The wife and I are planning on visiting Santa Fe this weekend for a short getaway. We have a room booked at the Eldorado Hotel down near the Plaza, and we have been there before but that was 9 years ago.

What are some things that we should plan to see or do?
Is it safe to walk around down there at night
Any problems with CCW or law changes I should be aware of ( I have an AZ permit)
Any must places to eat or drink (We liked Cowgirl BBQ last time)

Lots of places are still closed.
Mask mandates are in effect.
We have a homeless and panhandling problem but not like San Francisco.
There are capacity restrictions and this weekend is Mother's Day. Double check your dinner reservations.
Staying downtown after dark should be fine.
We have a ton of coyotes with no hunting pressure in town.
There's better BBQ across the street from the Cowgirl. Try the Whole Hog Cafe.


Enjoy your trip!


ETA
Bring a good flashlight. Santa Fe is nuts about light pollution and there are few streetlamps.

Make certain you carry.  Lots of aggressive homeless.

If you want to see nature, Diablo Canyon to the west of Santa Fe is something right out of an old western movie.  Drive to the parking lot, and take the trail west between the mountains.  It will take you to the Rio Grande.

Hyde Park and its overlooks are very nice.  A trip to Pecos and to the end of NM 63 in the forest is also nice.

Bandolier National Monument is a good day trip, and only about 40 min away.  

On the weekends different indian tribes sell their jewlery in the plaza.  Meow Wolf is good.

The Valles Caldera is about an hour away and very beautiful.  Lots of walking trails in the area.  San Antonio Hot springs is also nice.

Stay away from Espanola.  It is a drug ridden shithole.

Best advise EVER.

Glad they have a Fanta Se' bypass and the turnoff for Heron lake before you have to venture into Espanola proper.

Does anyone know if there are a bunch of no gun signs in businesses or has the panic worn off and most places removed them?

I haven't noticed them in a while, but to be fair I don't really pay attention.

We made it safely and are back home, thanks for all the advice.

We stayed at the Eldorado hotel and I parked at the parking garage across the street. There were quite a few homeless hanging out at the park a block over and it looked like someone was feeding them breakfast in the mornings. We had a bum sleeping on the porch of a business and could watch them from out hotel room. I joked with my wife that we had a great view of the bumrise.

The plaza started to get a little busy around 7pm Saturday evening with people cruising and some homeless. For the most part we were in by 8pm and no issues. I carried pepper spray most of the time so that I could have a couple drinks. We walked to the farmers Market on Sat morning and only saw the homeless ppl getting breakfast and no one bothered us. Wearing masks was a pain in the ass and the service and food most places was just mediocre.

I've noticed that at a lot of places since Covid.