Phoenix, AZ

Chris Bianco's original 1994 wood-fired counter inside Heritage Square, the place that made Phoenix a serious pizza city and still the bar everyone is judged against. Six pies, a few salads, and a James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur on the line.

James Beard Best Chef Southwest 2024 winner Rene Andrade's open-flame Sonoran cooking on Grand Avenue: tomahawks over mesquite, pineapples on hooks, agave cocktails, natural wine. Small room, three nights of seatings, books out a month ahead.

Chris Bianco's grown-up Italian counter next to the Town & Country Bianco, focused on handmade pasta and a short list of wood-grilled mains. Forty seats, no kids menu, and the Arizona Republic's only five-star rating.

Wood-fired Mediterranean and Japanese tapas on Washington Street, evolved from the original 24th Street counter into a seated dining room. Run by chef Jason Alford with a focus on grain bowls, crudos, and a tight nose-to-tail seafood program.

Family-run Ethiopian on University Drive in Tempe, in the Valley for two decades and famously gentle to vegetarians and gluten-free diners. Lalibela Deluxe combo for two is enough for four.

Calabrian-born Giovanni Scorzo's deli, market, and lunch counter in north Scottsdale, baking bread, pulling salami, and selling the actual ingredients you'd buy in a small Italian town. Sandwiches at lunch, pastas Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Lori Hashimoto's tiny sushi and ramen counter on 7th Avenue, in business 25 years and quietly the Valley's best omakase under a hundred dollars. Twenty seats, no reservations after 7, and a regular crowd that knows the chef by name.

Garfield-neighborhood retro diner in a converted bungalow, anchored by Gulf Coast biscuit sandwiches, jambalaya, and one of the better cocktail programs in any sub-$20 dining room in the city. Brunch on weekends, full bar daily, big patio.

Old-school 1920s diner counter at 1st Street and Garfield, run by the same family for 20-plus years and the best counter breakfast downtown. Bacon, hash browns, and the chop-and-chick salad — this is not a big menu and it doesn't need to be.

Central Avenue patio tacos and margaritas with a wraparound porch that's the central Phoenix happy-hour standard. Brunch, dinner, and a tequila list deeper than the menu would suggest.

North Phoenix Mexico-City torta specialist that's been on Man v. Food and is still the answer to 'where do locals eat tortas.' Twenty-plus sandwich combinations on house-baked telera bread, plus a full enchilada and taco menu.

Husband-and-wife Chihuahua-style taqueria on Indian School with hand-pressed corn tortillas, gorditas, and discadas that are gone by mid-afternoon most days. James Beard semifinalist food at counter prices.

Charcoal-grill-only Sonoran asadero on 16th Street near downtown, where the carne asada and machaca are the entire pitch and the pricing is still under $15 a plate. No frills, no website, no problem.

Father-and-son South Phoenix kitchen Yelp named the #1 US restaurant in 2022; chef Leo Madrigal worked corporate kitchens for decades before this little neighborhood spot. Birria enchiladas, Oaxaca fundido, and a guacamole that lives up to the hype.

Tijuana-style taquero that grew out of one truck into three brick-and-mortars, with the al pastor on the spit running visible from the counter. Phoenix Magazine's Best Tacos in the Valley winner more than once.

Doug Robson's neighborhood Mexican on 7th Street, sourcing locally and turning out barbacoa eggs, chilaquiles, and pozole that are the breakfast standard for north-of-Camelback regulars. Brunch is the meal but dinner runs as well.

James Beard Best Chef Southwest 2019 winner Charleen Badman's vegetable-forward gastropub in Old Town Scottsdale, the room that made Arizona vegetables a national story. Local farm produce drives a daily-changing menu and the wine list leans Arizona.

Bernie Kantak's gastropub on 5th Avenue in Old Town Scottsdale, in business since 2011 and known for the Original Chopped Salad — so locally beloved Arizona has a state day for it. Strong cocktail list and a coffee-rubbed short rib that is the actual pick.

Tempe pasty-and-beer pub run by Cornwall transplant Dean Thomas, with two dozen-plus pasty fillings handheld and baked-to-order. The original on Mill Avenue is the room locals walked through college; the University location is bigger but less character.

Mesa craft-sandwich counter on Main Street, scratch-baked bread and house-roasted meats, and the breakfast burrito locals drive across the Valley for. Tiny patio and an order-at-the-counter-and-grab-a-table model.

