Random spots around Albuquerque, using Google Maps streetview.
"A magical, far away place. Where the sun is always shining, and the air smells like warm root beer, and the towels are oh so fluffy!"
"Albuquerque",note known as The Duke City, is the largest city and metropolitan area in New Mexico. Founded as "La Villa de Alburquerque" in 1706, named after the Duke of Alburquerque, the viceroy of New Spain. Best known for quite a few things: being the birthplace of Neil Patrick Harris, the home of Heisenberg, the founding location of Microsoft, a magical land where the towels are oh so fluffy, the place for living one's high school experience as a musical, and being where Bugs Bunny should've taken a left turn.
The city is well known for its panoramic vistas; to the east are the large Sandia Mountains, to the west is the West Mesa with its inactive volcanoes, and running north-to-south is the Rio Grande river with its accompanying Bosque forest. Officially called the City of Albuquerque, within Bernalillo County, although the metropolitan area encompasses the counties of Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia. Also, when taken as a part of the Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas Combined Statistical Area it also encompasses Cibola, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, and Santa Fe counties.
In order of top-to-bottom and left-to-right places in the image include the Rio Grande and Bosque, The University of New Mexico, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Sasebo Japanese Garden at the Bio Park's Botanic Garden, Museum of Natural History near the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History with the accompanying Tiquex Tricentennial Park, Albuquerque Old Town with the San Felipe De Neri Church with accompanying town square, Albuquerque Downtown near the Albuquerque Convention Center, The Kimo Theatre, a Blake's Lotaburger near a Sadie's both of which are New Mexican cuisine classics, ABQ Uptown, Sandia Resort and Casino, and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Park.
Neighborhoods and Popular landmarks
The city has a large forest surrounding the Rio Grande, a river which flows through the city north-to-south, the forest area is called the Bosque (bose-kay or boss-key). To the east are the Sandia Mountains, and to the west is the West Mesa. While the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area is a large conurbation, directly under Albuquerque proper are:Northwest
West Mesa, Paradise Hills, and Taylor Ranch. Neighbors the city of Rio Rancho, and the villages of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque and borders Corrales.- Old Town Albuquerque – Location of the 1706 founding of "La Villa de Alburquerque". Currently the Old Town Plaza houses a gazebo which features everything from music performances to weddings. Around the plaza are the San Felipe de Neri Church, several shops focusing on the city's Native American and Hispanic heritage, and the restaurants of The Candy Lady, Church Street Cafe, Hacienda del Rio Restaurant, La Placita, and Little Anita's.
- Downtown Albuquerque – The downtown area of Albuquerque centers around the Albuquerque Civic Plaza. The Albuquerque Convention Center, El Rey Theater, and Kimo Theatre are popular downtown venues for Albuquerque's arts, community, and entertainment.
- Indian Pueblo Cultural Center - The histories and culture of the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico are highlighted at the center.
- Rio Grande Nature Center State Park - Wildlife viewing areas and trail access to the Rio Grande Bosque.
- Petroglyph National Monument - trails alongside designs and symbols carved into volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers. Recording of cultural expression and continue to hold profound spiritual connection with both the Native Americans and Hispanos of the area.
- Double Eagle II Airport - Small private and local flights.
- Martineztown - Old neighborhood near Old Town and east Downtown Albuquerque.
- Cottonwood Mall - A two story mall with over 135 stores. Near the border of Corrales and Rio Rancho. The surrounding area has lots of stores and several apartment complexes.
Northeast
High Desert, Tanoan, Sandia Heights, and North Albuquerque Acres. Neighbors the Pueblo of Sandia.- The Sandia Peak Aerial Tram - North America's longest tram. Goes from Albuquerque at about 5,000 feet, to the peak of the Sandia Mountains at above 10,000 feet.
- Cliff's Amusement Park - Classic American amusement park, with several high energy rides such as the Big Flush waterslide and the well-known New Mexico Rattler roller-coaster.
- The University of New Mexico - A flagship research institution part of the Mountain West Conference. Their sports teams are known as Lobos.
- Nob Hill - Old Route 66 style shopping district.
- Coronado Mall and ABQ Uptown - Modern shopping district, the Coronado Mall features over 150 stores, and the neighboring ABQ Uptown features high-end apartments and shops.
- Balloon Fiesta Park - The location of the annual International Balloon Fiesta, as well as several celebrations including a Fourth of July Celebration.
Southeast
Four Hills, Nob Hill, Ridgecrest, Willow Wood, and Volterra.- Kirtland Air Force Base - One of the top personnel Air Force bases in the United States. Third largest installation in Air Force Global Strike Command and sixth largest in the Air Force.
- Sandia National Laboratories - Owned by Lockheed Martin, it is a major United States Department of Energy research and development national lab.
- Albuquerque International Sunport (commercial national and international flights) - The only international airport in New Mexico. The airport features New Mexican style Pueblo and Spanish architecture.
- Central New Mexico Community College - Shortened to CNM, a vocational college accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
- Nob Hill Shopping District - The hub of Albuquerque's Route 66 culture, it has a merger of New Mexico's Spanish/Pueblo and early 20th Route 66 Americana architectures.
