48 Hours in El Paso | PART 1 | EXPLORE/TOUR the City

48 Hours in El Paso, Part 1: Explore and Tour the City

The Plan for 48 Hours

Welcome to Living in El Paso, Texas. We're John and Leah Peña of Peña El Paso Realty Group, and we work with a lot of people who are considering a move to El Paso, whether that's military, retirement, a job transfer, or just wanting a lower cost of living and a different pace of life. One of the questions we get asked most is simple: what should I do here, what should I see? So we put together a plan for 48 hours in El Paso.

The premise: you fly in Friday afternoon, spend Friday night with a casual dinner, nothing fancy, then run a customizable tour all day Saturday, and fill most of Sunday with a handful of things to do. We're splitting this into two videos, because if you're thinking about relocating here, you probably want a feel for which area or neighborhood you'd want to settle in. In this Part 1 video, you'll spend all of Saturday driving around and exploring the different areas we've featured in our past videos. It's a full day if you try to see everything, so check out our neighborhood playlist first. That will help you narrow down to the one or two areas you actually want to focus on, since trying to deep-dive every part of the city in one day is probably too much.

Where to Stay Downtown

Before the tour, a few suggestions on where to stay for a Friday and Saturday night. If you're only in town for a few nights, downtown is a great location: it's central to every neighborhood, it's the heart of the city, and there's usually something going on. That was true for us. We weren't even planning on moving to El Paso when we first came through, and we fell in love with the city then, in part because of that energy. Whether you land at a hotel or an Airbnb, hopefully you'll be part of the action. Plenty of people are also more comfortable at an airport-area hotel, which isn't far out of downtown either.

Here's a curated list of downtown hotels. Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park is probably the most iconic, and one of the most expensive, hotels downtown. It's historic, with a lot of history behind it: the Elizabeth Taylor Penthouse sits on the rooftop deck. If you stay there, rooftop access is included, and we'd highly suggest checking it out. If you're not staying there, you can still go up to the rooftop, but you'll need a reservation and there's a minimum charge.

Paso del Norte is another historic hotel, just recently renovated, and home to one of our favorite bars in downtown El Paso. We stayed there over what we call our Pandemic New Year's. Its rooftop bar, on what we believe is the 10th floor, is open to anyone, not just hotel guests, with indoor and outdoor space, a cocktail in hand, and views that take in what younger locals call J-Town. It's a great thing to do if you're downtown on a Friday night: grab a quick bite, then check out the rooftop. If you're staying there, there's also a rooftop pool.

A couple of other, slightly less expensive options: Hotel Indigo, also historic and downtown, with a younger crowd and its own rooftop bar. And Aloft, another historic property, which happens to be the hotel we ended up at the very first time we came through El Paso, the trip where we fell in love with the city, so it's near and dear to us. More recently, for a more boutique experience, we checked out the Stanton House.

If you'd rather do an Airbnb, we'd suggest staying centrally located, though of course that's up to you.

Where to Eat Friday Night

You've got two dinners to plan for, Friday and Saturday, so pick and choose from this list. The Pizza Joint is a great place for a quick bite: pizza by the slice, beer available by the can, a down-and-dirty taste of the city. They also have gluten-free pizza, which we love, though a gluten-free pizza has to be ordered whole, it isn't sold by the slice. Park Tavern is another option; we had dinner there during our Pandemic New Year's trip. Craft and Social is a cute wine-and-beer spot with charcuterie boards and family-style seating rather than individual tables, for a more relaxed atmosphere. And if none of those resonate with you, downtown has plenty of other options, including a lot of Mexican food.

Saturday Morning Coffee

Once you've had a good meal and gotten to bed, Saturday is going to be a full-on day, so fuel up with coffee first, one of John's favorite things to do. Two great downtown options are the Coffee Box, pretty iconic downtown and made out of shipping containers, with walk-up service and a small amount of seating in an outdoor area up top, and the District, another favorite local place. Both are within walking distance of the downtown hotels mentioned above, so you can get a little exercise in before you're in the car for the day.

Central El Paso: Breakfast and the First Stops

Breakfast is where the tour starts to take shape, because your first stop is Central El Paso. Savage Goods is a community-type restaurant where you'll really get a feel for the people of El Paso: gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options, a wide array of breakfast items, donuts, and lunch. It's conveniently located in Sunset Heights, one of the areas we feature in our Central El Paso video, so if you're interested in Central or Sunset Heights, it's worth going, since it's within walking distance of that neighborhood.

Central El Paso also includes Kern Place, and we've included the address for Madeline Park in the description if that's an area you want to check out. Around Kern Place is UTEP, and the tour brings you back around to this general area later on.

