Phoenix City Guide

Phoenix is the largest city and capital of the US state of Arizona. The city originated from the humble beginnings of a small, ancient, agricultural village and is today a huge large city, which is the epicenter of the Phoenix Metropolitan area that includes the suburbs of Scottsdale, Mesa and Tempe.

Phoenix is also referred to as the Valley of the Sun since it enjoys a year round sunny climate characterized by 300 days of sunny weather and is thus a favored choice of retirees and sun seekers, who escape to Phoenix to get away from frigid winter temperatures. Phoenix, additionally, is a well known educational center as it is home to two major Universities, the University of Phoenix and the University of Arizona as well as several other colleges.

Phoenix and its famous suburb of Scottsdale and other surrounding communities are well known for providing visitors with a wide range of hotel choices. Whether you need luxury hotels, spa hotels, unique boutique hotels or even discount hotels, you are sure to find your choice accommodation in Phoenix.

Downtown Phoenix is home to both city hall and the state capitol and is a business, financial and government hub that also hosts most of the city's sports arenas (Chase field), museums (the Phoenix Museum of History, Heritage Square, the Phoenix Art Museum and the Arizona Science Center) and entertainment venues like the Orpheum Theatre, Symphony Hall and the Herberger Theater Center.

This downtown heart of Phoenix is known as Copper Square and is filled with art galleries along with many Phoenix luxury hotels though the area hosts a few discount hotels as well. If you want to be in the heart of all the action in Phoenix then the city’s downtown area hotels should get your vote.

Scottsdale is technically a separate city, though it is considered a part of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Scottsdale extends from Carefree in the north to the community of Tempe in the South, over a distance of more than 20 miles.

Scottsdale is home to numerous shopping malls and a lively restaurant scene though it also hosts a wide assortment of historic attractions. However, Scottsdale is especially well-known for its many verdant golf courses and numerous opulent luxury hotel resorts, which are known for their many pampering facilities. Visitors looking for a relaxing break at a spa or resort hotel property tend to base themselves in the Scottsdale area of Phoenix.

The Grand Canyon is considered to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This spectacular canyon is a mile deep, 277 miles long and 18 miles wide and was carved by the turbulent Colorado River over millions of years.

The canyon today is contained within the oldest national park in the USA and features steep cliffs, peaks and troughs that are made up of various multi-hued layers of rock. The park also contains several hiking and riding trails and is visited by more than 5 million people from around the world annually who all seem transfixed by its wild and unmatched beauty.

This garden is located within Papago Park in Central Phoenix and offers one of the world’s finest collections of desert flora. The Desert Botanical garden encompasses 50 acres of beautiful exhibits, which include 139 rare, threatened and endangered species from around the world.

The Phoenix Zoo is one of the youngest zoos in the country. The zoo is a privately owned, nonprofit organization, which doesn’t receive any government funding. The Phoenix Zoo is open every day and if you want to visit, do make sure that you plan your visit during the early part of the day as the animals usually take cover in the shade from the searing afternoon heat.

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art showcases modern and contemporary art, architecture and design trends. The museum features five galleries, which host a permanent collection apart from ever changing temporary exhibitions. This museum is also equipped with a sculpture garden and offers an event calendar that features educational programs and special events for adults and families, including lectures, docent-led tours, workshops and classes.

The Phoenix Apache Trail extends over 48 miles and offers a winding scenic drive that snakes along a chain of lakes along the Salt River as it passes through some of the beautiful rugged terrain of central Arizona. This trail passes ghost towns, ancient ruins and the Superstitious Mountains.

The Apache trail was built at end of the last century as a road to get building materials through the Superstition Mountains to the Roosevelt Dam, which was then under construction. This trail features much gravel and is navigable by car though a one-way trip on the trail can take several hours depending on how many sightseeing breaks you take.

The Heard Museum hosts America’s finest collection of Native American art and this museum should be on your must-see list for Phoenix vacations.

The museum’s permanent collection features over 39,000 works of art that includes textiles, katsina dolls, pottery, semi precious and precious stone jewelry, woven baskets, cradleboards, paintings and sculpture and much more. You should try this museum during your trip to Phoenix to witness some of the best Native American artifacts.

Phoenix is blessed with a dry and arid climate, which is characterized by nearly 300 days of sun. The summer months (June to September) in Phoenix are especially scorching and temperatures often register 100F (38C), which has led to Phoenix being regularly featured in the list of the world’s hottest cities.

Winters in Phoenix are a better time to visit as the days are mild and sunny and snowfall is rare though frost and fog do make an occasional appearance.

Being the largest city in Arizona and well served by top airlines across the destinations, reaching Phoenix by air is the easiest. Fare Buzz makes it even more convenient with an exhaustive inventory of cheap air tickets. Be it Delta, American Airline or others, Fare Buzz offers myriad cheap air tickets to Phoenix from around the world.

Phoenix has limited public transport options in the form of buses and the metro light rail service. The metro light rail services were introduced in Phoenix only in 2008 and are still being extended all over the city.

The city is also equipped with a free central city shuttle bus service; called DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle) which is useful for accessing various attractions like the state capitol and major shopping malls. The DASH buses run on weekdays between 6.30am and 5.30pm. However if you are keen to explore the city, you should perhaps consider hiring a car during your vacations in Phoenix.

Phoenix hosts several spectacular shopping malls and shopping points, which are bound to please any avid shopper on a trip to Phoenix.

Arizona Center is an open air shopping center that is located in the heart of Phoenix and is equipped with restaurants, water bodies and gardens along with a wide array of stores that sell apparel, accessories, house wares and home products, music, books and various other products.

Paradise Valley Mall is yet another big Arizona mall that offers outlets of most of the major chains in America along with outposts of department stores Macy’s, Dillard’s, JC Penney, Sears and Costco.

Upscale shopping in Phoenix is offered at Phoenix’s malls like Kierland Commons, which is designed to resemble an old main street and offers nearly seventy specialty stores. A similar upscale retail experience can be had at the Desert Ridge, which features specialty retailers, restaurants and various entertainment options that extend over its impressive 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Yet, another upscale shopping destination is the Scottsdale Fashion Square, which is the largest mall in the area that offers 2 million square feet of retail space.

Phoenix also offers outlet shopping at the Outlets at Anthem, which is located in North Phoenix.

Phoenix is full of excellent restaurants, cafes, bakeries and coffee shops and the residents of the city are well informed and opinionated diners who enjoy the wide variety of restaurants that are available in the city. Gourmands would love vacationing in Phoenix for its delectable choices.

Some of the city’s best known and most well regarded restaurants include establishments like El Chorro Lodge, which is located at the base of Phoenix’s Camelback Mountain and is housed in a building that in 1930’s was a girl’s school.

Other well known Phoenix restaurants include Vincent’s on Camelback that serves French and Southwest fusion fare, Pizzeria Bianco, which is believed to serve the best pizza in America and establishments like Kai, Barrio Café and Los Dos Molinos, which serve the city’s most authentic and tasty Southwest and Mexican fare.

Phoenix is equipped with a thriving nightlife scene that features hotel bars, sports bars, lounges, wine bars, dance clubs, Karaoke bars and much more.

Currently some of the most popular nightlife spots in Phoenix include joints like the Icon lounge at the Wyndham, the Networks Bar and Grill at the Hyatt Regency, the Orpheum Theatre, which features a wine bar, Seamus McCaffrey's Irish Pub, Roscoe’s on Seventh and Chopper John’s.