5 Days in Albuquerque for Singles

If you find yourself alone in Albuquerque for a week, rejoice — this friendly city is a great place to meet people, hang out with friends in the optimum-to-hot weather, get some you-time at the spa or on the hiking trail, and explore the neighborhoods solo, from industrial downtown to historic Nob Hill.

Day 1

Morning

Your first day in the Q must involve huevos rancheros, so head over to the Range Cafe and order them with Christmas chile (red and green together, how the locals do it). Then head up the mountain to take a trolley ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway. Bask in the breathtaking views of the Sandia Mountains before coming back down (you can hike it, but it will take four hours or so). A ticket will run you $25 and the ride takes about 30 minutes round trip. Then go to Nexus Brewery to unwind with some Southern food, cold brews, and Star Trek paraphernalia.

Afternoon and Evening

Have dinner at Green Jeans Farmery, a new outdoor farmers market that’s frequented by a young hipster crowd. The market is based in repurposed shipping containers where you can find every kind of cuisine you could want (pizza, espresso, organic ice cream). Then head over to one of the casinos, like the Sandia, for a little legal gambling, or maybe catch a fight in the state that brought you champions Holly Holm and Johnny Tapia.

Day 2

Morning

Wake up bright and not-so-early and pop over to the Frontier Restaurant, a University of New Mexico neighborhood institution, for a massive cinnamon roll and huevos rancheros. Then get some local color by tromping around Central Avenue around the Nob Hill area, taking in the old Route 66 signs, antique stores, fun boutiques like the Day of the Dead palace Masks y Mas, and local jeweller Gertrude Zachary.

Mid-Day

Take a bike and brew tour, during which you and a bunch of healthy, attractive strangers can ride around the city on rented bikes going from brewery to brewery sampling the wares of Albuquerque’s vibrant microbrewing community. There are several companies, like Routes Rentals and the Duke City Pedaler, to choose from.

Evening

Downtown Albuquerque is most interesting at night when the strip of nightclubs on Central wakes up. For the best people watching go to Anodyne and see if you can convince someone to lose to you at pool, then pop over to the Library’s downtown location and get your dive bar on. When the bars let out, the food trucks come out to play. The taco trucks, in particular, are cheap and excellent.

Day 3

Morning

Wake up late after all that exercise (and beer) and have a civilized brunch at The Grove. At noon, settle in for a 3.5-hour ride around some of Albuquerque’s most — ahem — colorful spots from the safety of Trolley’s BaD Tour of Breaking Bad filming locations. Get your fill of seedy old Route 66 motels, car washes, and ominously normal suburban neighborhoods. Tours are $65/person; definitely book in advance.

Afternoon and Evening

After your adventure, head over to Tractor Brewery’s Tulane Ave. location where you can make instant friends while leaning on their long U-shaped bar and sampling the microbrews (they also have a first-class cider). Then find a New Mexican restaurant. Locals will recommend Sadies, where you should definitely have the full Albuquerque experience with a plate of chile rellenos (green chiles fried and stuffed with cheese).

Day 4

Morning

Have a light-ish breakfast and a lot of coffee, because today you’re going to prove you’re as tough as a city that churns out MMA fighters by running the trampoline-based obstacle course at Gravity Park Extreme, whose website asks if you’re “ninja enough” to conquer it. Book a “flight time” in advance; tickets are about $13 for an hour and $17 for an hour and a half.

If you survive, you’ll need something hearty to recover. Have lunch at Rudy’s Country Store and Barbecue for pounds of various barbecued meats you can snarf right off the table (with only wax paper protection for decency).

Afternoon and Evening

Now you feel tough and carnivorous, it’s time to get some ink. After four days of walking around a city full of heavily-tattooed individuals (just about everyone in Albuquerque has a tattoo or five) you may have decided you want some body art to call your own. Head over to Tinta Cantina, peruse the gallery of samples, and get yourself a Star Wars/Day of the Dead mashup piece on your forearm.

If you’re not quite ready to commit to that, take yourself to an indie film at the Guild Cinema, where they do fun retro nights and show strange off-beat films for cinephiles and weirdos alike. Then, tattooed or loaded up with interesting cocktail conversation, head over to legendary meat market Burt’s Tiki Lounge for a drink that involves an umbrella and a fun local band.

Day 5

Morning

Begin the day with mimosas and Eggs Benedict at the Slate Street Cafe. Then head to Hyatt Tamaya for a lemongrass dry brush massage or a lavender green tea mani-pedi, because you deserve it. Then go to the Gertrude Zachary house, aka “the Castle,” a bizarre estate, located in an otherwise bare industrial neighborhood, where you can view the local jewelry magnate’s collection of eclectic art, chandeliers, and quirky antiques.

Afternoon and Evening

For your last meal go to Más, the tapas and wine restaurant at the moorish-themed Hotel Andaluz. Here you’ll get Spanish cuisine by the James Beard Award nominee James Campbell Caruso. Then go upstairs to Ibiza, their sexy outdoor rooftop bar, for vino and a farewell view of the mountains.

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