History fans can explore local history at the Tempe History Museum, or tour the restored Queen Anne Victorian Petersen House Museum. Take a cooking class at the Historic Hackett House, or browse the Mill Avenue District shops in downtown Tempe. Hotel guests can usually catch a Broadway production at the Gammage Theatre designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Or, catch a show at Tempe Center for the Arts, located less than a mile from the Mill Avenue District.
Not far from our accommodations in Tempe, wander among replicated Hohokam dwellings at the Pueblo Grande Museum, watch for big horn sheep and native birds at Canal Park, and hike among ancient Hohokam petroglyphs at Hayden Butte Preserve.
Spend a day at Arizona State University’s local campus, a quick trip from your hotel in Tempe: check out the rattlesnakes at the Life Sciences Center Living Collection, learn about life on Mars at the Mars Space Flight Facility, and stargaze at the Planetarium. NASA aficionados won’t want to miss the ASU Center for Meteorite Studies, which boasts the world’s largest university meteorite collection. Kids will love the Halle Heart Children’s Museum. Let your kids roam around and take an interactive look at the workings of the human heart.
After a day in the desert, enjoy dinner at one of the terrific area restaurants like Phoenicia Café, offering delectable Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes.
