Tempe, Arizona | Updated 2024

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Cycling with views of the city in Papago Park

Tempe

Things to do, see, and buy in the sun
Tempe is home to Arizona State University (ASU), which is one of the biggest public universities in the United States. It is only 20 minutes east of downtown Phoenix. Tempe is more than just a college town, even though the huge campus is always busy.

People love Tempe because it’s close to other Arizona attractions like Sedona and Flagstaff and has lots of places to shop and play outside. Are you worried about the heat? With clear blue skies, growing desert wildflowers, warm days, and cool nights, spring is a perfect season. But the heat of summer means great deals on hotels, plus it’s a good reason to spend the day by the pool and the evenings in downtown.

Play Outside
Tempe is a pleasant treat for people who like the outdoors and like to explore. Papago Park has beautiful desert trails to hike. The Hole-in-the-Rock Trail is especially famous because it has a great view of the city through a hole in a sandstone butte. There is also the AZ Heritage Center at Papago Park, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Hall of Flame Fire Museum, and the Phoenix Zoo in the park.

You can hike, bike, and ride horses on more than 80 kilometers of tracks in South Mountain Park and Preserve. Kayak or boat on Tempe Town Lake to enjoy the sun and water views, or take a walk along the paths that go around the lake. If you like baseball, don’t miss the Cactus League spring training games in March.

 

Sun-kissed Going shopping and eating
Tempe has a wide range of stores, from cheap ones to nice ones. Take advantage of great deals and air-conditioned, enclosed shopping at Arizona Mills, which has 175 shops, an IMAX theater, LEGOLAND® Discovery Center, the SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium, and many places to eat. You can find well-known brand names, entertainment, and a huge selection of restaurants, ranging from Greek to Japanese. Every Friday and Saturday night, there is live music.

You can go from day to night in downtown Tempe, which is a lively and cool area. Visit Old Town Books to find an old book, the Henna Shoppe to get a temporary tattoo, Pitaya to stock up on trendy clothes, and Cactus Sports to get ASU gear. At night, downtown is busy with people drinking, dancing, and live music.

 

City of Arts
The cultural options at ASU add to the school’s young vibe. See a show at ASU Gammage, a performance hall built by Frank Lloyd Wright that hosts top-notch Broadway shows. Visit the ASU Art Museum to see their unique collection of modern art and the changing shows of art that is currently being shown. The Tempe Center for the Arts is a beautiful building that hosts musical arts.

Walk around the huge site and look at beautiful pieces like “Blue Vase,” “Fountain Cast in Stone,” and “Skyspace: Air Apparent.” All over the city, you can see public art. There are more than 70 fixed and temporary pieces. The Tempe History Museum is free to enter, and it has a lot of items from the past and present that will help you learn about local history.