we got closer to Santa Fe, there were more rocky outcroppings that appeared. It was a nice drive but it wasn’t as nice as some of the other scenic drives that we have done. Even with that being said, I’m glad that we did it since it still was pretty and it was nice not having to drive the highway.

Other Things to Do in Albuquerque

Here are a few other suggestions of things to do while in Albuquerque.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, Albuquerque has many different things that you can see and do. You can soak in the history of a historical part of town, soar above the ground in a hot air balloon, watch a minor league baseball game, take in beautiful and inspiring street murals and so much more. We truly enjoyed our time in the city and all that we did.

Go to my blog at Travelwidstom to learn ways to save on travel, travel itineraries, how to earn and maximize credit card points and miles and much more.