Valley of the Sun

 Sites to See in Phoenix 

America West Arena. 201 E. Jefferson Street. The Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Mercury, the Arizona Rattlers arena football team and the Phoenix Coyotes professional hockey team all play here. (602) 379-7800

Arizona Biltmore Resort. 24th Street and Missouri Avenue. Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, the classic architecture has endured flawlessly since it was completed in 1929. 

Arizona Center. 3rd Avenue and Van Buren streets. This 150,000 square-foot center is filled with excellent eateries and cocktail lounges, shops and boutiques. A popular location following downtown events.

Arizona State Capitol Museum. 1700 W. Washington Street. The copper-domed building serves as the State Capitol as well as having been the capitol of the Arizona Territory, and now is filled with historic exhibits.

Biltmore Fashion Square. 24th Stree and Camelback Road. This outdoor shopping center features 60 unique stores including Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's, along with numerous restaurants. (602) 955-8401.

Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion. 2121 N. 83rd Avenue. A 20,000-seat open air amphitheatre that features top names in contemporary music. (602) 254-7200.

Camelback Mountain. East McDonald Drive at Tatum Boulevard. The most famous landmark in the Valley of the Sun resembles the back of a (you guessed it). There is a public hiking trail to the top. Bring water. Not a walk in the park. (602) 256-3220.

Chase Field. Fifth and Jefferson streets. You can arrange to tour this new baseball stadium with its retractable roof. This is the home field of the Arizona Diamondbacks. (602) 514-8400.

Desert Botanical Garden. 1201 North Galvin Parkway. Learn all about the unique plants of the Sonoran Desert in this unique garden where the world's arid-land plants are grown, studied and conserved. (480) 941-1225.

Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting. 6101 East Van Buren Street. Fire fighting equipment from three centuries is included in the world's largest collection of such apparatus. (602) 275-3473.

Heard Museum. 2301 N. Central Avenue. World-renowned museum that focuses on the cultures and arts of Native Americans and the Southwest. A great place to start a visit to Arizona to learn about the early Native American cultures.(602) 252-8848.

Herberger Theatre Center. 222 E. Monroe Street. This beautiful theatre is the home to the Arizona Theatre Company, Ballet Arizona and Actors Theatre of Arizona. (602) 254-7399.

Orpheum Theatre. 203 West Adams Street. This beautiful Spanish Baroque Revival playhouse, built in 1929, once hosted Mae West and W.C. Fields. It is now a popular performing arts venue.

Papago Park/Hole in the Rock. Galvin Parkway and Van Buren Street. More than 1,200 acres of rolling desert hills and rugged mountains includes a golf course, museums, picnic area, hiking trails and the Hole in the Rock landmark. (602) 256-3230.

Phoenix Art Museum. 1625 N. Central Avenue. One of the major art museums in the Southwest, it houses more than 14,000 art objects and hosts more than 20 temporary exhibitions annually. (602) 257-1222.

Phoenix Heritage Square. 6th and Monroe Streets. The Rosson House at Heritage Square is the cornerstone of a city block of museums, gift shops, and restaurants in buildings that date to the late 1800s. (602) 262-5071.

Phoenix Symphony Hall. 225 East Adams Street. The Phoenix Symphony and Arizona Opera perform here. (602) 262-6225.

Phoenix Zoo. 455 N. Galvin Parkway. The nation's largest privately owned, self-supporting zoo with four trails guiding visitors to various animals and exhibits. (480) 273-1341.

Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park. 4691 E. Washington Street. A national landmark, the only one in Phoenix is the site of a prehistoric Hohokam Native American ruin. (602) 495-0901. 

Shemer Art Center and Museum. 5005 East Camelback Road. This mission-style home was built between 1919 and 1928. Today, it showcases the works of local and nationally known artists. (602) 262-4727.

South Mountain Park/Mystery Castle. 10919 S. Central Avenue. This 16,500-acre park is the largest municipal park in the world, sheltering more than 300 plant species. (602) 495-0222 The interesting Mystery Castle, 800 East Mineral Road, was built by a man with a dream and a great imagination. (602) 268-1581.

Telephone Pioneers of America Park. 1946 W. Morningside Drive. Opened in 1988, it  is the nation's first barrier-free park for physically challenged people. (602) 262-4543.

Tovrea Castle. 5041 E. Van Buren. This one-of-a-kind castle was built in the early 1900s by cattle baron Edward Tovrea and reflects the rustic elegance of 1900s Arizona. (602) 262-6412.

Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza. 1700 West Washington Street. Named for Arizona's late govenor and longtime secretary of state, the pleasant plaza covers two blocks of the state capitol ground. (602) 542-1615.

Wrigley Mansion. 2501 E. Telewa Trail. Located on a hill that overlooks the Arizona Biltmore Resort, this tasteful mansion was built by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. It is now a private club.