Taos Artisan Walking Tour + Chocolate

Taos has long held a place on the map as one of the Southwest’s most storied art colonies, drawing seekers, writers, and visionaries since the late nineteenth century. Travelers come for the ethereal high desert light and dramatic mountain landscape, but it is the enduring spirit of creativity that continues to define this remarkable town. This walking experience is designed as an enriching introduction to Taos’ living artisan heritage, offering a meaningful stepping off point for first time visitors to understand the people, places, and influences that shaped its artistic soul.

Your journey begins at Hotel Willa, named in honor of the beloved American writer Willa Cather, whose deep connection to northern New Mexico helped illuminate the region’s cultural richness to the wider world. From here, we set out on foot through the historic heart of Taos and into its quaint surrounding neighborhoods, where every street, adobe wall, and hidden corner carries a story.

Our first visit brings us to the Wurlitzer Foundation, a quiet sanctuary that has supported artists, musicians, and writers for decades. This early stop sets the tone for understanding how Taos continues to nurture creativity across generations. As we walk, we explore the profound influence of Mabel Dodge Luhan, the cultural patron who helped establish the Taos Salon and invited some of the most important artists, writers, and thinkers of the early twentieth century to gather here. Her legacy helped shape Taos into a place where ideas, expression, and cultural exchange could flourish.

We also reflect on the founding of the Taos Society of Artists in 1915, whose pioneering colony and signature painting style established Taos as one of the most influential art centers in the American Southwest, inspiring generations that followed. As part of this exploration, we visit the Couse-Sharp Historic Site and pause outside the Blumenschein House on Ledoux Street, grounding our journey in the lives and legacies of these early artists. We then wind our way down the storied Bent Street, where the artistic spirit still thrives today, with time to experience original works at Parsons Gallery and feel the continuity of Taos’ creative lineage firsthand.