Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Phoenix (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Enchanted Island Amusement Park, Phoenix Zoo, and Papago Park. Also, be sure to include Desert Botanical Garden in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Phoenix (Arizona).
Table of Contents
Enchanted Island Amusement Park
Amusement park in Phoenix, Arizona. Enchanted Island Amusement Park is a 7.5-acre amusement park located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is in the center of Encanto Park, a 222-acre city park. It features nine rides and a variety of attractions.[1]
Address: 1202 W Encanto Blvd, 85007-1300 Phoenix (Encanto)
Phoenix Zoo
Zoo in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962 and is the largest privately owned, non-profit zoo in the United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the zoo was founded by Robert Maytag, a member of the Maytag family, and operates on 125 acres of land in the Papago Park area of Phoenix. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.
The zoo has over 1,400 animals on display and contains 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of walking trails. It is divided into four main themed areas or trails: The Arizona Trail (American Southwest flora and fauna), the Africa Trail (animals from Africa), the Tropics Trail (residents of the rain forests), and the Children's Trail, which includes a petting zoo.
The zoo has been conservation minded from its inception. Soon after it opened it hosted what was thought to be the last few Arabian oryx, which formed the basis of the world herd created for Operation Oryx and eventually allowed the reintroduction of the species into the wild. It now includes a sanctuary to care for animals that are endangered or unwanted.[2]
Address: 455 N Galvin Pkwy, 85008-3431 Phoenix
Papago Park
Park in Maricopa County, Arizona. Papago Park is a municipal park of the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, United States. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. It includes Hunt's Tomb, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]
Address: 625 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix
Desert Botanical Garden
Botanical garden souvenirs, books. Desert Botanical Garden is a 140-acre botanical garden located in Papago Park, at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, central Arizona.
Founded by the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society in 1937 and established at this site in 1939, the garden now has more than 50,000 plants in more than 4,000 taxa, one-third of which are native to the area, including 379 species, which are rare, threatened or endangered.
Of special note are the rich collections of agave (4,026 plants in 248 taxa) and cacti (13,973 plants in 1,320 taxa), especially the Opuntia sub-family. Plants from less extreme climate conditions are protected under shadehouses. It focuses on plants adapted to desert conditions, including an Australian collection, a Baja California collection and a South American collection. Several ecosystems are represented: a mesquite bosque, semi-desert grassland, and upland chaparral.
Desert Botanical Garden has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.[4]
Address: 1201 N Galvin Pkwy, 85008-3490 Phoenix
Arizona Federal Theatre
Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona Federal Theatre is a multi-use theatre in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The venue seats 5,000 people.[5]
Camelback Mountain
Mountain in Arizona. Camelback Mountain is a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The English name is derived from its shape, which resembles the hump and head of a kneeling camel. The mountain, a prominent landmark of the Phoenix metropolitan area, is located in the Camelback Mountain Echo Canyon Recreation Area between the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix and the town of Paradise Valley. It is a popular recreation destination for hiking and rock climbing.[6]
Heard Museum
Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitions of traditional and contemporary art by American Indian artists and artists influenced by American Indian art. The Heard Museum collaborates with American Indian artists and tribal communities on providing visitors with a distinctive perspective about the art of Native people, especially those from the Southwest.
The Heard Museum's mission is to be "the world's preeminent museum for the presentation, interpretation and advancement of American Indian art, emphasizing its intersection with broader artistic and cultural themes." The main Phoenix location of the Heard Museum has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.
The museum operated the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise which closed in 2009. The museum also operated the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale, Arizona, which closed in May 2014.[7]
Address: 2301 N Central Ave, 85004 Phoenix (Encanto)
St. Mary's Basilica
Basilica in Phoenix, Arizona. St. Mary's Basilica – officially The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – is a church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix located at 231 North 3rd Street at the corner of East Monroe Street in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It was built from 1902 to 1914 in a combination of the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, and was dedicated in 1915. It replaced an earlier adobe church built in 1881 when the parish was founded. The parish has been staffed by the Franciscan Friars since 1895. The current church was elevated to a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1985.
The oldest Roman Catholic parish church in the greater Phoenix area, St. Mary's was the only parish in Phoenix until 1924 and is home to Arizona's largest stained glass windows collection and a 26 rank pipe organ built by the Schantz Organ Company. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as "St. Mary's Church".[8]
Address: 231 N 3rd St, 85004 Phoenix (Central City)
Phoenix Art Museum
Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is 285,000 square feet. It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. A community center since 1959, it hosts festivals, live performances, independent art films and educational programs year-round. It also features The Hub: The James K. Ballinger Interactive Gallery, an interactive space for children; photography exhibitions through the museum's partnership with the Center for Creative Photography; the landscaped Sculpture Garden; dining and shopping.
