Albuquerque in United States of America

Albuquerque has an average crime rate compared to some other American cities, but most of it is property crime of more concern to residents than to visitors. Bad neighborhoods:

the South Valley, along the river south of Central Avenue. the War Zone, the area surrounding and south of the State Fairgrounds.

Central Avenue is home to some of Albuquerque's main attractions, but portions of it can be somewhat dangerous after dark. The section from the train tracks (eastern edge of downtown) to University Blvd. can be a little scary in the evening. Even in Downtown, while Central Avenue is passable, smaller nearby streets such as Copper Street can be scary after dark. The Nob Hill/UNM district (between University and Carlisle) is perfectly safe at night, but Central gets progressively seedier east of Carlisle. Consider the bus or a cab through these areas after the sun goes down.

Due to its size and mild climate, the streets of Albuquerque are considered home to many people. While not typically a danger, do expect to meet up with beggars and vagrants, particularly around the University of New Mexico.

If you're going to be engaging in outdoor recreation (even as laid-back as watching an Isotopes day game), slather on the sun screen. The elevation of the city is 5000' or higher, and there is usually not much cloud cover, so one can get a bad sunburn in surprisingly short order.

Be forewarned about New Mexican cuisine; if you're not used to green chile, go easy at first. Many first-timers have tried to eat the hottest chile they could find, only to discover six hours later that it was MUCH hotter than they remembered. Be prepared.

Hospitals

There are a number of hospitals in the city:

Presbyterian Hospital, 1100 Central Ave. SE (at the interscetion of Central and I-25), +1 505 841-1234, http://www.phs.org/. Largest critical health care hospital in the city. General and acute care hospital and 24 hour emergency rooms. Laboratory, physical therapy, nursing, and X-ray/radiology available. Presbyterian also operates a branch hospital, the Kaseman Hospital, 8300 Constitution Ave. NE (at Wyoming and Constitution), +1 505 291-2000. Lovelace Health System http://www.lovelacesandia.com/home/home.aspx has a couple of facilities in the city: Lovelace Medical Center Downtown wntown.aspx?mr=1, 601 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave NE, +1 505 727-8000. Lovelace Westside Hospital, 10501 Golf Course Rd. NW, +1 505 727-2000. University of New Mexico Hospital, 2211 Lomas Blvd. NE (just north of the UNM campus), +1 505 272-2111, http://hospitals.unm.edu/Index.shtml.

Smoking

New Mexico has a state-wide ban on smoking in places of business. This includes bars and restaurants. The only exceptions are casinos and cigar bars. In addition Albuquerque has banned smoking on all public property except the golf courses.

By car

Two Interstate highways pass through Albuquerque: I-40 goes east-west and I-25 goes north-south. Where they meet is a large intersection called The Big I. Albuquerque's Central Avenue is part of old Route 66. A minor note of caution: I-25 south of Albuquerque is a safety corridor in which state law mandates higher fines for traffic violations. Enforcement is spotty, but take the speed limits seriously anyway.

By plane

Albuquerque's airport, the Albuquerque International Sunport http://www.cabq.gov/airport/, is the major air hub for all of New Mexico. The Sunport has service from all major US airlines and their international partners, and is a major hub for Southwest Airlines. One tip: If you're prone to airsickness, try to get flights into this airport that arrive either before noon or after sundown, particularly during late spring and early summer. The high elevation, hot sun, and spring winds combine to produce thermals that can make afternoon arrivals an extremely bumpy proposition. There are no major safety issues (the airport's runways are long, owing to the adjacent Air Force base, with no nearby obstacles to run into), but try telling your stomach that! The rough ride is less of a problem with outbound flights. Incidentally, this airport contains a number of attractive displays of New Mexican arts and crafts as well as one good restaurant (a member of the Garduño's chain, see below under Eat ), and is a more pleasant place than most airports to kill time while waiting for a flight. The major car rental companies are nearby, with a shuttle from the airport to the large new rental center. The Sunport has charging stations for electronics and completely free wireless internet access.

