Some of my favorite places in and around Tucson, Arizona, that out of town visitors should see.
Map
Located in northwest Tucson, it has easy hiking trails and some Indigenous ruins
Catalina State Park | Arizona
A garden oasis right in Tucson
Tohono Chul Gardens
The home and studio of Ted DeGrazia
Degrazia GALLERY IN THE SUN
Located on the Tohono O'Odham reservation, this Catholic church is the oldest European structure in AZ.
San Xavier del Bac Mission - Tucson, AZ
There are 2 sections of the park and both are great.
Saguaro National Park
The zoo offers lots of programs for adults & children and does conservation work to protect endangered species.
Reid Park Zoo
The 3rd largest book festival in the U.S. occurs on the 1st weekend in March. Author presentations, book sellers, and other book-related activities.
Tucson Festival of Books
Annual festival at the beginning of November that celebrates Celtic & Scottish culture with food, music, sports competitions, and products for sale.
Tucson Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games
Farmers markets selling food & other items, entertainment, and demonstrations are a fun way to spend the morning. There are a number of markets in the Tucson area; the ones I've been to are Steam Pump Ranch in Oro Valley on Saturday & Rillito...
Heirloom Farmers Markets
An outdoor park & museum & botanical where you can see fauna & flora in their local habitats plus an aquarium and educational activities.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ - Zoo, Botanical Garden and Art Gallery
Many classic Western movies were filmed here and you can take a tour to learn about them and see film sets plus watch reenactments and attend various seasonal events.
Old Tucson Studios
This small museum and park is on the site of an old 19th century Army fort and recently underwent an extensive renovation. The museum has displays about the soldiers who occupied the fort as well as Indigenous people who lived in the area and Buffalo...
Fort Lowell Museum
About 30 miles north of downtown Tucson, this is an interesting place to learn about 5 biomes of the world and climate change. It's operated by the University of Arizona and is an active research site, including simulated moon missions.
Biosphere 2
As a Dark Skies city, Tucson is the home of more than one observatory. Kitt Peak Observatory is the largest and operates several telescopes. A guided tour shows you some of them and explains their functions. They also offer special viewing events on ...
Kitt Peak Observatory
This is a great place for a hike! It's part of Coronado National Forest and there are many trails at various levels of difficulty. There's also a hop-on hop-off tram that gives visitors who prefer not to walk a guided tour.