Motorcyle Tour: Texas and New Mexico

Dallas rises in the heart of Texas with glass skyscrapers and a modern energy that blends with deep Southern tradition. Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum preserve the memory of John F. Kennedy's assassination, while the Dallas Arts District — the largest urban cultural district in the United States — gathers museums and theatres designed by world-renowned architects. The historic Deep Ellum quarter reveals murals, jazz and blues venues, while the Bishop Arts District tempts visitors with artisan shops and restaurants. Texan cuisine is a ritual here: smoked barbecue, ribs and generous Tex-Mex. Nearby, Fort Worth keeps the authentic spirit of the Old West alive in its Stockyards. Dallas is the contemporary face of Texas, blending business, culture and warm hospitality.

Abilene rises in the heart of West Texas, a city born along the railroad that preserves the authentic spirit of the frontier. Its historic centre, revitalised with murals and the curious Storybook Capital celebrating children's illustration, makes it a surprising town. Nearby, the reconstruction of Fort Phantom Hill and the state parks recount pioneer life. Home to several universities, Abilene blends Western tradition, Texan hospitality and a welcoming atmosphere. A crossroads of the great prairies, it is a genuine stop along the roads of Texas.

Amarillo rises in the heart of the Texas Panhandle, a land of endless prairies and Route 66 legends. A historic crossroads on the famous "Mother Road", the city preserves the rugged, authentic spirit of the Wild West, with its legendary steakhouses and sprawling ranches. A few kilometres south opens Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States, a spectacular red-rock gorge crossed by trails for hiking and horseback riding. Not to be missed is the quirky Cadillac Ranch, an art installation of graffiti-covered cars planted in the ground that has become an icon of road-trip culture. Amarillo is an authentic stop for those crossing the great American plains in search of endless horizons.

Continue west along Route 66 until you reach Adrian, Texas, and make a stop at the Midpoint Cafe. This is the midpoint of Route 66: from here, Chicago is 1,833 km to the east, and Los Angeles is the same distance to the west. Enter New Mexico and stop in Tucumcari to visit one of the last curiosity shops in this state, the Tee Pee Curios. It's fun not only from the outside but also inside, with all the souvenirs, t-shirts, and jewelry dedicated to Route 66. Head west and then north on Route 84, which was once part of the old Route 66 on the way to Santa Fe, while the landscape becomes desert-like and mountainous with the classic mesas (flat-topped hills). Santa Fe guards a singular soul: capital of New Mexico and the oldest of all the United States' state capitals, it wins you over at first glance with its unmistakable terracotta-coloured adobe architecture. Its beating heart is the historic Plaza, flanked by the Palace of the Governors, where Native American artisans display silver and turquoise jewellery. Nearby rise the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and Canyon Road, the famous gallery-lined street that made Santa Fe one of America's art capitals. The city pulses with Hispanic and Pueblo culture, with its green-chile spiced cuisine, museums devoted to Georgia O'Keeffe and the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains as a backdrop. Santa Fe reveals itself through art, spirituality and desert light.

Carlsbad Caverns holds one of the world's most spectacular cave systems, in the desert of south-eastern New Mexico, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The gigantic Big Room, adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, is reached on foot or by elevator deep in the earth. At sunset, hundreds of thousands of bats fly out of the entrance in an unforgettable spectacle.