Phoenix, America’s 6th largest city, presents a plethora of possibilities for its visitors and residents. A cosmopolitan city with buildings rising from the Sonoran Desert like the mountains that surround it, the metropolis reawakened after centuries of dormancy from its Hohokam inhabitants. The canals the Hohokam built centuries ago that once criss-crossed the Valley were later reused for modern irrigation.

This historic repurposing continues in downtown Phoenix to this day. The 14-story Art Deco Luhrs Tower, built in 1929 and once featured in Hitchcock’s Psycho, will team with its 10-story brother, the Luhrs Building, built in 1924 and Phoenix’s first high-rise, to house a Marriott, retail and commercial spaces, and become today’s Luhrs City Center. A block away, the recently developed CityScape hosts multiple dining and nightlife options, revitalizing Phoenix’s urban core.

Nearby, the recent expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center and the addition of the 31-story, 1,000 room Sheraton Grand Phoenix have increased business tourism. All of these are within walking distance of Chase Field for a ballgame or motocross competition, Talking Stick Resort Arena for a basketball game or concert, along with cultural institutions such as the Arizona Science Center, the Rosson House Museum, and the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. More culture awaits nearby with the Phoenix Symphony Hall, the Herberger Theater Center, the Orpheum Theater, and Comerica Theatre, so check those listings.

A short ride on the Light Rail delivers a Phoenix visitor to the fantastic permanent collection of the Phoenix Art Museum, or the Heard Museum with its unrivaled collection of Native American archives, historical artifacts and art works. On that same Light Rail back toward the airport, make a trip back in time to the Pueblo Grande Museum Archaeological Park to see the ruins and canals from which modern Phoenix arose. Central Phoenix offers you the possibility for myriad diversions in a city center teeming with activity.