From there you'll likely jump on Interstate 10 and start heading east. On your way out, Salt and Honey is another really cute, charming, slightly more gentrified breakfast option, a place we eat at regularly, conveniently located in Manhattan Heights, another area in Central we've highlighted before. Memorial Park is over there too, a beautiful area.

Then you're probably leaving Central and heading to the east side, but before you get there, there's an iconic restaurant called L&J's, by the graveyard. It's been there seemingly forever, and everyone who comes to El Paso ends up going. If you want a very iconic El Paso Mexican food experience in a more historic restaurant, for lunch or dinner, it's a great place. It might be a little early for it if you're out early on the tour, but it's worth thinking about for the next day if you want that authentic experience.

Heading East: The Fountains and the East Side

From Central, you'll head east on Interstate 10, and if you're interested in the east side, we have a video detailing it in more depth. Along the way is the Fountains, a popular, upscale shopping center, really walkable, with cute places to get ice cream or chocolates and do some shopping, great if you've got kids, and home to one of our favorite stores, Total Wine. It might be a little early for Total Wine, though, so don't sabotage your tour.

If you're seriously interested in any of the east-side neighborhoods, we've included addresses in the description for Eastwood Heights, Vista Hills, and Ranchos del Sol. Driving to those locations takes you through the different neighborhoods, past the high schools, and gives you a feel for the general area and vibe. This is a customizable tour, so we'd encourage you to watch the video on the east side first and decide which parts appeal to you. If you've watched it and, say, you're not really interested in older homes, you should probably just keep going.

Horizon City

That takes you next to Horizon City, our furthest suburb. It's probably 10 to 15 miles from downtown to Horizon City, but it's all on Interstate 10 and a totally manageable drive. In Horizon City, head to the East Lake Marketplace Center, a great example of how Horizon City is building up its infrastructure to handle its expansion and growth. Right across the street from that marketplace is an Amazon facility.

If you're interested in this area, there's also a stretch around Biddleston worth checking out, where builders put up a lot of their model homes; there are a lot of really beautiful homes in that little pocket. Those are higher price points, though, and as we've said before, Horizon is bang for your buck. The other two areas, Ampleforth Park and Morningside at Mission Ridge Park, are a better reflection of Horizon City generally.

The Lower Valley

Here's where some of you may want to skip, because the Lower Valley is our fourth stop. It doesn't resonate with everybody, so watch the video on it first. But if it does resonate with you, we've got specific locations you should go check out, and it's just on the other side of the interstate from Horizon, so it's not like you're going far out of your way if it's of interest.

The Far East

Whether or not you go to the Lower Valley, the next stop is the Far East, by far our most popular area. It's great and family-oriented, more of a suburbs feel, with great community schools, and it's close to the military base, which makes it popular with a lot of military families. You'll jump on 375 heading north to get there.

By this point it's probably been a couple of hours, and you may need a donut, some coffee, or a little bite of food, so consider rolling by Hillside Coffee and Donuts. We've got three neighborhood locations for you to check out in the Far East. If you want to see some of the new construction, check out the Pebble Hills area. There are a few new-build sections out there with alleys, so the garages sit on the rear, which gives the neighborhood a different feel because of those alleyways and rear garages. It's not for everyone, but it's a neat feature.

Through Fort Bliss to the Northeast

Once you finish up in the Far East, you'll hop back on 375, which has a loop that goes all the way around the city through the mountains, and start heading west. That stretch takes you through a lot of the military area, so it's going to feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere, and in a way you are, because it's Fort Bliss, a big piece of land. You'll emerge from that and end up in the Northeast.

In the Northeast, we'll show one place Alejandro likes to go for tacos. Beyond that, if you're thinking about settling down in a neighborhood there, we'd recommend Mesquite Hills or North Hills; we've done a video specifically on North Hills, which is a really popular area. The Northeast is super popular with military folks too, though it's not quite as new and shiny as the Far East or Horizon City. It's a little more affordable, with a little bit older homes.

Over the Mountain, or Back Downtown

Once you've explored the Northeast, you've got a decision to make, depending on the time of day: either head back downtown, or jump back on 375 and drive through the Franklin Mountains on Transmountain. Transmountain is a very beautiful drive, and if you hit it at sunset, it's golden coming over the mountain with a view onto the west side of El Paso. If it's that time of day and you're interested in seeing the west side, it might be a good time to go over that way.

If you're not going to check out the west side, it's a fantastic opportunity to stop at Chico's Tacos on your way back downtown from the Northeast. Chico's Tacos isn't going to win any high food praise or awards, but it's an iconic, culturally relevant place. For a different favorite taco stop, one of our go-to spots is Los Dragones Taqueria: great food, actually very affordable, with great views of the mountains.

