Road trips are as popular as ever, and we've partnered with world-renowned travel publisher Lonely Planet to bring you some of the best driving trips in the United States. Each trip focuses around a specific theme, locale or passion.
This week's trip complements our podcast, "Trips in Your Own Backyard," which discusses horseback riding in Phoenix. We wanted to highlight some of the other things the greater Phoenix area has to offer for the perfect weekend in Phoenix — whether you're a local looking for fun suggestions or an out-of-towner looking for a sunny weekend getaway.
Call it what you will — a desert escape, a sprawl of suburbs, or a mythical bird rising from its own ashes — Phoenix is a force to be reckoned with. Leave your coat behind and prepare for two days of top-notch museums, desert oddities, regional cuisine, and, most of all, glorious sun.
A view of Mystery Castle. Phoenix, Arizona.
© Richard Cummins. Lonely Planet Images.
Start at the corner of Central Ave and McDowell Street to satisfy your appetite for the finer things at the Phoenix Art Museum, a treasure of paintings and sculptures that span the ages. Visitors new to Southwestern art will heart the Georgia O'Keeffe piece and her many imitators.
While you're there, check out work from the art world's most famous dysfunctional couple, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Then lighten up with the Monet or take the kids to the ingeniously crafted miniature period-sets. Fine art deserves a pairing of fine sandwiches and salads, so stop by the museum's Arcadia Farms Café, where all the food is organic and sure to please.
Continue the museum touring at the nearby Heard Museum — a treasure of Native American art and artifacts (39,000 pieces, including kachina dolls, pottery, and jewelry). And for hands-on science exhibits and a planetarium so stunning it makes agoraphobics squirm, check out the Arizona Science Center, followed by dessert at the attached City Bakery.
To experience the beauty of the untamed desert, head to the Desert Botanical Gardens. It's the place to reconnect with nature on walking paths that wind through 50 acres of desert life, from modest shrubs that bloom bright flowers in the spring to every shape of cactus. The place hosts solstice celebrations, night flashlight tours from May 1 through August, and special exhibits like pieces from glass artist Dale Chihuly integrated into the desert.
The Roosevelt District has become the place for arts, food, and general culture in downtown Phoenix. And right nearby is one of the tastiest examples of downtown's revitalization: Pizzeria Bianco, set in a former exposed-brick machine shop at 6th and Adams Streets. Hard to believe pizza can be that good? The ultimate demanding guest, Martha Stewart, ate here with friends and gave it a thumbs up. The secret: fresh, local ingredients and homemade mozzarella.
In the evening, watch the sun set red over Phoenix from the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, a boutique hotel perched on the side of the mountain. If there's a wildfire somewhere in the state or it's been a windy day (which kicks up dust and pushes out pollution), prepare for a dazzling show of red and yellow and blue in the sky.
Camelback Mountain — which really does look like a huge resting camel contentedly looking over the valley — also makes a good hike for the hardy, if you dare. It's a steep 1,200-foot climb from the base of Echo Canyon to the "head" of the camel.
Before leaving this corner of the Valley, pay Cosanti a visit. This unusual complex of cast-concrete structures is the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright student Paolo Soleri, and where Soleri's signature bronze and ceramic bells are crafted.
For more wacky architecture, check out the Mystery Castle. Imagine a life-size sand castle built by someone while they listened to Jimi Hendrix and you'll have an inkling of what this home — made mainly of found materials — looks like.
There's even more to see, do and eat in Scottsdale's compact downtown, where the Arts District juts against the historic Old Town. The area is studded with galleries, little shops, and plenty of good eating.
Satisfy a sweet tooth at the Sugar Bowl candy shop, an Arizona institution; the sticky-sweet concoctions have bribed children into good behavior since the 1950s. If renewing the wardrobe is part of your mental renewal, nearby Scottsdale Fashion Square is a temple of sophisticated consumerism. Or, let the public art and neat restaurants around the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art work some magic.
The museum showcases global art, architecture and design, including James Turrell's otherworldly Skyspace in the sculpture garden. It's also part of the local performing arts center, along with the Orange Table Café, a decidedly unpretentious, lively place.
No matter how you decide to spend the rest of your day, make reservations for Digestif, serving, as they put it, "Cal-Ital food for the soul." Check out the listening booths on the way to the bathrooms — the owners showcase local bands.
The Phoenix area has an abundance of choices, no matter what it is you're looking for. Foodies, museum-goers, and sun worshippers can all find something to love about the city, so pack some suntan lotion and get ready for a memorable 48 hours.
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