The Loretto Chapel

This is a staple and must visit if you are in Santa fe. It is the First gothic structure west of the Mississippi. Built between1873-1878, patterned after St chapelle in Paris. Known for its Miraculous stairway, which has 360 degrees turns without any central support. It was originally with no rails and these were added later (1887?). Windows are Handcrafted Stained glass in 1874. Station of the cross and alter from Italy, made from marbled dust. This place is truly a 19th century treasures.

Loretto Chapel really is a must-see in Santa Fe. It is gorgeous with its 1870's workmanship. The spiral staircase is, of course, the star, and did not disappoint. The entire effect of the interior of the chapel is breathtaking. Visitors were very respectful of the space, keeping mostly silent and maintaining quiet as they observed, knelt, lit candles, etc.

Unfortunately the gentleman manning the ticket desk spoiled the quiet of the experience. He was talking/laughing nonstop in a very loud voice just feet away from the chapel. It was even difficult to hear the informational audio due to his volume.

Wasn't open to the public today. There's a restaurant on site, Illuminara. Would be interesting to see the inside of this small chapel. Wondering if it looks more outstanding than the exterior of it at all.

It's one of those historical places in Santa Fe that would make you go "Yea, I've been there!". It's only $5 to get in, and you can stay in the chapel as long as you want. Basically what it is is you go in the sanctuary where people have to be quiet but there's a loud narration recording on the history of the place. You can also get a selfie with the "Miracle Staircase" like I did. They have a huge gift shop as well, but mostly religious stuff.

One of the most awe inspiring places to visit. It's history added to the quiet and peaceful environment makes this a wonderful stopping point. Of course, the famous mystical staircase is amazing and interesting. It blows the mind to hear the story that is repeated on a loop. Pro tip: sit in one of the pews with a speaker as the acoustics aren't the best. Stop in, rest, think, be awed by its majesty.

Our tour guide Victoria was awesome. She made our visit special through her obvious passion for what she does. She truly cares about sharing the story and space with visitors embodying an energy that is contagious. This place is sacred. The beauty and history of this enchanted chapel were luckily preserved (when the Catholic Church could no longer afford to keep it up, ) due in large part to the miracle that still stands inside its doors.

It is a must see on your visit to Santa Fe. See the staircase, still in the quiet for a few minutes to reflect, let the peaceful energy of this place renew you. You can afford $5 to see a miracle and to help preserve this precious treasure.

Love the story of the Miraculous Holy Staircase! You can find this staircase inside Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It costs $5 per person to enter, but I feel that it is worth it. Many folks feel that this is a tourist trap, but I'm not one of them. The weekend we visited, the little Chapel was filled with people. Most folks were hanging out at the back of the church because that is where the staircase is located.

While sitting at the pews, you can listen to the story of Loretto Chapel and how the Holy Staircase was built. I do not believe that any masses or services are done at Loretto Chapel anymore. Although, I think that you can book your wedding here. After taking photos and listening to the story of the Miraculous staircase, we sat down at the front of the chapel. We lit a candle, and we said our prayers thanking God for giving us the opportunity to visit the Loretto Chapel in person. Awesome experience!

Just a fabulous place to take a break and take in the Chapel. There are 14 pictures of the Crucifixion. Spiritual. They have some old guy at the ticket counter who must have an inside person to give him a job. He tried to rip us off. Gave him $ 20 bill for one Senior and one Adult. He did not give any money back. When asked, he said "I will have to trust you". No telling if he pockets $ 20/day for himself. He returned $ 10 instead of $ 11. I guess it is hard to get young help now a days.

As others have said, this is not a church, but a tourist trap. A church charging admissions? Yep. Admission to see the staircase is $5.00 a person. not much, but save the money and look at the pictures online. The gift shop attached is over-priced. Glad I passed on a silver cross because I was able to find a more beautiful silver and turquoise cross hand-made by one of the Indian tribes.

Small, quaint, sacred, beautiful, peaceful, nice service at the entrance, $5 so reasonable. The gift shop staff (a man who helped me find a Christmas ornament) was so kind and patient. In my opinion, an overall better experience than The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi because of the way we were able to sit down in the pews, close your eyes, rest and pray, but also because of the story of the staircase, AND the gift shops are so much better; they have more shops and they're more varied.

It's not even a chapel anymore, it's on the grounds of a hotel and it's a big tourist trap. There's an entrance fee-which should have tipped me off that it wasn't a working church anymore and all so you can walk in and.that's it. The staircase is there and they sell you the story but once you get in that's really kind of it. Well, there's the gift shop, I basically paid 5 dollars to get the opportunity to spend more money. It is literally a glorified event space that charges admission.

Beautiful venue for a wedding. Warm and cozy. Staircase is stunning. Architecture was unbelievable and I hope we can go.back.

Felt like a big tourist trap. It was odd coming to a church that you had to pay to get into just to see the famous staircase. It just didn't feel like a genuine place of worship. Then, to get out, you have to go through this huge gift shop. All in all, felt super commercialized and not worth our time. As others have mentioned, I'd also recommend just going down the street instead to the San Miguel Church - the oldest church in the US, that's not only free but shared so much rich history and information in the church.