The West Side

If you are interested in the west side, you'll drive through the Franklin Mountains and pop out on the other side. First up is Enchanted Springs, with lots of newer homes. If Canutillo is of interest, given the location, this can be a good time to go, and we happen to have a video on that too. If you're not headed to Canutillo, continue on through the west side to Cimarron Canyon, very popular, along with Bear Ridge and Coronado, all favorite west-side locations.

The Far West

By now it's a lot, and we did warn you. Hopefully you powered up with a big breakfast, or got that coffee at Hillside. Remember too, if it feels like too much in one day, you've still got another day, and you can always split some of this up and customize it, going to the areas that resonate with you most.

At this point you have another choice to make, because on the west side there's also an area we've started calling the far west. If you're not interested in the far west, get on Mesa, the main road that runs through the west side, and check out a few more options; from here your tour is pretty much over and you can relax. Montecillo is an epic little place, restaurants, bars, a bit of shopping, and Leah loves the shipping containers there. Continuing on Mesa toward downtown, you'll come across Piedmont, one of our favorite restaurants, with an amazing brunch and phenomenal gluten-free pancakes, labeled right on the menu, plus an eclectic menu for brunch or dinner, indoor-outdoor seating, and a quaint, local feel. Across the street from Piedmont is Hoppy Monk: great food, great drinks, and an iconic spot everyone goes to.

If you're really trying to get your money's worth, though, don't head down Mesa back home yet, continue the tour on to the far west. You may need more coffee by now, and if so, 210 is a great little local place. Across the street from there is the Kitchen at 150 Sunset, a charming brunch, lunch, and dinner place with beautifully landscaped grounds, water features, and more. Around where 210 is located, there are also some great restaurant and bar options.

In the far west, if you really want to see some beautiful homes, check out the Camino Nogal area, where we filmed our Parade of Homes videos last year. Santa Teresa is worth a look if you're interested in the New Mexico new-construction option, and we've included an address there for you to check out too.

The Upper Valley and Dinner at Ardovino's

Finally, the Upper Valley is a really unique area. If you're longing for green and you're not into the brown of the desert, or you just want some potential water rights with your property, it's worth a look: more space, bigger and a little bit older, beautiful homes, and bigger yards.

If you did all of that, congratulations, you're a superstar, that was a full-on day, and you deserve a great meal. If you happen to be over in that Upper Valley or far west area, Ardovino's Desert Crossing is a great choice. You wouldn't think it driving there, you'll be wondering where you've been sent, but it's this really charming, older, historic spot with gluten-free pizza, gluten-free bread, and charcuterie boards. We hadn't been until just recently, and we fell in love with it.

Saturday Night Downtown

If that's not your cup of tea, head on back downtown, maybe back to the hotel to freshen up, because it's Saturday night. If you want to really experience, in our humble opinion, some of the better cuisine downtown, there's Elemi, where the chef there was just a semifinalist for the James Beard Award. We just ate there last night: amazing tacos, handmade tortillas, and imported tequilas and unique liquors from Mexico. For all of these Saturday night spots, you're going to want a reservation.

Ambar is another great location, and a good one to keep in mind if you want a lazy Sunday after your marathon tour, since they have brunch on Sunday starting at 11, hence lazy. Anson 11, across the street, is what we'd actually suggest for Sunday brunch, and we'll talk about it in the next video. Ambar is both a restaurant and a hotel, right across the street from each other, with beautiful cathedral ceilings, unique woodwork, and chandeliers.

Probably considered the top restaurant, the nicest in town, is Central Cafe. It's a fancier place with valet parking, tucked into a cute, off-the-beaten-track side street. We had dinner there last weekend too, and it was unbelievable. For a superior food experience, it's definitely worth checking out, and again, you'll need a reservation.

Saturday Night Out

If you're on the younger side, or you've just got a lot of energy on the older side and want to rip it up a little on Saturday night, there are plenty of options. The Reagan is a neat, newer bar with some craft cocktails happening, usually with live music later at night. The Berkeley is a dressier, fancier cocktail lounge, always packed, with live music on the weekends too, and a few meat cocktail options on the menu. And if you're more into the brewery scene, we do have a brewery here, Dead Beach Brewery, in Union Plaza, right by downtown. You could walk there from the hotels we mentioned, a little bit of a longer walk, but not far, and it's a neat, up-and-coming area to watch.

What's Next

That's Part 1. Like we said, you can mix this up with Part 2, which covers your next day, Sunday, more of a kind of enjoy-El-Paso set of fun things to do, since we didn't want to try to cram it all into one video, so we'll do that one next week. You can make your own customized version too, it's a choose-your-own-adventure: take the two and mash them up, and find your own way through. And for those of you who are really serious, who are really moving to El Paso, you might take that first day and go explore the area that appeals to you most, then go back and take a second look on day two. Create your own adventure in El Paso, Texas, and next week we'll do Part 2.