Things to do in Tucson
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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The state's best introduction to the wonder of the desert is here, at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. A cross between a zoo and an interpretive park, Tucson's must-see attraction deserves a full day of exploration and has a nice café. Javelinas (wild boars), coyotes, bobcats, snakes and just about every other local desert animal are displayed in a natural-looking outdoor setting. During summer there's a Saturday-night program where you can see the creepy crawlies who live on the night shift.
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Bison Witches
Dive into a bread bowl at this lively hangout for college students and the occasional hipster. It's all about the sandwiches; the beef and brie is exactly what it sounds like. The music is boisterous, there are myriad TVs and drinks from the full bar are served till 2am.
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Blue Willow Restaurant
If you’ve greeted the day with bloodshot eyes, get back in gear with high-octane coffee, energy-restoring omelettes or a fiery chorizo scramble at this beloved local institution. Fresh pasta, bulging sandwiches, meat-free choices and daily specials keep the place packed through dinnertime. The patio is heated in winter.
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Reid Park Zoo
A global menagerie including giant anteaters and pygmy hippos delights young and old at the small and compact Reid Park Zoo. Cap a visit with a picnic in the surrounding park, which also has playgrounds and a pond with paddleboat rentals.
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Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is cut in half by 30 miles of freeway and farms. It's at the edges of Tucson but still officially in the city - though you'll never believe it once you're in the middle of this prickly ocean of green cacti.
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Ibt's
The daddy of Tucson's gay bars. Every night has a different theme, from karaoke to dance to barbecue.
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Tucson Museum of Art & Historic Block
Don’t let all that messy construction stop you from exploring historic downtown. A good place to start is the Tucson Museum of Art & Historic Block, which complements its respectable collection of pre-Columbian, Western and contemporary art with often excellent traveling exhibits and a superb gift shop. Works are displayed in the modern main building and five historic ones, including the 1854 Casa Cordova, one of Tucson’s oldest buildings. The museum complex is part of the Presidio Historic District, which embraces the site of the original Spanish fort and a ritzy residential area once nicknamed ‘Snob Hollow.’ It teems with restored 19th-century mansions, but the ori…
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Janos
[ourpick] Janos The James Beard Award winner Janos Wilder is a chef-magician who teases flavors that you didn't know existed out of meat. One of the most scenic spots for a romantic dinner or special meal in Tucson, the dining room at the Westin La Paloma overlooks the desert valley. Try the New York strip steak rubbed with coffee, molasses and Mexican chocolate. The attached J Bar is good for an after-steak drink.
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Pima Air & Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum leads tours through the almost 5000 military airplanes mothballed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, also known as AMARG or simply 'the Boneyard.' History buffs will especially enjoy tooling around on John F Kennedy's Air Force One. Call for tour times. Combination tickets are available for Titan Missile Museum and AMARG.
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Sakura
Usually packed to the gills, this Japanese restaurant will satisfy purists with its fresh eel and tuna, the squeamish with its baked California roll, and meat-eaters with its teppan (fun tableside chopping and pyrotechnics). The Sakura Boat featuring 32 pieces is great for sharing and there’s even a ‘Karate Kids’ menu for pint-sized Samurai.
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Tucson Botanical Gardens
The 5.5acre (2.2ha) landscaped, wheelchair-accessible terrain of the Botanical Gardens is in a reasonably busy part of the city, yet man-made noise fails to penetrate very far into the garden's pleasant groves of native dry-land plants. The organic highlights of a day-dreamy meander through the grounds include a tropical greenhouse and a small herb garden.
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Casbah
- Tucson, USA
- Restaurants › Café
Beyond the 400-year-old wooden portal from Afghanistan lies Tucson’s grooviest hippie-style teahouse-cum-café. The patchouli hangs thickly in the Bedouin-tent-style back patio where you can loll on thick pillows, sip organic tea or munch on homemade vegan chile or a tempeh Reuben sandwich. Local performers entertain most nights.
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Yoshimatsu
Billing itself as a ‘healthy Japanese eatery, ’ Yoshimatsu uses mostly organic foods, eschews MSG and offers lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Order a bento box, steamy soup or rice bowl at the counter and eat in the woodsy front tavern, or get table service at the separate and more intimate sushi café in back.
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Shanty
This friendly pub staple is all about friends, conversation, free popcorn, shooting pool and, of course, good beer. And boy, have they got beer. You’d need weeks to quaff your way through the menu, which features Czech pilsner, Boddington’s and obscure brews from Nicaragua and Kenya. Smoking is permitted on the patio.
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Asylum
If you worship at the altar of goth and industrial, put on your black thrift-shop threads, nailpolish and eyeliner and have yourself committed to this dark and edgy downtown den. Free bands on Friday and nightly drinks and food specials should leave you with enough change for an early am burger at the Grill across the street.
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Lovin’ Spoonfuls
Burgers, country-fried chicken, meatloaf, salads – the menu reads like those at your typical café but there’s one big difference: no animal products will ever find their way into this vegan haven. Outstandingly creative choices include the cashew-mushroom pâté and the adzuki bean burger.
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Caruso
Caruso the cook has left as much of a mark on the local culinary scene as Caruso the tenor has on the world of opera. Linguine with clam sauce, chicken parmigiano and crispy-crust pizza have fed tummies and souls since the 1930s. If you’re on a romantic mission, skip the garlic bread but do book a patio table.
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Nimbus Brewing Company
Brewmeisters at Nimbus, a cavernous purple warehouse space, make ale like Mattel makes Barbies: one in every color – blonde, brown, red, dark. No matter what type you prefer, it’s likely to be a smooth guzzle. The taproom has a distinctive monkey theme in keeping with the brewery’s cheeky logo.
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Kon Tiki
Never mind the strip-mall setting. Once inside this tropical tiki tavern with its reed roof and palm fronds you’ll feel like you’ve apparated straight to Tahiti. Drinks look girly, but don’t be fooled: the trademark ‘Scorpion’ will sneak up on your brain cells without warning.
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Che’s Lounge
If everyone’s favorite revolutionary heartthrob was still in our midst, he wouldn’t have charged a cover either. A slightly skanky but hugely popular watering hole with $1 drafts, a huge wraparound bar and local art gracing the walls, this college hangout rocks with live music Saturday nights.
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Pusch Ridge Stables
To go horseback riding amid cacti and scrub brush, visit one of several stables offering excursions by the hour, half-day or longer. Summer trips tend to be short breakfast or sunset rides. One of the most reputable companies is Pusch Ridge Stables, which also offers overnight pack trips.
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Grill
In the wee hours this divey downtown diner gets howling with night owls hoping to restore balance to the brain. Squeeze into a red booth and keep an eye out for that cute drummer you just saw at the club up the street. Just don’t let the moth-eaten animal heads freak you out.
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El Charro Café
With its famous carne seca, this is probably the most revered Mexican eatery in Tucson, if not the state. The food is innovative, mouthwatering and fresh, making it popular with tourists and locals alike. There are four other area locations, but this is the original.
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Taqueria Pico de Gallo
A cheap and popular south-side institution, with huge burros (burritos) and mouth-watering shrimp tacos. The Paleteria Diana popsicle shop beckons just across the parking lot, with dozens of fruity Mexican favorites like guayaba and tamarind (around US$2).
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Pastiche
The name is the game at this ambitious, artsy and bustling bistro where dishes from the Middle East, France, Italy and Asia team up to form the quintessential American menu. Wallet- or waist-watchers can order the bistro portions and still walk away fed and happy.
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