New Mexico History Museum

On the historic plaza and adjacent to the Palace of the Governors, this museum gives a high-tech, in-depth overview of the state’s long and complex history. Plan to spend some time here: the main exhibition, “Telling New Mexico–Stories From Then and Now,” is divided into six sections that cover the pre-colonial era to the present. There are lots of fascinating multimedia pieces, as well as displays of period paraphernalia (dresses, wagons, weapons), so the museum is just as entertaining for kids.