Historic Taos Plaza, homes with a long history, and museums with diverse art collections give Taos several cultural perspectives. There are also walks, narrated tours, and offerings centered on music, art, and regional cuisine. When planning your visit, it is worth distinguishing between experiences you can explore freely and activities with a set time commitment.
Taos Plaza: History and Public Use
Taos Plaza dates back to Don Fernando de Taos’s 1796 land grant to 63 families. Today, the historic plaza is the center of the Taos Historic District. Visitors stroll among its shops and galleries; live music and farmers’ markets are part of its ongoing public use. If you would like to get to know Taos through a particular place first, you will find historical context and current public activities in the same plaza.
For a walk, the Architectural Walking Map lets you explore Taos on foot at your own pace. Taos Walking Tours take a different approach: their narrated tours cover the town’s history and culture, its art scene, and historical figures. This lets you choose between exploring independently and following a themed, guided narrative, without treating the two formats as equivalent.
Art and Homes with a Story of Their Own
The Harwood Museum of Art displays art by the Taos Society of Artists and the Taos Moderns in twelve galleries, as well as works and traditions from Pueblo and Hispano contexts. The museum also includes the Arthur Bell Auditorium, which hosts cultural programming ranging from concerts and films to lectures. The combination of collection and programming offers different ways to engage: you can focus on the art on display or include a concert, film, or lecture in your selection.
The Taos Art Museum is housed in Nicolai Fechin’s historic, handcrafted home and studio. The museum also includes the Coffee Gallery and gardens. The Couse-Sharp Historic Site preserves the homes, studios, and gardens of E. I. Couse and J. H. Sharp on a site of more than two acres. Tours are available by appointment and typically last an hour and a half to two hours. Allow for this timeframe when planning, and schedule your tour accordingly.
The Blumenschein Home also brings together architectural history and a collection: parts of the house were built in 1797, and Ernest Blumenschein lived there with his family for more than 40 years. The museum displays art by the Blumenschein family, works by other Taos artists, European and Spanish Colonial antiques, and the family’s personal belongings. The Kit Carson House and Museum is located in the four-room house where Kit and Josefa Carson raised their children; it is one block from Taos Plaza.
Taos Pueblo and Historical Connections
Taos Pueblo is located three miles northeast of Taos Plaza and has been continuously inhabited. It is designated both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. Visitors to Taos can explore a ceremonial racetrack there. Nearby is the original site of Taos Pueblo, known as Cornfield Taos: a ruin and sacred place. Historically, Taos Pueblo held a trade fair every autumn after the agricultural harvest. This fair is part of the recorded history; it does not indicate a current event date.
Demonstrations, Cuisine and Events
La Hacienda de los Martinez is a fortress-like Great House built in 1804 in the style of northern New Mexico during the late Spanish Colonial period. It became an important trading center on the northern frontier of the Spanish Empire. Today, La Hacienda regularly offers demonstrations of traditional regional arts and crafts. Cooking classes and demonstrations in Taos focus on Northern New Mexican and other cuisines; they conclude with participants tasting the dishes they have prepared.
Taos’s events calendar includes music, art, theater, poetry and literature, crafts, workshops, and outdoor activities throughout the day and year. If a particular concert, demonstration, or other event is important to your travel plans, check the relevant event dates in advance.
Discover more destinations: Valdez, Red River, Questa, Taos Ski Valley, Costilla, El Prado, Arroyo Hondo, Ranchos De Taos.
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