Santa Fe averages 300 sunny days per year, with 14 inches of rain and 17 inches of snow annually. The hottest days arrive in June, when temperatures soar into the high 90s. Because of the altitude, temperatures can change by 30 degrees in a single day, and sometimes all four seasons seem to pass through in a 24-hour time period. Expect sudden rain showers and cool evenings in summer and snow from November through April.
Ski Santa Fe opens from Thanksgiving through Easter, and you can hike and bike year-round. You can also enjoy river rafting, horseback riding, hot air ballooning, fly-fishing, ice-skating and swimming or work out in Pilates and yoga classes and fitness gyms around the city. When you're ready to relax and rejuvenate, choose from an array of spa services, including massage, facials, hot tubs and herbal wraps, offered around the city
To help you plan your visit to Santa Fe, also known as the City Different, here are a few basic facts about our city. 
With a population of 70,000 primarily Hispanic, Anglo and Native American people, Santa Fe, which means Holy Faith in Spanish, is New Mexico's fourth largest city behind Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Rio Rancho. Situated at 7,000 feet in the foothills of the southern Rocky Mountains, it was founded between 1607 and 1610, making it the second oldest city as well as the highest and oldest capital in the U.S. In 1912, it officially achieved statehood and today its unique offerings of art, culture and ancient traditions make it a world-class tourist destination, drawing more than 1 million visitors each year. In 2005, Santa Fe became the first U.S. city to be chosen by UNESCO as a Creative City, one of only nine cities in the world to hold this designation.
Santa Fe has long been a center for arts and culture. Due to sales, it now ranks as the country's third largest art market with nearly 300 galleries and dealers. There also are more than a dozen major museums showcasing an array of art, culture, history and traditions, as well the world-class Santa Fe Opera, In recent years, the city has also earned a reputation with food-lovers. Whether you're hankering for basic New Mexican food, 
creative Southwestern cuisine, or authentic Italian, French, Asian and other world cuisines, the city offers more than 200 choices. Accommodations are equally diverse. You can choose from an array of resorts, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, vacation rentals and other lodgings, including campgrounds and RV parks.
Early Spanish explorers planted the seeds of culture in a place now known as Santa Fe in 1607. These seeds took root and flowered into the Hispanic way of life that continues to thrive today.
A people of great faith, the early Spanish settlers arrived in the region with scores of Catholic priests. The gloriously well-preserved adobe mission churches that dot the Santa Fe landscape, the Hispanic villages and the Indian Pueblos, are a testament to the strong role of religion in the lives of Hispanics both past and present.
Just as the Spanish created houses of worship from an adobe mix of mud and straw, they built villages and towns in the same architectural fashion. The energy-efficient earthen structures fit into their high desert home in every way - keeping the heat in during the winter and out in the summer - while the low-slung, flat-roofed buildings blended naturally into the land.
Although adobe construction techniques were used by Native Americans in the area long before the Spanish arrived, the Spaniards introduced their own innovative architectural elements to their new Indian neighbors. The formed mud-brick corner kiva fireplace replaced the smoke hole in the roof, and the horno - a beehive-shaped outdoor oven of Moorish origin - became a common cooking tool.
Through the years, as Santa Fe has gained greater cachet in the public eye, the heart of the city's Hispanic culture has remained very much the same. As visitors flock to the city for a look at the oldest church, or try the latest in nouvelle Southwest cuisine, Hispanic families gather in church or at the kitchen table to share a blessing or a bowl of chile and beans.
Of course, Hispanics in Santa Fe are more than accomplished artists. They are also doctors, teachers, lawyers, politicians, priests, soldiers and writers, too.
Like their Spanish ancestors who settled their town as La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis (the Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis), Hispanics young and old look forward to the future of Santa Fe. At the same time, they continue to honor their history and traditions, never forgetting the important cultural legacy of the past.
Of the 19 Native American communities located in New Mexico, eight are near Santa Fe. All eight are Pueblo Indian tribes and their communities are referred to as Pueblos.
Many of these Pueblos were established centuries ago such as the Taos Pueblo which is thought to have been continuously occupied for close to 1,000 years. Each Pueblo has its own tribal government, traditions, ceremonies and is a sovereign and separate entity. The Pueblos typically welcome visitors and much can be learned about Native American culture by visiting the Pueblos, especially during the specific dances and feast days open to the public.
The website for the
Santa Fe 
Photography is another area where knowing the rules will make for a better visit. Each Pueblo has its own schedule of permits, fees and restrictions so checking with each Pueblo is advised before taking pictures. Rules of thumb that apply to all the Pueblos include asking permission before taking an individual's picture, not interrupting or interfering with dances and remember that pictures are for private use only and may not be reproduced or sold without written permission.