Tourist attractions Phoenix

Devoted to Native American culture and art, especially Southwest tribes, this fine museum contains 10 exhibition galleries and 32,000 works of art. Arches, colonnades and courtyards are hallmarks of Spanish Colonial architecture. The story of its 192..

Designed by the Texan architects Trost and Trost for the businessman George Luhrs, this dark-brick building was opened in 1924. Its upper two stories, as well as the cornice crowning the building, are adorned with white marble ornamentation.

This 15-storey tower block is a magnificent example of Art Deco architecture which was designed by Trost and Trost and completed in 1929. At the time, this was the tallest building in Arizona.

Opened in 1929, this theatre was used as a cinema until 1969, then subsequently as a venue for musical comedies. Abandoned in the early 1980s, it was declared a historic monument in 1993, when restoration work began. The theatre has now been restored..

Built in Queen Anne style and recognisable by its small tower, this was for many years one of the finest houses in the town. The building has retained its traditional appearance and includes ceremonial rooms, a medical office and kitchen on the groun..

An orientation theater introduces the 14,000-work collection, which includes a rare reproduction of Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait, George Washington. Arguably the most famous US portrait, it's the basis for the picture on the $1 bill. Featured is Am..

With more than 20,000 desert plants, this unique garden has won awards for environmental education. Four trails snake through the natural landscape. The brick-paved Desert Discovery Trail weaves past plants from around the world; a guide pamphlet ide..

Built in 1928, this is one of the few buildings of the period which is still occupied by offices and which is accessible to visitors. The lobby, splendidly decorated with polychrome marble and wood panelling, leads to a display case where a bronze by..

This "field of dreams" is a $356 million natural-grass baseball stadium with a retractable roof and a center-field swimming pool (rent: $4,300 per game) where home runs make a big splash. "The Bob," as locals know it, is home to t..

Bordered by Monroe Street to the north and Adams Street to the south, Heritage Square is the only historic district to have survived in Phoenix. The square is home to around a dozen buildings, notably Victorian houses built between 1895 and 1901, now..

This concrete monolith (1997, Antoine Predock) has 350 hands-on exhibits, a five-story theater and cutting-edge planetarium. Visitors monitor activity at Sky Harbor International Airport, measure how much energy their bodies use, and experience virtu..

A motorized Safari Train runs a 30min narrated loop through the four habitat areas of this 125-acre nonprofit zoo. Some 1,300 animals are resident. On the Tropics Trail, the Forest of Uco simulates a Colombian rain-forest outpost with native animals...

Once a Hohokam hunting ground, later a mining camp and a Depression-era work camp, this municipal park offers impressive city views from Dobbins Lookout and 58 trails for hiking, biking and riding across its 25sq mi.

A mock strip of the 19C West in the heart of swank Scottsdale, Old Town has wooden sidewalks, cigar-store Indians, rustic storefronts, and Mexican and Western art. To some, its highlight is a pink ice-cream parlor called the Sugar Bowl, an institutio..

Italian architect Paolo Soleri showcases "arcology," which he defines as the integration of architecture and ecology in new urban habitats. A prototype has been under construction since 1970, an hour's drive north: Arcosanti will combine co..

The Territorial Capitol when built in 1900, this tuff-and-granite structure became state capitol in 1912. Displays included artifacts from the USS Arizona, sunk at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

In the 14C, 1,000 people lived at this Hohokam ruin beside the head gate of the canal system. Homes, storage rooms, cemeteries and ball courts are easily discernible. Now a National Historic Landmark, the site has a museum with a theater and exhibits..

With more than 90 fully restored fire engines dating back to 1725, this museum lures anyone who runs to their window at the sound of a siren. Retired firefighters share tales of their profession as visitors operate alarms and see 3,000 pieces of equi..

The Arizona State University campus highlight is Grady Gammage Auditorium; the circular structure, Frank Lloyd Wright's last major nonresidential design (1959), is famed for acoustics. The J. Russell and Bonita Nelson Fine Arts Center, designed by An..