Albuquerque Tours

A number of professional tour operators offer trips of all types around the city and region, from hot-air balloon rides to pueblo tours. A good place is the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (tel: 1 800 284 2282; www.itsatrip.org), which has information on tours and tour groups as well as free self-guided itineraries on everything from Route 66 to exploring the Sandia Mountains. Most of New Mexico's 19 pueblos are within two hours' drive of Albuquerque.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW (tel: (505) 843 7270 or 1 866 855 7902; www.indianpueblo.org) offers several Pueblo-owned and -operated guided bus tours, which provide a fascinating look at the Native American cultural experience.

Several companies offer hot-air balloon rides, including Skyspan Adventures (tel: (505) 293 6800 or 1 800 351 9588; www.skyspanadventures.com), which provides complimentary shuttle service, light breakfast, local sparkling wine, flight certificate and a commemorative pin.

A ghost tour through Old Town Albuquerque by Tours of Old Town (tel: (505) 249 7828; www.toursofoldtown.com) details stories of vengeful lovers, murdered soldiers and mysterious spectres.

The Arts Crawl (tel: (505) 244 0362; www.artscrawlabq.org) is a self-guided tour through local galleries held the first Friday of each month; you can also obtain information on visiting galleries at other times from the website.