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🌵 Tucson's Downtown, Fourth Avenue, Barrio Viejo & the Sonoran Desert: Sonoran Dogs, Saguaros & Mission Sunsets

33 items

Mikey Stark

My Tucson favorites, from Saguaro National Park sunsets and Mission San Xavier to Sonoran hot dogs, carne seca, and heritage-grain bread. These are the spots I send every friend heading to the Old Pueblo.

Map

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is my first stop in Tucson, part zoo and part botanical garden, with javelinas, hummingbirds, and the raptor free-flight show.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

I drive the Bajada Loop out of the Red Hills Visitor Center in Saguaro National Park West for forests of giant saguaros at sunset.

Red Hills Visitor Center

Gates Pass is where I watch the sun drop behind the saguaros, the best free sunset in Tucson.

Gates Pass Scenic Lookout

Old Tucson is the Western movie set where I take the studio tour and walk the same dusty streets as decades of cowboy films.

Old Tucson

Mission San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove of the Desert, is the most beautiful church in Arizona, and I always grab fry bread out front.

San Xavier del Bac Mission

Mission Garden recreates 4,000 years of Tucson farming at the foot of A Mountain, with heritage fruit trees and native crops.

Mission Garden

I drive up Sentinel Peak to the big A for a panoramic view over downtown Tucson and the Santa Catalinas.

Sentinel Peak Park ("A" Mountain)

Sabino Canyon is my favorite morning hike, and I ride the tram up and walk back down along the creek.

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

Windy Point on the Mount Lemmon Highway is where I stop for dramatic hoodoo rock views on the drive up the mountain.

Windy Point Vista

Tohono Chul is my peaceful desert garden walk, followed by a prickly pear lemonade at the Garden Bistro.

Tohono Chul Sonoran Botanic Gardens & Arboretum

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is an adobe gallery Ted DeGrazia built by hand, and I love its little Mission in the Sun chapel.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun

Tucson Botanical Gardens is a calm midtown oasis, and I never skip the butterfly exhibit.

Tucson Botanical Gardens

Pima Air & Space Museum has hundreds of aircraft, and I could spend all day walking the hangars and outdoor rows.

Pima Air & Space Museum

The Titan Missile Museum is the only Cold War Titan II site you can tour, and seeing the missile still in its silo gave me chills.

Titan Missile Museum

Reid Park Zoo is a manageable, friendly zoo, and the elephants at Expedition Tanzania are my favorite.

Reid Park Zoo

The Tucson Museum of Art has a great Latin American and Western art collection, plus historic adobe homes on the block.

Tucson Museum Of Art

The Presidio San Agustín museum is where I learn how Tucson started as a 1775 Spanish fort, right downtown.

Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón Museum

The Arizona State Museum on the UA campus has an incredible collection of Southwest Native pottery and basketry.

Arizona State Museum

Hotel Congress is downtown's 1919 heart, and I grab a drink at the Tap Room or catch a show at Club Congress.

Hotel Congress

The Fox Tucson Theatre is a restored 1930 art deco movie palace, and seeing a concert there is a treat.

Fox Tucson Theatre

Antigone Books is my favorite indie bookstore on Fourth Avenue, full of staff picks and local authors.

Antigone Books

El Charro Café is the oldest family-run Mexican restaurant in the country, and I always order the carne seca.

El Charro Café Downtown

El Güero Canelo is where I get my Sonoran hot dog fix, bacon-wrapped and piled high on a bolillo.

El Güero Canelo Restaurant

BK is my late-night stop for mesquite-grilled carne asada tacos and another legendary Sonoran dog.

BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs 1st Ave.

Mi Nidito has been serving South Tucson since 1952, and I order the President's Plate, the one Bill Clinton made famous.

Mi Nidito Restaurant

5 Points is my favorite brunch in Barrio Viejo, with seasonal local dishes and great coffee in a historic brick warehouse.

5 Points

Barrio Bread bakes award-winning loaves from heritage Sonoran wheat, and I get there early before they sell out.

Barrio Bread

Prep & Pastry is my go-to brunch for creative benedicts and a pastry for the road.

Prep & Pastry

Tito & Pep is my favorite dinner in Tucson, with mesquite-fired Southwest dishes and great cocktails.

Tito and Pep

Exo Roast Co. is my coffee stop near Fourth Avenue, and their chiltepin cold brew has a little desert kick.

Exo Roast Co

Tap & Bottle Downtown is my craft beer hangout with dozens of rotating taps, food trucks, and trivia nights.

Tap & Bottle

Time Market is my neighborhood grocery-meets-pizzeria near the UA for wood-fired pizza and a glass of wine.

Time Market

Mercado San Agustín is a colorful courtyard market by the streetcar line where I grab tacos and browse local shops.

Mercado San Agustín