The settings menu can be accessed directly if you long press the crown while you are in the watch face view.
From the watch face, swipe up to get access to all of the watch settings via the Control panel.
If you want quick access to certain settings and/or features, you can customize the top and lower button logic (from watch face view) and create shortcuts to your most useful settings/features.
Navigate to the Control panel and select Customize followed by Top shortcut or Bottom shortcut and select what function the top and bottom button will have when long pressed.