Pan-Latin empanada specialist in downtown Mesa with twenty-plus savory and sweet fillings on house-made dough and a colorful patio that doubles as a Latin music venue some weekends. The Argentine beef and Cuban chicken are the standards.

Camelback Road neighborhood-style restaurant from Sam Fox's group, anchored by an open kitchen, an enormous brunch, and a café-lounge front room that doubles as a co-working space. Big menu, polished service, easy reservations.

Mark Tarbell's Camelback corner bistro since 1994, chef-owned, James Beard nominated, and the polite-dinner-with-parents gold standard of central Phoenix. Daily-changing market menu, weekly Tarbell's Tavern next door for casual.

Justin Beckett's Arcadia neighborhood restaurant with a 30-mile-radius local-sourcing rule, an eleven-year Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and the kind of comfort-food menu Arcadia regulars rotate through every other week.

The Valley's bucket-list summit hike: 2.6 miles round-trip, 1,400 feet of elevation, and the last half mile is a true rock scramble with handrails. Most-hiked challenging trail in Phoenix and the photo at the top is genuinely worth the work.

Phoenix's other landmark urban summit, 2.2 miles round-trip with 1,100 feet of elevation, and the most-hiked trail in the city by review count. Steep, rocky, and the 360-degree summit panorama is the cleanest view of central Phoenix.

Quarter-mile easy walk to a wind-eroded rock window in Papago Park, with the city and Camelback framed through the opening. The introduction to Sonoran desert hiking everyone takes their visiting parents on.

Steep 4.25-mile out-and-back climb to a granite thumb-shaped formation in Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve, with sweeping views of the southern McDowells and the entire Phoenix metro. The signature hike of north Scottsdale.

Well-graded 4.1-mile out-and-back through the boulder formations of north Scottsdale, with no scrambling and a moderate difficulty most fit visitors can finish. The introductory Scottsdale desert hike.

South Mountain loop through Fat Man's Pass (a literal rock squeeze), a natural rock tunnel, and a hidden valley pocket. Three-and-change moderate miles, and the most playful family-friendly hike inside city limits.

North Phoenix one-mile summit hike with 360-degree city views, easier than Piestewa or Camelback and faster to do. The local-secret quick-summit when you have an hour.

Three-mile moderate ridgeline hike in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, with quartz outcrops along the way and easy access from central Phoenix. Less famous than Piestewa, more peaceful than Camelback.

East Valley standard hike at Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa: 3.2 moderate miles to a wind-eroded cave with sweeping views back toward Phoenix. The introduction to East Valley desert hiking.

2.4-mile loop at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, with the Superstition Mountain cliffs framing the entire walk and the Praying Hands rock formation as the visual anchor. Moderate, family-friendly, and the easiest entry to the Superstitions.

Three-mile out-and-back into the Superstition Wilderness with 1,500-year-old Hohokam petroglyphs at the turnaround. Day-trip from Phoenix (45 minutes east) and the spring-wildflower hike of the year.

Less-trafficked Maricopa County conservation area in Cave Creek with a five-mile loop through riparian Cave Creek wash, archaeological grinding stones, and almost no people. The hike when South Mountain and Camelback are mobbed.

Flat 7.4-mile paved loop around Tempe Town Lake, with Mill Avenue restaurants on one side and the Tempe Center for the Arts on the other. The best urban running and casual-walking loop in the East Valley.

Casual two-mile flat ramble through the red sandstone buttes of Papago Park, hitting Hole in the Rock, the lagoons, and Hunt's Tomb. The kid-and-grandparent-friendly desert walk.

World's largest musical-instrument museum and TripAdvisor's #1 Phoenix attraction, with 15,000-plus instruments from every country, headphone-driven exhibits that play recordings as you walk past, and a hands-on Experience Gallery where kids actually play. Easily a half-day visit.

Largest art museum in the Southwest, with strong American Western, Latin American, and Asian galleries, plus a contemporary wing that punches above its weight. The Yayoi Kusama Fireflies infinity room is the photo every visitor gets in line for.

World-class American Indian art museum with permanent galleries on Boarding Schools, contemporary Indigenous artists, and the Goldwater katsina collection. One of the most-deserved must-do museums in the Southwest.

