When it comes to tourist destinations, Old Town Albuquerque tends to top the list — and it has for centuries, believe it or not. Originally founded in 1706 as an outpost of New Spain called La Villa de Alburquerque, our “Duke City” (named in honor of Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque) first clustered around a small plaza just east of the Rio Grande. That plaza still stands today alongside the San Felipe de Neri Church, which was erected in 1793, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and the only one in Old Town proven to date to the Spanish colonial period. The small neighborhood is, these days, filled up with art galleries, souvenir shops and restaurants. You can easily spend a day wandering the tiny plazas and alleyways discovering local favorites like the Candy Lady (424 San Felipe St. NW), the Breaking Bad Store ABQ (2047 South Plaza St. NW), Camino 66 (615 Rio Grande Blvd. NW), Old Town Antiques (416 Romero St. NW), The Old Town Hat Shop (205 San St. Felipe NW), Old Town Emporium (204 San Felipe St. NW) and Plaza Don Luis (303 Romero St. NW). Old Town is also home to the Albuquerque Museum (a fantastic repository for local art), the Explora Science & Learning Center (a great place for hands-on family learning), the American International Rattlesnake Museum (which is exactly what it sounds like) and the New Mexico Natural History & Science Center (sadly, closed right now for renovations). Old Town is also the starting point for a collection of trolly, scooter, bicycle and more tours. Breaking Bad RV Tours (2049 S. Plaza St. NW) is a popular one, sending you out to explore actual “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” filming locations. If you wanna get in the Halloween mood, Old Town Ghost Tours explore the haunted history of our city, starting nightly at Plaza Don Luis.