THE BIGGEST TOURIST TRAP EVER! If you want to see strange and miraculous things head to Meow Wolf instead. Or if you prefer viewing a similar chapel, I'd suggest the San Miguel Church a block away, which is the oldest church structure in the US, its free and far more amusing. The Loretto Chapel is simply a huge tourist trap that really isn't worth your 10 minutes inside or your $5.

A friend of ours mentioned the miraculous staircase in the Loretto Chapel, so we added it to our itinerary for Santa Fe during our trip to New Mexico. Little did we know that they charge admission to enter the chapel just to view this staircase and the admission is now $5 per person. The shady part is that there are no signs for admission outside so once you start standing in line to enter the chapel, they immediately catch you off guard with the admission.

The staircase itself looks like any spiral staircase, but made out of wood. It only reaches the second story and hardly "miraculous" in my eyes. 90% of the crowd inside the chapel are old retired folks who also probably fell for the trap and didn't know better. I really wish we did more research ourselves so we didn't have to waste the money.

The lamest part of this is that they seem to monetize the chapel and staircase so much where they have a gift shop adjacent to the chapel that sell keychains and magnets of the staircase. This just seems completely unnecessary and ridiculous that they try so hard to monetize this religious place.

This is a cool historic site, with a staircase with a neat story about the answered nuns' prayer. They were in need of a staircase for the choir loft in a small space, and an anonymous carpenter appeared and built it. It has a unique with a unique design and no support. Unfortunately later the handrail was added, as was one support due to excessive traffic in the area.

They have an audio story that plays every 10 minutes or so that lasts about 5 minutes (estimates). My only qualm is that it's $5 for an adult and $4 for kid/senior. I think the money goes to the nunnery. Personally I think a freewill donation makes more sense since it's a church, after all.

You MUST go here when in Santa Fe. The Loretto Chapel is home to the miraculous staircase that you may have seen on the tv show Unsolved Mysteries. You need to go witness the phenomenon for your self, and while there take a moment to reconnect spiritually. For more on what to do while in Santa Fe, check out our blog. https://kasventures.org/2019/09/16/one-day-in-santa-fe/

When is a church not a church? When it's a chapel of love 'cause we're goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get ma-a-arried, goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get ma-a-arried. Gee, I really love you and we're gonna get ma-a-arried. Goin' to the chapel of love. Thank you. No, please sit down. This is indeed a church where people get betrothed but there are no services. It's really a tiny museum with one real attraction, the magical staircase. Cue for the angelic choir.

Indeed it did look like it was built with no visible physical support (photo: http://bit.ly/2KCkleG). It turns out that's pretty much what your five bucks gets you because otherwise it's a cute chapel and not much more. The adjoining academy closed in 1968 and has since turned into a pricey hotel and spa. Jamie W. and I stumbled into the posh lobby through an exit door.

When we were in need of the facilities, we were told in a snippy tone that the public-looking restrooms were for hotel guests only. So much for Starbucks civility. Guess the $5 doesn't take you too far here. RELATED - Do you know the way to Santa Fe? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: bit.ly/2I4mWdq

Checked out Loretto Chapel because of the mysterious spiral staircase. They charge an entrance fee $4pp, I think it's pretty high to see a church, but they use it for maintenance, etc. We spent about 10-15 minutes to look around and take some pics. There's a small gift shop too. Worth a visit to see the spiral staircase.

While in Rome. No! Wait! While in Santa Fe, apparently, you visit old churches. I'm not particularly a religious individual but religious institutions have the market cornered when it comes to beautiful buildings. We arrived in Santa Fe extra early and we had to do something to pass the time before the museums and food spots opened. That brings us to Loretto Chapel.

I knew nothing about this chapel. My lovely was talking about how it was a place people would pilgrimage to. She also pointed out a sign on the way in on how the place was featured on Unsolved Mysteries. If I remember correctly, it's the first Gothic style church west of the Mississippi. It's beautiful on the inside and out. It's no longer a functioning church. It's now a museum that gets packed with tourists.

On the day we were there, there were around two dozen people in the main hall. There isn't much to see in this church other than the church. The stairs exist. Oh, maybe I should clarify. these are miraculous stairs. The story goes that people prayed for days, a carpenter showed up, built the stairs, and bounced. Apparently, that's worthy of some type of divinity.

As with most things, I'm skeptical of the story behind them. This place is filled with tourists and honestly, it's more spectacle than spiritual. It is only three dollars(As of April 2017) to get in. If it was a penny more, I'd tell you to enjoy it from the outside. Since it is only three dollars, it's worth it if you want to be lazy and not Google the story of this church. Paying three dollars to check out a church seems odd to me.

Others have mentioned there being some type of energy here. I can see that. I'm not sure if it is the story about the stairs, people's excitement about the place, or the overwhelming beauty of the structure but there is something special about this place. I'm sure the diehard religious fans are blinded by this place. Manifestations la biblical. In short, if you're in Santa Fe and have time to kill, check it out. Don't plan your Santa Fe trip around this chapel.