Top-three children's museum in the country, set in a renovated 1913 schoolhouse downtown with three floors of climbing structures, art studios, and the famous Noodle Forest. Built for ages one through ten and exhausting in the right way.

125-acre nonprofit zoo in Papago Park, the largest privately owned in the country, with strong Africa Trail and Arizona Trail exhibits and a popular ZooLights holiday display. Family-friendly without being a theme park.

Largest aquarium in the Southwest, on the Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale with the rotating viewing room as its signature exhibit. Crowded weekends, expensive tickets, but genuinely one of the better aquariums in the country.

Largest indoor butterfly conservatory in the country, on the Arizona Boardwalk next to OdySea. Two thousand butterflies in a humid, planted atrium plus a 3D film and a small reptile gallery.

Free-admission 30-acre Scottsdale city park built around a 1950 Allan Herschell carousel and a working scaled-down Paradise & Pacific Railroad. Train and carousel rides are $3 each; everything else is free.

Family-owned 1976 amusement park in north Phoenix with four mini-golf courses, a wooden roller coaster, an arcade, and the kind of small-park-feels-big experience that's vanishing nationally. Pay-per-ride or unlimited wristband.

1929 Spanish baroque theater in downtown Phoenix, restored in the 1990s and now home to the Phoenix Opera, Ballet Arizona, and traveling Broadway tours. The simulated cloud-and-star ceiling before each show is the photograph.

Three-stage downtown nonprofit performing-arts center with year-round local theater, dance, and an upstairs visual-art gallery that's free to visit even without a show ticket. Good acoustics, intimate sightlines, and the smaller, less-stuffy alternative to the Orpheum.

Downtown indie-music venue and bar in a converted 1917 garage, anchor of the central Phoenix touring circuit and one of the better-loved small venues in the region. Live music Wednesday through Sunday.

1,800-capacity converted-auto-dealership concert hall downtown, hosting national touring acts across genres. Voted Best Medium Venue in 2020 and one of the best big-room sound systems in the metro.

Three-room basement bar with a ticketed Music Hall, a no-cover Rose Room, and a free Game Room of skee-ball, pool, and shuffleboard. Indie bookings, locals-only crowd, and the easiest live-music walk-in downtown.

Indian School Road indie-music venue, 250-capacity, named Billboard's best small US venue in recent years. Reasonable ticket prices, intimate room, and the rooftop patio out back is one of central Phoenix's hidden hangouts.

Downtown Phoenix's NBA arena (Phoenix Suns and WNBA Mercury) and the host venue for major touring concerts. 18,000 capacity, central downtown location, and easy light-rail access from Arcadia and Tempe.

Arizona Diamondbacks home with a retractable roof and a literal swimming pool in right field. Indoor air-conditioned baseball when the rest of the country is at the mercy of the weather.

20,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater in west Phoenix that hosts the Valley's biggest summer concert tours. Pavilion is covered, lawn is general admission and the cheaper play.

Largest performing-arts center in the Southwest, four theaters plus an outdoor plaza and the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum on site. Touring Broadway, dance, and a strong concert calendar with free outdoor concerts in the plaza.

Phoenix's oldest performing-arts company (founded 1920) on Central Avenue next to the Phoenix Art Museum. Year-round local theater with a sharp musical-theater calendar and a quieter intimate-theater season.

Indoor-outdoor electric kart track at Talking Stick (1/3 mile, the only full-time indoor-outdoor track in the country) plus VR, arcade, pool tables, and a full bar-restaurant. Genuine date-night and group-outing energy.

World's largest firefighting museum, three-acre warehouse of restored fire engines from 1725 to 1969 plus a 9/11 gallery built around FDNY Rescue 4 recovered from the World Trade Center. Sober and well-curated.

Fifty-five acres of Sonoran desert next door to the Zoo, with five themed loop trails, a butterfly pavilion in spring, and seasonal evening installations (Las Noches de las Luminarias December, Electric Desert spring). Doable by adults, kids, and grandparents.

Free four-floor museum in the original 1900 territorial capitol, with the USS Arizona silver service, the original legislative chambers, and the Senate-floor desk used by the territory's first governor. Quieter and weirder than visitors expect.

Fifty-five acres of curated Sonoran desert in Papago Park, with five themed loop trails, a butterfly pavilion in spring, and the country's largest Agave collection. The Sonoran Loop is the one to walk if you only have an hour.

