az tour

architecture/art to see

taliesen west + arcosanti cosanti ( look for bell pour times on weekdays) james turrell sky portal at ASU campus james turrell knight's something at scottsdale contemporary art museum burden barr library / phoenix central library chapel in the hill (sedona)

hikes / nature to see

camelback mountain echo canyon trail ( this is a difficult hike only go if u have experience and brings lots and lots of water - it takes about 2-3 hours and the view is spectacular )

hieroglyphic trail at superstition mountains ( easy hike and u can see native american hieroglyphs and hopefully if its rained a stream mini waterfall at the top)

tonto national bridge hike - this is an absolute beauty of the world, its about an hour up north from phoenix. look up pictures. easy but has lots of scrambling and gets slippery near the water portion/the bridge

lost dutchman state park - beautiful nature in the superstition mountains, there are some trails if you'd like to wander

boyce thompson arboretum - beautiful place about an hour outside of phoenix? a husband created this for his wife and its a nice place to walk around on some trails and explore nature.

desert botanical gardens - i personally prefer boyce thompson to the desert botanical gardens but it is beautiful and shows you lots of the nice desert flora and fauna

papago park - in tempe/phoenix very cool short hike, i wouldnt even call it a hike. kind of alien red rock structure. next to desert botanical garden and phx zoo

saguaro lake ranch stable - they offer horseback riding, but even if u dont do that drive to this location around sunset. it is stunning, there is a little parking lot where u can step out and peek at the horses. u may even see wild horses on your drive through this area. this is the start of all of the wilderness to northern arizona - the tonto national forest - everyone from phx and mesa etc comes out here to step away from the suburbs in city throughout the year.

usery mountain park -

• wind cave
• wave cave

mcdowell sonoran preserve - nature preserve in scottsdale with lots of trails including tom's thumb

cute areas with yummy food

• phoenix ( uptown, heritage district, the churchill)

  • valentine ( brunch coffee shop turns into cocktail lounge at night. serves casual sonoran cuisine and an award winning pastry chef who make sonoran inspired pastries with local ingredients. in an old phx drive in and has an attached mid century vibe antique furniture store)
  • glai baan (very small thai place - chef and owner are a very sweet couple who run the place everyday - the chef is from thailand. my current favorite restaurant in az )
  • bacanora ( $$ james beardaward winners probably wont be able to get in - really shows the vibe of phoenix)
  • biancos ( james beard award winning wood fire pizza - this place started the trend of artisan pizza across the country and is located in the heritage district - very charming )
  • lux central - very nice coffee shop, also turns into cocktail lounge at night
  • the churchill
  • futuro coffee
  • best tacos: tacos huicho,tacos tijuana, gallo blanco
  • noble bread shop

• downtown/old town scottsdale

  • andreoli italian grocer
  • olive and ivy
  • cartel coffee
  • vecina ($$ latin asian fusion - very good late night vibe ) not in old town - kind of in phoenix

• downtown gilbert

  • postinos ( local chain? but very nice part of fox restaurants which everyone is a fan of in phx nice patio space)
  • joyride
  • liberty market
  • joes bbq
  • topo ice cream - prickly pear ice cream here
  • snooze breakfast

• agritopia/epicenter in gilbert - this is a farm neighborhood complex that has become a center of gilbert, lots of local goods and local food, and just a really nice development

  • joes farm grill - retro diner
  • cream of crop ice cream in barnone
  • big variety of restaurants here, one i really like is belly
  • peixoto coffee

• downtown mesa

  • tacos chiwas (featured on netflix taco show very yum)
  • proof bread ( local artisan sourdough bread)
  • mykes pizza + cide corps + cupworks coffee ( local cidery and yummy unique thin crust pizza)
  • espiritu ( $$ hispanic late night bar with tapas, very cool vibe)
  • republica empanada
  • worth takeaway (sandwich shop)

others

• dolce vita - best gelato ever (attached to italian restaurant)
• mythical coffee- very cute coffee shop, my favorite coffee shop

cafe recap ranked

1. valentine (30-35 min)
2. futuro (30 min)
3. mythical (25-30 min)
4. lux central (30-35 min)
5. cartel* (25 min)
6. press coffee* (17 or 25 min)
7. peixoto* (20 or 30min)
8. aruma cafe (20 min culdesac)
9. the coffee shop (20 min)
10. black rock coffee* (10-15 min)

others to try in mesa:

• cupworks (at mykes pizza) (20ish min)
• lost dutchman coffee house (20ish min)
• the organic bean cafe (20ish min)
• the nile (20ish min)
• cup of joey - "kid friendly"? (10 min)

*multiple locations

valentine (CLOSED MON-TUE) 7am-2am espiritu bar ( CLOSED SUN-MON) (N/A) bacanora (NOV 1ST 9 AM MTN) (CLOSED MON) mykes pizza and cider corps - with family (CLOSED MONDAY) glai baan!! (CLOSED SUN-MON)