Tucson Favorites: 1/2 Day Itineraries

Downtown Tucson
Take a guided or self-guided tour of historic downtown Tucson (see the Visit Tucson: Official Destination Guide for a self-guided walking tour).Visit the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block for a look at restored 1800s' buildings, as well as noted permanent and traveling exhibits. Docents are available to conduct walking tours of historic downtown with advance notice. Shop at Old Town Artisans. This historic 1850s' adobe building houses an entire block of shops and restaurants. The 15-room marketplace features saguaro-rib ceilings, handmade bricks, and a central courtyard, as well as works by area artisans for sale. Enjoy lunch at La Cocina Restaurant in Old Town Artisans or nearby at El Charro Café, Café Poca Cosa, or one of many other downtown restaurants.

Only in Tucson
Tour the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The museum is an acclaimed garden and zoo with hundreds of species of plants and animals in natural desert settings. Visit Old Tucson Studios. Park operations include live Wild West entertainment featuring mock gunfights, action-packed stunts, and toe-tappin' musicals, as well as food, shops, rides, and attractions. Both attractions offer lunch at pleasant on-site restaurants.

Desert Gardens
Explore the Tucson Botanical Gardens. This urban oasis of five-and-a-half acres features 15 specialty gardens that surround visitors with beauty and inspiration. They include butterfly, historical, wildflower, and a traditional Mexican-American neighborhood garden with more than 1,200 different types of plants. Depart for lunch and tour Tohono Chul Park. The tea room is a delightful spot for indoor or outdoor patio lunches. The park consists of lush gardens, quiet grottoes, and well-groomed trails in a 49-acre preserve.

Historic Southern Arizona
Tour the beautiful Mission San Xavier del Bac. Often called the "White Dove of the Desert," the mission was established in the late 17th century by Spanish missionaries. The 200-year-old structure is recognized as one of the finest examples of Spanish mission architecture in the country. The mission still serves its Native American parishioners, which makes it unique in the former Spanish Southwest Mission system. Spend time shopping in historic Tubac. Arizona's oldest European settlement provides both the ruins of a 1752 Spanish Colonial fort to explore, as well as unique shopping-from Southwestern spices to regal paintings of Western life. Enjoy lunch at the Tubac Golf Resort, a historic 500-acre ranch. The resort offers a refreshing change of pace, with a pleasant dining room equipped to handle groups.

Tucson in Flight
Tour the renowned Pima Air & Space Museum. It covers everything from the Wright brothers to Mars Attacks. The museum houses more than 250 military, commercial, and private aircraft representing more than 100 years of America's aviation history. Next visit AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance & Regeneration Group), a Davis-Monthan Air Force Base open-air storage compound, which is the only facility of its kind in the United States. The narrated tour of this living airplane boneyard features more than 4,200 aircraft ranging in size from the colossal, eight-engine Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber to the diminutive Cessna A-37 light attack fighter. Travel just south of Tucson to Green Valley to visit the Titan Missile Museum. Descend more than six stories underground and explore the Titan ll ICBM Site 571-7 for a chilling taste of the Cold War. This is the only publicly accessible ballistic missile complex in the world. An actual countdown procedure in preparation for launch is simulated. Hours and days open vary with the season.