World-class collection of American Indian art and history with permanent galleries on the Boarding School era and contemporary Indigenous artists, plus one of the country's deepest katsina doll collections from Barry Goldwater. The courtyards alone are worth an hour.

Frank Lloyd Wright's desert laboratory and winter home, hand-built by his apprentices from local stone and canvas. UNESCO World Heritage site as of 2019; the Insights tour gets you into the drafting studio and Wright's private quarters.

Three-tier wedding-cake folly built in 1929 by an Italian sheet-metal worker who dreamed of a desert hotel; tickets are by lottery a month out, ridership cap is small, and the cactus garden surrounding it is one of the oldest in the state. A Phoenix Point of Pride and worth the work.

Twenty-four-room hilltop mansion the chewing-gum heir built as a 50th-anniversary gift to his wife, restored as a private club, restaurant, and tour stop with the best 360-degree view of central Phoenix. Tour, lunch at Geordie's, dessert at C144 — it's a half-day on its own.

1895 Eastlake Victorian on Heritage Square — Phoenix's only surviving city block of original townsite buildings. Tours run hourly and stay sharp on the social history of women's suffrage and Black Phoenix in addition to the standard Victorian-detail patter.

World's largest firefighting museum, with ninety restored fire engines spanning 1725 to 1969, a hands-on kids fire-safety floor, and a permanent gallery on the FDNY Rescue 4 truck recovered from the World Trade Center. Sober, deep, and surprisingly emotional.

Paolo Soleri's experimental earth-cast concrete studio and bell foundry in Paradise Valley, free to walk and still casting bronze on weekday mornings. The original prototype for Arcosanti up north and a quieter, weirder visit than Taliesin West.

City-run archaeological park built around an 800-year-old Hohokam platform mound that once anchored a 1,000-resident village right inside what is now Phoenix. Renamed in 2023 in consultation with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Six-block grid of mid-century Western storefronts, art galleries, and saloons that has somehow held its character through Scottsdale's resort boom. Best walked from the Bob Parks bronze cowboy at the south entrance up to the Civic Center fountains and back via the Marshall Way arts row.

Phoenix's biggest concentration of street murals, indie galleries, and adaptive-reuse coffee bungalows, walkable from light rail. The 1.5 Street Mural Project alley behind The Churchill is the densest collection in the city.

Free four-floor museum inside the original 1900 territorial capitol, covering Arizona statehood, the USS Arizona memorial, and the chambers preserved as they were when the legislature moved out in 1960. Quieter and weirder than visitors expect.

Will Bruder's 1995 copper-and-glass civic icon, AIA Twenty-Five Year Award winner, and the building most local architects send out-of-town friends to. The fifth-floor Great Reading Room is the photo, but the rooftop is the secret.

Mission-style 1956 cathedral in downtown that holds the seat of the Phoenix diocese. The stained-glass window cycle on the south transept depicting the desert fathers is unusual for a Western US cathedral.

Phoenix's only intact block of original townsite Victorians, ringed by Pizzeria Bianco, the Rosson House, the Arizona Doll & Toy Museum, and a Lath Pavilion that hosts free weekend music. Treat it as a destination, not a transit stop.

Open-air sculpture and memorial park across from the Capitol, holding the actual USS Arizona signal mast and conning tower, a Korean War helicopter, and a Bushmaster regiment plaque you can read like a book. Free, quiet, and rarely crowded.

The 2,704-foot landmark that shapes the Valley skyline; visible from almost every neighborhood and the postcard photo of Phoenix. Both summit trails are serious, but the lower viewpoints are accessible from any road around the base.

Twelve-hundred-acre red-rock park sandwiched between the Botanical Garden and the Zoo, with twin buttes, a lagoon, and the Hole in the Rock viewpoint. Great for a lazy afternoon when you want desert without the climb.

1902 hydroelectric falls on the Arcadia Canal restored as a public art-and-water installation by Lajos Heder and Mags Harries. Twenty-foot drop, free, walkable from any of Arcadia's restaurants — and almost no one outside the neighborhood knows it exists.

Seventy-five acres on the site of the former Phoenix Indian Boarding School, anchored by three preserved historic school buildings now used as a memorial. The Memorial Hall in the back tells the story of forced assimilation directly and well.