We took a tour of the Torreon and visited the art museum. The mural in the Torreon is a must-see. The museum complex is beautiful, and the art exhibits are a good representation of local artists and cultures. We are looking forward to returning to eat in the restaurant.

This is an absolutely amazing place, The tour of the El Torreón was so interesting and our guide, Iris, was eager to answer our questions. The hour flew by and I cannot wait to participate in this tour again, as there is so much to learn from and about this fresco. I wish I'd have read about it in advance as another reviewer mentioned. After the tour we had lunch at La Fonda del Bosque Restaurante. The decor is warm and welcoming. We enjoyed a light lunch...my husband said the Tres Leches Flan was the best he'd ever tasted and my Chipotle Tomato Soup was incredibly delicious. Next was our visit to the Visual Arts Museum which also exceeded our expectations. We left knowing we'll be back on our next trip to Albuquerque in a couple of months.

The Torreon tour was wonderful and informative. The lunch at La Fonda on site was scrumptious. Ten in our party and everyone raved about the tour and the food.

Although interesting this short, guided tour could use better structuring. I made sure to pay for my ticket and arrive on time like many others. I feel it is considerate to the guide and to the other people who are here to learn and enjoy. The visiting hours are clearly marked. Unfortunately, several people who arrived late, and some, out of the blue, and without tickets, took precedent over the people who were respectful enough to arrive on time. They took over and asked questions that had already been asked and answered so at that point, it became an absolute waste of time for us to still be there. The guide was knowledgeable, but it seems it would’ve been even more enjoyable to know, for example, which figure was the self-portrait of Vigil (the artist), where was his signature, to what music did he paint this amazing fresco, why did he lose toenails while he painted it? Where did he get his natural pigments from? And that including research and painting, it took Vigil nearly ten years to complete. Humanizing the artist and his work makes it much more interesting to me than just listing dates, events, and quotes. Located in the 45-foot-tall skylit cylindrical El Torreón (turret or fortified tower), this 4,300 square foot (400 square meter), concave, buon (true) fresco, illustrates three thousand years of Hispanic and pre-Hispanic history highlighting diverse cultural connections between people and places from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas. There is absolutely so much to take in here (there are over 220 figures in this fresco) that it would take days to absorb and that can be done online. Checking all the parts of the fresco online before visiting was a HUGE help for me. Unveiled in October 2010, on the 10th anniversary of NHCC, it is considered one of the largest concave (possibly the largest) buon frescos in North America. Only true, verifiable facts were included in the fresco. I was made speechless by the sheer bewilderment of being immediately enveloped by hundreds of stories over thousands of years. It’s as if I could hear each figure whispering their unique tales, feeling their pain, their questioning, or their surprise. For a mere $2 this is a fantastic fresco to experience. It’s almost like walking inside a grand cathedral, with awe – it would help if late arrivals would be kept in check instead of taking over, however. The art gallery also had very interesting works of art, but I mainly came here to visit Mundos de Mestizaje, hence my review is centered around that.

Today was a rainy day so we spent the afternoon enjoying some beautiful art. I am sure it would also be a great way to get out of the summer heat. This place is a hidden gem with excellent programming