- Isotopes Park - Home of the Minor League Baseball team, the Albuquerque Isotopes.note Also home of New Mexico United, which began play in the second level of US men's soccer, the USL Championship, in 2019. Formerly the location of the city's prior Minor League team, the Albuquerque Dukes, who are still fondly remembered by the city's denizens. The Isotopes too are fond of the Dukes name, and have an annual throwback game every year where the team dons Dukes uniforms.
- The Pit – Home of New Mexico Lobos basketball. Though officially named University Arena when it opened in 1966, it's always been known as "The Pit" due to its largely subterranean construction, having been dug out of the city's south mesa and covered with a simple steel-framed roof. Although corporately named "Dreamstyle Arena" since May 2017, no one (except UNM sports suits) calls it anything but "The Pit".
- National Museum of Nuclear Science & History - Archives the history of the United States' nuclear past.
Southwest
Barelas, Atrisco, Los Padillas, Kinney, Westgate, Westside, Alamosa, Mountainview, and Pajarito.- National Hispanic Cultural Center - Centered in the old town of Barales, at the heart of Albuquerque's native Hispano population, the South Valley. The center has regular Latin, Hispanic, Mexican, and New Mexican folk arts and performances. They also have events celebrating the city's Japanese heritage such as the Aki Matsuri, and nearby restaurant El Modelo celebrates the city's old Hispano and Native American roots.
- Albuquerque Bio Park (Aquarium, Botanic Garden, and Zoo) - An internationally award-winning Botanic Garden, as well as New Mexico's largest Aquarium/Zoo. The aquarium here and in Denver, Colorado, are moderately small in size, but are impressive for their altitudes at being over-a-mile high.
Events
Spring
- ABQ Biopark Botanic Garden Hanami - Japanese Spring Festival
- Gathering of Nations - The largest gathering and celebration of Native American culture and tradition. Native Americans from all around the North America gather to celebrate.
Summer
- Albuquerque Comic Expo
- San Felipe de Neri Fiestas - In Old Town Albuquerque, every summer a festival takes place supporting the San Felipe de Neri church, one of the oldest continuously operating building in Albuquerque.
Autumn
- Albuquerque Aki Matsuri
- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
- New Mexico State Fair
Winter
- Albuquerque Comic Con
- ¡Globalquerque!
- World's Largest Matanza - The matanza is a New Mexico family tradition where pork is served with other traditional New Mexican foods in a feast/celebration. In Belen, the World's Largest Matanza, takes this to a whole new level turning the event into a large community celebration/fiesta.
Metropolitan Area
- Albuquerque - The main city, founded in 1706.
- Belen - A town to the south, whose name translates to Bethlehem.
- Moriarty - A town to the east, near a Google test-flight facility. As well as a mecca of fireworks for the rest of Albuquerque metro.
- Rio Communities - Small farming communities connecting Albuquerque with Isleta Pueblo.
- Rio Rancho - A town to the north, location of a fab unit for CPU manufacturer Intel.
Towns and Villages
- Bernalillo
- Bosque Farms
- Corrales
- Cuba
- Encino
- Estancia
- Jemez Springs
- Los Lunas
- Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
- Mountainair
- Peralta
- San Ysidro
- Tijeras
- Willard
Pueblos
- Isleta and the Isleta Village Proper
- Jemez
- San Felipe
- Sandia and the Pueblo of Sandia Village
- Santa Ana
- Santo Domingo
- Zia
Census-designated places
- Algodone
- Carnuel
- Casa Colorada
- Cedar Crest
- Chilili
- Cochiti
- El Cerro-Monterey Park
- Jarales
- La Jara
- Los Chavez
- Los Trujillos-Gabaldon
- Manzano
- Meadow Lake
- North Valley
- Paradise Hills
- Pena Blanca
- Placitas
- Ponderosa
- Regina
- Rio Communities North
- Rio Communities
- South Valley
- Tajique
- Tome-Adelino
- Torreon
- Valencia
Famous Albuquerquaens/Burqueños
Actors / Creators- Neil Patrick Harris
- Mike Judge
- Val Kilmer
- Isabel Lucero
- Mario Lucero
- Demi Moore
- Freddie Prinze Jr.
- Steven Michael Quezada
Musicians and Bands
- Demi Lovato
- The Handsome Family (originally from Chicago, but based in Albuquerque since 2001)
- The Shins
Business People
- Jeff Bezos
- Bill Gates
Arts and Entertainment groups
- Blackout Theatre
- Heaven Sent Gaming
Media set in Albuquerque
- Breaking Bad
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- High School Musical
- Hunt Down the Freeman
- The Avengers (2012) (the building The Hulk lands inside after falling from the Helicarrier, is the Albuquerque Rail Yards, a slight nod to his ability to "home in" to his birthplace in New Mexico)
- In Plain Sight
- Race to the Sun: This is the hometown of the main characters Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery.
- Thads World Destruction Before Destruction
- Young Guns
Travel series that have visited Albuquerque
And in case you were wondering, turning left at Albuquerque will take you to one of the following locations Cucamonga, Pismo Beach, a bull fighting arena in Spain, or either the North or South Pole.
