Transportation in Santa Fe
Santa Fe has a small but vibrant downtown that is not only walkable, but walked, often, by many people late into the nights, particularly in summertime when the tourists flood in. Parking can be a significant problem during the summer and is not exactly easy to get at any time of year, but look for parking lots (fee) near St. Francis Cathedral, Sweeney Center, and between Water and San Francisco Streets west of the Plaza. If in town for the Santa Fe Indian Market, plan on parking a loooong way from downtown and taking a shuttle, e.g. from De Vargas Mall. Limited, but improving, public transportation is available at other times via Santa Fe Trails, the city's bus service.
The main roads through town are St. Francis Drive (US 84/285) from north to south, Cerrillos Road (NM SR 14) from the downtown area southwest to I-25 and beyond, Old Santa Fe Trail and its offshoot Old Pecos Trail from downtown southeast to I-25, and St. Michaels Drive and Rodeo Road and its offshoots, both connecting Old Pecos Trail and Cerrillos east to west. Most outlying attractions are accessible via one of these roads. The downtown area is a remarkable rat's warren of small roads that you really don't want to drive on; park your car and walk. Streets there tend to wander (Paseo de Peralta, one of the main roads in the downtown area, almost completes a loop) and, even when apparently rectilinear, are not necessarily aligned to true north/south/east/west.
If you're bound for the Santa Fe Opera from Santa Fe or points south, consider taking the Santa Fe Relief Route (NM SR 599), which leaves I-25 south of the Cerrillos Road exit, bypasses most of Santa Fe, and meets US 84/285 just south of the Opera. This can be a good way of getting to lodging and restaurants on the north side of town (e.g. Gabriel's, cited below) as well; although it's a few miles out of the way, the much less chaotic driving, particularly around rush hour, provides considerable compensation. Unfortunately, the Relief Route doesn't provide convenient access to the downtown area, so for the sights, restaurants and hotels there, you'll just have to run the gauntlet of small, winding streets.
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