Westside

West essentially means that big chunk of Tucson stretching from Oracle Road, the main north-south artery, and I-19 westward to the base of the Tucson Mountains and the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. Bordered on the northwest by the ever-expanding residential and recreational retreat of Oro Valley (more golf courses here), this part of the city offers few visual attractions other than Tohono Chul Park, a very civilized, pleasant desert garden with an artsy touch. Once you’re past I-10, the road starts snaking into the grandeur of Saguaro National Park West, covered by entire forests of the giant cacti that gave the park its name, and the site of several ancient Indian petroglyphs. Don’t miss the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum on the far side of the Tucson Mountains, and consider stopping at Old Tucson Studios for the sake of the kids.

Downtown

Tucson and the Historic District

Of all the neighborhoods in Tucson, downtown offers the most variety. Century-old adobe homes, Victorian mansions, imposing government buildings, museums and affordable restaurants lie within easy walking distance of each other. The area is bounded by the Santa Cruz River on the west, Park Avenue on the east, St. Mary’s Road on the north and 22nd Street on the south. It’s a favorite destination for artists and art lovers, with numerous galleries and studios situated in and around the Old Town Artisans art marketplace, just a block north from the Tucson Museum of Art. Downtown is also the site of the city’s major performing arts events, with the Tucson Convention Center and the Temple of Music and Art providing the main venues for opera, symphony and dance performances. While it is true that the city still has a long way to go for a complete revival of its once-decrepit downtown district, progress is visible. Projects are currently under way to build a Sonoran Sea aquarium, a science center, a cultural center and an IMAX theater near the Convention Center. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, downtown Tucson will attract the tourist crowds that the city council has envisioned for years.

Renewal has already been quite successful in the Barrio Historico, the now-gentrified Hispanic historic quarter south of the Convention Center, where old Spanish-style homes have been largely restored to their original beauty. Take your time to explore this area on foot after leaving your car in one of the parking garages downtown; try the one across from the Main Library on Pennington Street.

Southeast/ Armory Park

The railroad industry turned this small military plaza into an upscale neighborhood for well-to-do professionals. As times have changed, buildings of various influences have turned this into an amalgam of cultures and styles, with examples of Spanish Colonial, Victorian, and Sonoran styles. This culturally diverse area is home to the Tucson Center for the Performing Arts and the Children’s Museum as well as an attractive park, which is hosts several city events.

East

Bounded roughly on the west by Wilmot Road, the Rincon and Catalina Mountains on the east and north, and Interstate 10 on the south, expansion of this district is largely limited by state and federal lands. The most attractive natural feature in the northeast is certainly Sabino Canyon, the most accessible part of the Catalinas, which teems with tourists, trams, hikers and joggers on weekends, while still retaining its serene beauty. If you are an outdoors person, you will also appreciate the vast expanses of Saguaro National Park East. Enjoy the desert and mountain scenery, and try not to disturb the roving of the native scorpions and rattlesnakes.

North/Casas Adobes:

This is the gateway to the Catalina foothills community, which now stretches 20 miles east and north of River Road to the Rincon Mountains. Luxury homes and gated communities spread across the hills and arroyos of the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. At the eastern terminus of the foothills is the Sabino Canyon National Monument and the Catalina Highway, which ascends to 9,400 feet to Mt. Lemmon, and the mountain community of Summerhaven.

Catalina Foothills/North-Central

In Tucson, “north” generally means “north of Broadway,” with Broadway Boulevard as the dividing line between north-south street numbers. Bounded on the north by the natural barriers of the Santa Catalina Mountains and Coronado National Forest, this area includes the University of Arizona campus with its many venues for science and art as well as the city’s main business and shopping areas, with the Tucson Mall and the Foothills Mall considered by many to be the biggest and the best of them. Since most of Tucson’s social life takes place inside air-conditioned malls, at least during hot summer days, these are really the places to meet the locals. Further to the north, the land and the income level slowly rise all the way up to the tony Foothills residential district. This area features beautiful homes with a view, surrounded by stately saguaro cacti and mesquite trees, outside the city limits and well out of reach of Tucson’s tax authorities. Well-heeled residents stroll about upscale shopping malls and adobe-style galleries, while wintertime visitors relax after a game of golf at one of the posh resorts in the area, such as the Westin La Paloma, Westward Look or Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.