5 recommendations for visiting Taos

🍅 Where to eat: New Mexican food is half the reason to drive the 3.5 hours from Colorado Springs.

• Love Apple: The epitome of farm-to-table dining, this small restaurant is in a historic Catholic church built in the 1800s and serves bold flavors like its gnocchi with carrot butter sauce, burrata and fried sage.

• NOSA Restaurant and Inn: Off the beaten path south of Ojo Caliente, James Beard-nominated chef Graham Dodds serves Michelin-level plates that are approachable, like a paella with quail, pork belly, shrimp and rabbit sausage.
• Orlando's: This is the place for authentic New Mexican flavors with just the right amount of heat, all served in the small, colorful restaurants north of town.

🌳 Where to stay: The El Monte Sagrado is a wellness retreat on a gorgeous property with ponds, waterfalls and cottonwood trees blocks from the historic plaza.

💆 Where to relax: Just 50 minutes west of Taos is the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa.

• Enjoy mineral pools — arsenic, lithia, soda and iron — and other hot springs after a hike along the tree-lined Bosque River or through the desert cliffs to the remnants of the ancient Posi Pueblo.
• The vibe: It's a laid-back, whisper-only setting that's unpretentious and welcoming of all.