WEST ROUTE 66 - From Abuquerque to Santa Monica

Albuquerque stretches along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where Native, Hispanic and Anglo heritage blend beneath an immense, luminous sky. Its ancient core is Old Town, founded in 1706, with the church of San Felipe de Neri, earth-coloured adobe buildings and pueblo craft shops. High above, the Sandia Peak Tramway — one of the longest aerial tramways in the world — climbs to the crest of the Sandia Mountains for sweeping desert views. The city is famous worldwide for the International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons colour the autumn dawn. New Mexican cuisine carries the aroma of green and red chile, sopaipillas and pueblo dishes. Amid red mesas, art and Native culture, Albuquerque is the gateway to the authentic Southwest.

From Albuquerque to Santa Fe, you can travel along the Turquoise Trail, a scenic road that goes from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and crosses the hills of New Mexico, offering beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and old ghost towns. It is recommended to make a stop in Madrid, once a ghost town, now a gathering place for artists. 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.

Holbrook is a classic town on historic Route 66, in northeastern Arizona, gateway to the striking Petrified Forest National Park. Here stands the famous Wigwam Motel, with its concrete tepee-shaped rooms, an icon of American road nostalgia. The nearby park holds vividly coloured petrified logs and the lunar landscapes of the Painted Desert. Between fossils, vintage motels and Mother Road memorabilia, Holbrook offers an authentic immersion in the atmosphere of the Southwest and the great American road trip.

Flagstaff sits at over 2,100 metres, at the foot of the San Francisco Peaks and surrounded by the world's largest continuous ponderosa pine forest. A laid-back university town, it keeps a brick-built historic centre along the legendary Route 66, lined with cafés, craft breweries and vintage shops. It is the natural gateway to the Grand Canyon, little more than an hour away, as well as to the volcanic landscapes of Sunset Crater and the ancestral ruins of Wupatki and Walnut Canyon. Crystalline skies and minimal light pollution make it one of the world's first dark-sky cities, a haven for stargazing at the Lowell Observatory. In winter, the slopes of Arizona Snowbowl offer surprise skiing in the heart of the Southwest. Flagstaff is an authentic base for exploring both desert and mountain on a single trip.

Williams bills itself as the “gateway to the Grand Canyon”, a small northern Arizona town that proudly preserves the authentic atmosphere of Route 66. It was here that the last stretch of the legendary Mother Road was officially bypassed, and today its Main Street comes alive with neon signs, 1950s diners, vintage shops and period motels. From Williams departs the historic Grand Canyon Railway, which in just over two hours carries travelers to the South Rim of the planet’s most spectacular canyon. Surrounded by the ponderosa pine forests of the Kaibab National Forest, the town also offers tranquil lakes for fishing and trails deep in nature. Between the retro charm of America on the road and the grandeur of its scenery, Williams is an unforgettable stop.

Las Vegas rises like a luminous mirage in the Mojave Desert, the world capital of entertainment, where excess becomes spectacle and the night never ends. Its pulsing artery is the Strip, the famous Las Vegas Boulevard lined with themed resorts that recreate the planet's great icons in miniature: at the Bellagio, fountains dance in choreographies of water and music before an artificial lake; the Paris Las Vegas is crowned by a replica of the Eiffel Tower; at the Venetian, gondoliers glide along Venetian-style canals beneath painted skies; at the Luxor, a black glass pyramid and a great sphinx evoke ancient Egypt, while the Mirage and the other gaming giants animate the scene with dazzling casinos. By night the city becomes a continuous stage: Cirque du Soleil shows, concerts, magic acts and residencies by major stars fill the theatres, while celebrated restaurants and gaming tables keep the metropolis awake until dawn. A short distance away, historic Downtown preserves the city's original face around the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian arcade canopied by a barrel vault of LED lights that brings the old Las Vegas back to life amid vintage neon signs and a more intimate atmosphere. Yet Las Vegas is also the gateway to magnificent natural landscapes: nearby, the Hoover Dam blocks the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, an ideal basin for boating and outdoor activities; Red Rock Canyon offers red sandstone formations crossed by trails and climbing walls; the Valley of Fire sets the desert ablaze with scarlet rock; and to the east opens the immensity of the Grand Canyon, one of the most beloved day trips. The city's most theatrical tradition is here too, that of the wedding chapels where couples marry in minutes, now an integral part of its legend. Between lights, desert and desire, Las Vegas remains a place where anything seems possible.

You cross the Mojave Desert dotted with Joshua Trees (a variety of yucca), between canyons, hills, mesas, dunes, volcanic ash cones, and, in the very short spring, expanses of wildflowers: an oasis of solitude between metropolises. Santa Monica stretches along the Pacific Ocean, west of Los Angeles, and is the beachside icon of Southern California. Its famous pier, the Santa Monica Pier, hosts the historic carousel and the Pacific Park Ferris wheel, ideally marking the end of the legendary Route 66. Along the beach, cyclists and skaters glide down the Ocean Front Walk to Venice Beach, while the Third Street Promenade teems with shops, street performers and restaurants. The Montana Avenue district offers elegant boutiques, and sunsets over the ocean deliver the golden light that made the Californian coast famous. Between surf, palms and a relaxed atmosphere, Santa Monica embodies the carefree, luminous spirit of life on the Pacific.