Phoenix / Scottsdale
The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is one of the greatest resort towns in the United States—that is, if you can call America’s sixth-largest urban area a town. To understand why vacationers flock here, look no further than the area’s nickname: Locals call it the Valley of the Sun. And for good reason—the sun shines about 300 days a year here. Add to that an astounding concentration of resorts, four professional sports teams, excellent cultural activities, and some serious shopping, and you have the ingredients of a very luxurious vacation. Consider visiting between September and May, when the weather man stops using words like “scorching.”
Activities and Attractions:
The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is packed with resorts so full of activities and amenities that you may be tempted not to leave. But try to—there is a lot to do. Just for starters, the Valley of the Sun offers more than 200 golf courses to choose from. Other popular activities include tennis, and, not surprisingly for a town barely removed from its wild west past, horseback riding.
Another popular pastime in a town where daytime temperatures sometimes top 115 is shopping. Indoor, air-conditioned shopping. The Biltmore neighborhood of Phoenix, also called the “Camelback Corridor,” is home to several upscale shopping malls. Scottsdale, too, has a lot of great shopping, and is an especially good place to buy art. If you’ve been to Santa Fe’s Canyon Road and liked it, head to Old Town Scottsdale, where you’ll find lots of Western art. For something slightly more contemporary and edgy, browse the Marshall Way Contemporary Arts District. Or drop into the Scottsdale Art Walk, a series of gallery open houses held every Thursday evening between October and May.
In Phoenix, the art isn’t all for sale; a lot of it is on display at city museums. The Phoenix Art Museum and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary art are both excellent, and kids love the Arizona Science Center. Anyone interested in Native American art should head to the Heard Museum, and lovers of architecture shouldn’t miss making a pilgrimage to Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s former home and school.
Not exactly a museum, but well worth the trip, is the Desert Botanical Garden. There are so many water parks and green golf courses in the Valley of the Sun that you can almost forget that you’re in the desert. The 20,000 desert plants in the garden collection will remind you of the starkly beautiful environment you’re visiting. An otherworldly butterfly garden is the highlight of a spring visit to this oasis. The garden is conveniently located right next to the zoo, another must-see sight.
Insider Tip:
If you’re balking at saying the name of Squaw Peak, which you may see on some older maps and signs, relax. You don’t have to. The insensitively named peak is now officially known as Piestewa Peak. Ditto the former Squaw Peak Parkway, now known as the Piestewa Freeway. The name, incidentally, is pronounced Pie-ESS-too-uh and commemorates a member of the Hopi nation who was the first American servicewoman killed in Iraq.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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