It has been designated a Phoenix Point of Pride.[9]
Address: 1625 N Central Ave, 85004 Phoenix (Encanto)
Chase Field
Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team. Chase Field was the first stadium built in the United States with a retractable roof over a natural-grass playing surface.[10]
Footprint Center
Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Footprint Center is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Built in the regional population epicenter of the southwestern United States, the arena opened on June 6, 1992 at a construction cost of $89 million.
It is currently the home arena for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Indoor Football League's Arizona Rattlers. The ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners also played there from 2005 until they ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season. Additionally, the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes) played their first 7+ seasons at the arena following their arrival in Phoenix on July 1, 1996.
Located one block away from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the arena is 1 million square feet (93,000 m2) in size on an 11-acre (4.5 ha) site. These two major league sports venues are half of those used by Phoenix area professional teams, the other two being State Farm Stadium and Gila River Arena in the neighboring Phoenix suburb of Glendale.
Footprint Center underwent its second significant renovation in its history. The Phoenix City Council approved the plan on January 23, 2019, involving the arena, with the Phoenix Suns paying up to $80 million alongside any overrun costs. The first renovation was completed in March 2003 that had an 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) air conditioned glass-enclosed atrium built on the northwest side of the arena. That $67 million project was constructed to keep patrons cool while waiting in line for tickets or spending time inside the building before events. The arena upgrades have been done as part of the Suns' plan to keep it economically competitive after Gila River Arena opened. Former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo originally thought of the renovations after visiting Staples Center in Los Angeles and envisioned a similar entertainment district in Phoenix.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause to the Suns' 2019–20 season and allowed for an early start to the most recent renovations. Up to 80% of all planned work was completed in time for the 2020 preseason home opener, a 112–107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on December 16, 2020. The Mercury originally planned to play their 2020 WNBA season home games at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, but relocated all of the season's games to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Rattlers had their 2020 IFL season cancelled, but played their first home game of the 2021 season on June 12, 2021 against the Tucson Sugar Skulls.[11]
Address: Phoenix, 201 East Jefferson Street
Arizona Science Center
Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona Science Center, at 600 East Washington Street in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, is a science museum located in Heritage and Science Park. It was founded in 1984 as the Arizona Museum of Science & Technology in a downtown storefront, Its current building, designed by Antoine Predock, was completed in 1997. Along with daily demonstrations throughout the Center, the Center provides shows in the Dorrance Planetarium and in a five-story, giant screen IMAX Theater.[12]
Address: 600 E Washington St, 85004 Phoenix (Central City)
Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
Tourist attraction in Phoenix, Arizona. The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is an urban park and gathering place in front of the Arizona state capitol complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. One of the Phoenix Points of Pride, it is the site of various memorials honoring prominent figures, wars, and events in Arizona history.[13]
Address: 1700 W Washington St, 85007-2812 Phoenix (Central City)
Camelback Ranch
Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Camelback Ranch–Glendale is a stadium located in Phoenix, Arizona and owned by the city of Glendale. It is operated by Camelback Spring Training LLC. It is the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. The stadium holds 13,000 people.
Camelback Ranch replaced Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida as the Dodgers' spring training home, and Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona as the White Sox spring training home.
The park is also home to the Arizona League Dodgers, who moved to Camelback Ranch with the Major League team in 2009. The Arizona League White Sox play there as of 2014, after the White Sox rejoined the Arizona rookie circuit.
The stadium name is derived from the longstanding name of the property it is built on.
Roger Bossard, White Sox head groundskeeper, designed and put in all of the fields for the Dodgers and the White Sox. During the park's first year, Dodger fans noted and expressed their dismay at the absence of the Dodger Dog at the ballpark concession stands. The following season, Dodger Dogs began to be sold at the ballpark.[14]
Address: 10710 W Camelback Rd, 85037-5072 Glendale (West Phoenix)
Mystery Castle
Castle in Phoenix, Arizona. Mystery Castle is located in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, in the foothills of South Mountain Park. It was built in the 1930s by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. After learning he had tuberculosis, Gulley moved from Seattle to the Phoenix area and began building the house from found or inexpensive materials. Boyce Gulley died in 1945, and Mary Lou and her mother were notified by attorney that they had inherited the property. Shortly after, the mother and daughter moved in.