Albuquerque is a heavily planned city. In much of the city, the major roads are lined primarily with businesses with residential mazes on the insides. Street addresses in Albuquerque take the form 12345 Main Street (NE/NW/SE/SW) in which the northeast/northwest/etc. suffix denotes the quadrant of the city containing the address. The railroad tracks, which run parallel to I-25, are the east/west dividing line, and Central Avenue is the north/south dividing line. This nomenclature, while useful in helping you with maps and directions, has the drawback that you can't tell whether a street runs north-south or east-west simply by looking at the address.

Basically, if you remember that I-25 runs north-south, I-40 runs east-west, the Sandia Mountains are to the east, and the Rio Grande runs along the bottom of the valley in the western part of the city, you should be able to make your way around the city without too many problems. Here are some basic terms that will come in handy when asking for directions or looking at a map: Central Avenue is a principal east-west artery, running south (and roughly parallel) of I-40. The interchange of I-25 and I-40 is called The Big I and is roughly in the center of the city. Downtown is just southwest of The Big I, the Heights are the eastern part of town closer to the Sandia Mountains, and the Westside is all the suburbs on the western part of town across the river.

By car

If you're driving, be prepared for frequent road construction. The city government web site, http://www.cabq.gov/, gives information on major construction projects, but there are always minor ones going on. Several radio stations try to give traffic reports during morning and afternoon rush hours, but the service tends to come and go, and it's best to inquire locally as to which stations are currently offering it. KKOB-AM, 770 on the dial, seems to be fairly reliable for these reports. Traffic congestion, while not nearly as horrible as some of the other cities in the Western United States, can still get bad during the rush hour and on Saturdays. The two interstates and the river crossings usually have the worst congestion.

Keep in mind that driving while talking on your cell phone is illegal in Albuquerque.

By bus

ABQ RIDE, +1 505 243-RIDE, http://www.cabq.gov/transit/, is Albuquerque's public transit system. Albuquerque is a driving city, and until very recently the city was not trying to make any great strides in its public transit system. So with the exception of Central Avenue, public transit here is still for the most part very underdeveloped. Most of ABQ Ride's routes spur out of the Alvarado Transportation Center (in downtown at Central Avenue & First Street), which also serves as Albuquerque's Amtrak station and Greyhound depot. Schedules are reduced during the weekend.

The Rapid Ride is an express bus service operated by ABQ Ride with two routes: The Route 766 (Red Line) runs from Uptown to the Westside, mostly on Central Avenue, and connects to several major destinations along the way (Uptown, Expo New Mexico fairgrounds, Nob Hill, UNM, Downtown, Old Town, and the Albuquerque Biological Park), with buses running every 11 minutes (22 minutes on Sunday). The Route 790 (Blue Line), which connects the University of New Mexico to the Westside via Lomas Blvd, I-40, and Coors Blvd (with 15-minute service on weekdays), is of less use to tourists unless you intend to visit the Westside. Both routes utilize buses that are longer than a normal city bus and painted bright red (they're pretty hard to miss). The Rapid Ride operates from about 6AM-8PM (7AM-6PM on Sunday), and most of the stops on the 766 Red Line have a LED display telling you when the next Rapid Ride bus will arrive.

Standard fares for all ABQ Ride routes are $1 per ride, with several discounts possible.

By bike

Albuquerque is fairly bikeable, but it's a sprawling Western city and things are spread out. It's hillier than it looks; Old Town and downtown attractions are several hundred feet lower than things in the heights (Tramway, etc.). There aren't many crossings over the Rio Grande, and some involve uncomfortably close contact with car traffic. Still, there are some great paved trails, particularly the Paseo del Bosque Trail which runs along the east side of the Rio Grande, and the North Diversion Channel Trail which runs from UNM north to Balloon Fiesta Park. Plan accordingly. You can find a complete bike map on the city's bicycling website http://www.cabq.gov/bike/.