Albuquerque is a weird half-breed of Americanisms. The population, the largest of all the New Mexico cities, is a mixture of gays and lesbians, Native Americans, Hispanics, professionals and ranch workers, and the culture reflects the people. There is hot nightlife, square-dancing, museums of the histories of all the different races gathered there, and a gung-ho gay scene thrown in for good measure.

There are eight main museums in Albuquerque, all of which add to the melting pot of culture in the city. From the National Hispanic Cultural Centre to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Centre, the American International Rattlesnake Museum and the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, pretty much everything of note in New Mexico history can be found here. Aside from all that learning, there is Cliff’s Amusement Park and the Hinkle Family Fun Centre, which are great places for travellers with kids, and provide between them everything from roller coasters to bumper cars and mini-golf. Albuquerque has a distinct musical culture, and blues, country and indie are all strong influences in the area. Live music hotspots include El Rey, previously played by the likes of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, or Burt’s Tiki Lounge for rock, indie, hiphop and punk, all week long. There are plenty of gay bars in Albuquerque, especially for men. For a real taste of the west, try The Ranch, a male gay bar for cowboy gear and leather. Foxes Lounge and Albuquerque Mining Co are popular men’s gay bars, and Empire and Pulse are pretty standard men’s gay clubs, playing mainly dance music. Pride Gym is a gay sauna and gym combined, boasting the hottest men in the city, whilst Betty’s Bath is a gay spa for both men and women. There are also a range of annual events for gays and lesbians, such as Albuquerque PrideFest, Closet Cinema Southwest GLBT Film Festival, and the New Mexico Gay Rodeos.

Gays and lesbians are protected from homophobic discrimination and hate crimes. Civil partnership for gay couples is not yet legal, but gay couples or individuals are permitted to adopt, and lesbians are allowed to undergo artificial insemination. Thanks to the relatively large gay population, gays and lesbians are widely accepted in the city.

Flying to Albuquerque means changing planes once within the US, but most American airlines fly into Albuquerque International Sunport, the largest airport in New Mexico. The city can be reached by train from Kansas City, Missouri, Flagstaff, Arizona and LA. Greyhound buses run to all areas of New Mexico from most major destinations in the southwest.