Their story attracted attention, giving the home some renown as well as its exotic name: A Life Magazine story (January 26, 1948) used the headline "Life Visits a Mystery Castle: A Young Girl Rules Over the Strange Secrets of a Fairy Tale Dream House in the Arizona Desert." The photograph featured Mary Lou posing atop the cantilever staircase leading to the roof of the house. That same year, Mary Lou and her mother began offering tours of the home.[15]
Address: 800 E Mineral Rd, 85042-8341 Phoenix (South Phoenix)
Rosson House
Museum in Phoenix. Rosson House, at 113 North 6th Street at the corner of Monroe Street in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, is a historic house museum in Heritage Square. It was built between 1894 and 1895 in the Stick-Eastlake Queen Anne Style of Victorian architecture and was designed by San Francisco architect A. P. Petit, his final design before his death. Named for Dr. Roland Lee Rosson and his wife Flora Murray Rosson, the house changed hands numerous times before being purchased by the City of Phoenix and restored to its original condition.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[16]
Address: 139 N 6th St, 85004-2328 Phoenix (Central City)
Arizona State Capitol
Arizonan exhibits in a historic capitol. The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, was the last home for Arizona's Territorial government, until Arizona became a state in 1912. Initially, all three branches of the new state government occupied the four floors of the statehouse. As the state expanded the branches relocated to adjacent buildings and additions. The 1901 portion of the Capitol is now maintained as the Arizona Capitol Museum with a focus on the history and culture of Arizona. The Arizona State Library which occupied most of the 1938 addition until July 2017 re-opened in late 2018 as a part of the Arizona Capitol Museum.[17]
Address: 1700 W Washington St, 85007 Phoenix (Central City)
Maryvale Baseball Park
Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. American Family Fields of Phoenix, formerly known as Maryvale Baseball Park and briefly as Brewers Fields of Phoenix, is a baseball park located in the Maryvale community of Phoenix, Arizona.
The facility is owned and operated by the city's Parks and Recreation department, and holds 10,000 people. It is the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers and their minor league affiliates (replacing Compadre Stadium in southeast suburban Chandler). It is also the home stadium to both of the Arizona Complex League Brewers Minor League Baseball teams of the Arizona Complex League. In addition to the main stadium, the facility includes 5 full practice fields, 2 practice infields, a 2-story clubhouse building, and a 2,000-space parking facility.
In February 2018, the Brewers announced plans for a major renovation of the facility. The renovation will include a new clubhouse building, renovation of the existing Brewers clubhouse, a newly constructed agility field, a new major league practice field, new batting tunnels, covered practice mounds, a new entry plaza, and new & refurbished parking lots. Costs will be shared by the Brewers ($56-60 million), the city of Phoenix ($2 million/year over 5 years), and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority (approximately $5.7 million). Completion is expected by the 2019 spring training season.[18]
Address: 3600 N 51st Ave, 85031-3005 Phoenix (West Phoenix)
Pueblo Grande Museum
Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Pueblo Grande Ruin and Irrigation Sites are pre-Columbian archaeological sites and ruins, located in Phoenix, Arizona. They include a prehistoric platform mound and irrigation canals. The City of Phoenix manages these resources as the Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park.[19]
Address: 4619 E Washington St, 85034-1909 Phoenix
GCU Arena
Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The Grand Canyon University Arena is a 7,000-seat, 135,000-square-foot multi-purpose entertainment and athletics facility in Phoenix, Arizona, owned and operated by Grand Canyon University. The arena is the home of Grand Canyon University Lopes men's and women's basketball teams and other athletic events.[20]
Address: 3300 W Camelback Rd, 85017-3030 Phoenix (West Phoenix)
Piestewa Peak
Mountain in Arizona. Piestewa Peak, at 2,610 feet is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third highest in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. It is located in the Piestewa Peak Recreation Area within the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, near Piestewa Freeway. Piestewa Peak is named in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, the first known Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, and the first female soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq War.[21]
Address: 1 Squaw Peak, 85028 Phoenix
Phoenix Municipal Stadium
Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix Municipal Stadium is a baseball stadium, located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is often referred in short as Phoenix Muni. The stadium was built in 1964 and holds 8,775 people. It is currently the home to the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program, having relocated to Phoenix Municipal Stadium at the start of their 2015 season. It is the former spring training home to the Oakland A's, having played their home games from 1982 to 2014. The San Francisco Giants held spring training at the ballpark from 1964 to 1981, when they moved to Scottsdale Stadium.[22]
Address: 5999 E van Buren St, 85008-3410 Phoenix
Orpheum Theatre
Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. The Orpheum Theatre is a 1364-seat theatre in downtown Phoenix. This venue was originally used for vaudeville acts as part of the nationwide Orpheum Circuit.[23]
Address: Phoenix, 203 W. Adams St.
