2015 was a fantastic year in Santa Fe and we thank everyone who visited us. Santa Fe is home to historic adobe architecture, clear blue skies, and open landscapes – a photographer’s dream. It’s no surprise that Popular Photography has named Santa Fe the “World’s Best Place to Photograph.”

To celebrate all the extraordinary memories and images from the past year, we’ve selected the top ten photos on our Instagram page, @cityofsantafe. Photos were selected by the number of likes each photo received.

Enjoy! We hope to see you (and your cameras) in 2016.

 

No. 10 - View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

 

No. 9 - The Historic Santa Fe Plaza

Santa Fe is one of the world’s top award-winning and most beloved destinations. “The City Different” is four centuries of history and legend, ancient and modern cultures, a majestic outdoor world of recreation and adventure, vibrant visual and performing arts, expansive culinary delights, revitalizing spas, and uniquely tasteful shopping. This year the city has achieved high distinctions in all these categories by some of the most credible and competitive venues in the world. A complete list of awards and accolades runs almost two pages single spaced. Read our #NewBlogPost at santafe.org #Accolade #Award #TravelAndLeisure #CondeNastTravel #BestCity #FriendliestCity #BestFoodCity #SantaFe #SantaFeNM #TheCityDifferent   A photo posted by Visit Santa Fe (@cityofsantafe) on

No. 8 - View of the Sangre de Cristos

 

 No. 7 - Santa Fe National Forest

 

 

No. 6 - Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

 

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. The cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886 on the site of an older adobe church, La Parroquia (built in 1714–1717). An older church on the same site, built in 1626, was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The new cathedral was built around La Parroquia, which was dismantled once the new construction was complete. A small chapel on the north side of the cathedral was kept from the old church. #StFrancisCathedral #CathedralBasilicaOfSaintFrancisOfAssisi #RomanCatholic #SantaFeNM #SantaFe #TheCityDifferent #ArchbishopJeanBaptisteLamy #LaParroquia #PuebloRevolt #Cathedral   A photo posted by Visit Santa Fe (@cityofsantafe) on

 

No. 5 - Appaloosa On The Santa Fe Plaza

 

 

No. 4 - Red Truck On Hillside Avenue

 

The December holidays bring together Santa Fe's historic adobe surroundings with priceless traditions from Spanish, Native American, and Old West heritage to give the city a holiday look and feel unlike anywhere in the U.S. The nearby mountains are covered in snow, the sky is vivid blue, and the spicy smell of local piñon wood in fireplaces scents the air as the city moves into its most romantic and charming season. Visit us at santafe.org to plan your holiday adventure! (Photo: TOURISM Santa Fe) #HolidayDifferent #SantaFeChristmas #Christmas #RedTruck #Shrine #ChristmasLights #Cross #VintageTruck #HillsideAvenue #SantaFeNM #SantaFe #CityDifferent #SantaFeHoliday #SimplySantaFe #HowToSantaFe #NewMexicoTrue #PureNewMexico #ExploreNewMexico   A photo posted by Visit Santa Fe (@cityofsantafe) on

 

No. 3 - Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

 

On October 20, Conde Nast Reader’s Choice voted Santa Fe the #2 Best Small City In The United States, a high accolade from the world’s premier travel publication that saw us top all sorts of fantastic destination cities under 150,000 population. We know you LOVE Santa Fe and ask for your help and energy to getting out the vote for the Travel + Leisure survey. These are important and highly competitive contests, and TOURISM Santa would appreciate your help! Travel + Leisure, is surveying for favorite cities until November 2. Please vote and share with those who will vote in high favor of Santa Fe: http://www.travelandleisure.com/afp Thank you from the bottom of our Santa Fe hearts and please share this post! #CondeNast #BestSmallCity #SantaFeNM #SantaFe #TheCityDifferent #Tourism #Vote A photo posted by Visit Santa Fe (@cityofsantafe) on

 

No. 2. - Snow At The Santa Fe Railyard

 

No. 1- Snow At The Inn and Spa At Loretto

 

To view more beautiful photos, be sure to follow us on Instagram (@cityofsantafe). Start planning your 2016 Santa Fe adventure and order your Santa Fe travel guide here.

The staff at TOURISM Santa Fe wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and a Merry Christmas!