United States · New Mexico · Albuquerque
Old Town Albuquerque, Albuquerque — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Old Town Albuquerque is the original 1706 town site of Albuquerque, ten blocks of adobe around Old Town Plaza and San Felipe de Neri Church.
About Old Town Albuquerque
Where to stay in Old Town Albuquerque
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
A stay inside the historic zoning means low adobe blocks and streets that empty once the shops close. Adobe walls do the muffling. Anyone planning museum days on foot should weigh the blocks toward the Albuquerque Museum, where the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science stands within the same walk.
Families do better toward the ABQ BioPark Zoo, the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Rio Grande Botanic Garden.
About Old Town Albuquerque
What are the main landmarks in Old Town Albuquerque?
San Felipe de Neri Church stands on the north side of Old Town Plaza, a Spanish colonial building finished in 1793. The Albuquerque Museum sits close by, and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Rio Grande Botanic Garden pull daytime crowds toward the same few blocks. Smaller doors sit off the plaza.
La Glorieta, the Telephone Museum of New Mexico and the Charles LeFeber House sit inside the same protected ten blocks.
What is the history of Old Town Albuquerque?
Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor of New Mexico, established the town site in 1706 for the provincial kingdom of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. Diné, Pueblo, Apache and Tiwa people held the ground long before that. San Felipe de Neri Church went up on the plaza's north side in 1793, and the surrounding adobe blocks later entered the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties as the Old Albuquerque Historic District.
City zoning guards the fabric.
Where is Old Town Albuquerque?
The district holds about ten blocks of adobe buildings around Old Town Plaza, kept apart from the rest of Albuquerque by a special historic zoning designation.
Good for
More areas in Albuquerque
Updated September 2026