Phoenix Convention Center
Building in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Convention Center is an events venue in downtown Phoenix, Arizona located along East Monroe, East Washington, East Jefferson, North Second, North Third, and North Fifth Streets. It opened in 1972 and hosts national and regional conventions and trade shows as well as consumer events and theatrical productions. It consists of three buildings: the North and West Buildings are connected underground by a shared exhibit hall and by a skyway bridge over North Third Street, while the South Building is a stand-alone facility. In addition, the "Third Street Canyon" between the North and West Buildings can be used as an outdoor event space.[24]
Address: 111 N 3rd St, 85004-2231 Phoenix (Central City)
Dream City Church
Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Dream City Church is an Assemblies of God Evangelical multi-site megachurch in Phoenix, Arizona. The weekly attendance is around 22,500. The senior pastor is Luke Barnett.[25]
Address: 13613 N Cave Creek Rd, 85022-5137 Phoenix (North Phoenix)
Civic Space Park
Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Civic Space Park is an urban park in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona which first opened to the public in April 2009. It is located directly across Central Avenue from the main part of the ASU Downtown Campus. It is also located north of the Central Station METRO Light Rail and bus transfer stations.[26]
Address: 424 N Central Ave, 85004 Phoenix (Central City)
Phoenix City Hall
Building in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix City Hall is the center of government for the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Located in Downtown Phoenix, the 20-floor, 368-foot building was designed by architectural firm Langdon Wilson. Construction began in 1992 and was completed in 1994. It replaced the former city hall, now known as Old City Hall. The total cost to build City Hall and its adjacent parking garage, and to renovate Old City Hall, was US$83 million.
Additional city services are administered from the Calvin C. Goode Municipal Building.
Phoenix's original city hall, at 1st Street and Washington (on Block 23) was demolished after the construction of Old City Hall.[27]
Address: 200 Washington St, 85003-1611 Phoenix (Central City)
Wrigley Mansion
Building in Phoenix, Arizona. The Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix, Arizona, is a landmark building constructed between 1929 and 1931 by chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. It is also known as William Wrigley Jr. Winter Cottage and as La Colina Solana.
Located at 2501 East Telewa Trail, it sits atop a 100-foot (30 m) knoll with views of greater Phoenix to the south, close to the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, which Wrigley owned.[28]
Address: 2501 E Telawa Trail, 85016 Phoenix
Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix
Botanical garden in Phoenix, Arizona. The Japanese Friendship Garden is a Japanese stroll garden located in Phoenix, Arizona. The garden encompasses 3.5 acres and includes a tea garden and tea house. It is a joint project of the sister cities of Phoenix, Arizona, and Himeji, Japan. The Japanese name is Rohō-en.
In 2004 it was named by the City of Phoenix as one of the Phoenix Points of Pride.[29]
Address: 1125 N 3rd Ave, Phoenix (Central City)
Hunt's Tomb
Hunt's Tomb is a tomb in the shape of a small white pyramid behind a fence at the top of a hill within Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona, United States. George W.P. Hunt had the tomb built in 1931 to entomb his wife. He was placed there after his death in 1934. Their daughter and his wife's family are also buried there.
The tomb was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The tomb is easily seen from anywhere in the South West part of Papago Park on a sizable hill overlooking the Phoenix zoo and offers a panoramic view of the eastern part of the Valley of the Sun.
According to Roadsize America "Dubbed "King George VII," he was a friend of the common man and a foe (sometimes) of the railroad and mining trusts, which he called "coyotes" and "skunks." Plaques on his pyramid declare that he was a descendant of an unnamed "Revolutionary War patriot," that he allowed women to vote in his state eight years before the rest of the country, and that he was elected governor seven times, which "set a national record."[30]
South Mountain Park
Park in Maricopa County, Arizona. South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona is the largest municipal park in the United States, and one of the largest urban parks in North America and in the world. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.[31]
Calvin C. Goode
The Calvin C. Goode municipal building is a 10 story government office building located in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1963 as the Phoenix Municipal Building and originally served as the city hall. The property also contains the Phoenix City Council Chambers in a separate circular outbuilding.[32]
Address: 251 West Washington Street, Phoenix (Central City)
Hole-in-the-Rock
Historical landmark in Phoenix, Arizona. Hole-in-the-Rock is a natural geological formation in Papago Park, a municipal park of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona.[33]
Address: 625 N. Galvin Parkway, 85008 Phoenix
Del Monte Market
Del Monte Market is an historic market located on the western edge of South Phoenix, Arizona. It is listed on the Phoenix Historic Registry as "the oldest continually operating general market in the state."[34]
Address: 2659 W Dobbins Rd, 85041 Phoenix (South Phoenix)
Wells Fargo History Museum
The Wells Fargo History Museum is a museum operated by Wells Fargo in its Corporate Headquarters in San Francisco, California that feature exhibits about the company's history. Some of the museums' displays include original stagecoaches, photographs, gold nuggets and mining artifacts, the Pony Express, telegraphs and historic bank artifacts. The museum was initially known as the Wells Fargo History Room when it opened in 1927 in San Francisco. In 1935 a museum was formed opened for public tours. The museum has been operating for nearly 60 years in its current location.
Until 2020, when eleven of the museums were closed by Wells Fargo it was a group of twelve museums operated in multiple cities in the United States.[35]
Address: 145 W Adams St, 85003 Phoenix (Central City)