For more information please contact:
Kimberly Schmitz, Director of Communications & Public Relations
Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau
1-800-638-8350, ext.143 or 520-770-2143
TUCSON – REAL. NATURAL. ARIZONA.
A sophisticated city of 800,000 that feels like a sleepy desert town, Tucson has plenty to offer outdoor enthusiasts, history buffs, urban cowboys, and culture vultures alike. Spread out over a 500-square-mile valley surrounded by five mountain ranges, Tucson is a fresh-air fan's dream. Visitors enjoy hiking and horseback riding among towering saguaro cactuses -- Saguaro National Park has the world's largest concentration of them -- or teeing off on one of the area's many fine golf courses designed by some of the world’s top golfers. Aficionados of the feathered find themselves in bird-watching heaven and everyone is astounded by the Sonoran Desert blooms. Spa lovers are in heaven in Tucson which is home to world class spas including the world famous Canyon Ranch, Miraval Life in Balance and Elizabeth Arden Red Door spas. And Tucson is the only city in the nation to host three Major League Baseball teams for Spring Training in March every year. Even rock hounds from all over the globe know Tucson is home to the world’s largest gem, mineral and fossil show.
Did we mention the weather? Over 300 days of sunshine a year -- more than most cities in the world -- allow visitors to play outside year round. It gets a bit toasty in summer but shaded getaways abound and (as the local mantra has it) it's a dry heat.
With its strong Spanish, Mexican, and Native American heritage, Tucson is more than just a pretty space. The Mission San Xavier del Bac, still serves the same Tohono O'Odham Indian community for whom it was established by the Franciscans two and a half centuries ago, and parts of the original Spanish presidio (fortress) flank downtown's mosaic-tiled courthouse. Celebrations such as the annual International Mariachi Festival in downtown Tucson attest to a continuing influence from south of the border (Mexico is only 64 miles away).
Nor has the west been lost here. City slickers mingle with cowboys at guest ranches, and country and western dance bars. Old Tucson Studios, where some of the west's most famous legends were captured on celluloid, offers simulated shoot-'em-ups and western entertainment shows. Huge annual rodeos feature some of the swiftest steer-roping around.
Civilized pleasures are plentiful, too. Tucson is one of only a few cities in the U.S. that have a resident symphony as well as opera, theater, and ballet companies. Palate-stimulating southwest cuisine and authentic Mexican food are among the city's myriad dining options, and tony resorts offer all the latest amenities in a casual, laid-back atmosphere.
Although lively nightspots are easy to find, Tucson is also ideal for folks who are happy just to gaze at the stars after dark. Ordinances against "light pollution," designed to aid visibility at the five world-class observatories in the area, ensure that the views of the heavens are optimal for even streetside astronomers.
Those whose idea of a successful trip involves unique souvenirs will be delighted, too. Country western gear, Native American crafts, and southwestern gifts -- say it with salsa or
cactus -- can be found everywhere from mom-and-pop shops to air-conditioned malls.
In the artists colony of Tubac, about half an hour away, masters of all kinds of crafts sell their unique, hand-wrought wares. Another half hour will bring you to Nogales, Mexico, where bargains and treasures mingle in arrays of colorful stalls.
Tucson is a jumping-off point for many other terrific Southern Arizona day trips. Within easy driving distance are the old west mining towns of Tombstone, Bisbee, Douglas, and Ajo; the Arizona vineyards around Sonoita and Patagonia; the Native American art collection of the Amerind Foundation; Kitt Peak National Observatory, part of the Tohono O'Odham Indian reservation; the unusual rock formations of Chiricahua National Monument and much more.
