About a 2 hour drive from Phoenix, Tucson is significantly smaller than Arizona’s capital city but there is still plenty to see and eat! We wouldn’t recommend a trip there in the summer though since it gets so hot, but a nice winter trip would be perfect!
Quick Link to:
Transportation
- Car: The best way to see everything that we have on our list is to rent a car.
- Lyft/Uber: If you are just sticking to downtown Tucson or nearby, you could probably get by with a Lyft/Uber.
Accommodations
- Canyon View at Ventana Condominium: About 10 miles from downtown Tucson, this 2 bedroom condo was very comfortable for our stay. It was clean and updated with all of the amenities including movies and games! It averages $161 per night.
To-Do
- Mission San Xavier del Bac: This historic Spanish Catholic mission is located about 10 miles away from downtown Tucson. It was founded in 1692 and was named for Francis Xavier, a Christian missionary. The mission that still survives today was built between 1783 and 1797 which makes it the oldest European structure in Arizona.
Know as the “white dove of the desert”, this National Historic Landmark is beautiful both inside and out. The wood work is articulate and stunning.
- Titan Missile Museum: Also know as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8, this museum is located about 25 minutes south of Tucson and is definitely worth the trip.
It is a former Titan II missile site and the only surviving complex from the late Cold War period. Declared as National Historic Landmark in 1994, it is now a museum, run by the Arizona Aerospace Foundation. We did the Top-to-Bottom tour and were able to see the original launch facilities as well as the missile silo.
It was a very cool and surreal experience to be able to see everything from the control room, the 8 level silo, the crew’s quarters and more. Tickets are $100 a person but definitely worth it for a once in a lifetime experience.
- University of Arizona Biosphere 2: Located 45 minutes north of the city, this unique facility is dedicated to the research and understanding of the Earth’s environment to help understand many different global scientific issues.
This facility is basically a massive lab for scientific studies, with discoveries of better ways to be doing things for the Earth, such as gardening with less water. Not only are they learning new things everyday but in turn, we the public are able to come and learn from it! There are daily tours that are $21 per person.
We did the under-the-glass walking tour which took about 1.5 hours and was about 1 mile of walking. We spent time both inside and out of the facility and we were glad that we wore comfortable shoes for all the walking situations. It was pretty warm and humid inside the glass facility so be prepared for that.
Food
- Fiamme Pizza: This local pizza shop is well known to be authentic. They use imported Neapolitan flour, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. All cooked in a wood fired oven, everything we had was very good.
We got 2 pizzas to share: the Figo (white pizza with cherry tomato, pancetta, garlic, basil, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan) and the Prosciutto e Arugula (tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula). `For dessert, we shared the Nutella pizza!
- El Torero (previously Lerua’s Fine Mexican Food): Since 1922, Lerua’s restaurant had been serving up delicious Mexican food and they were famous for their green corn tamales. Unfortunately, this family owned restaurant had to close down this location so that the city could continue with the Broadway Boulevard expansion project. Thankfully, they have re-opened a sister location (El Torero).
We were able to eat there when they were still open and the food was amazing! Sierra had a ground beef taco with a side of rice and beans and Jonah had a ground beef burrito with green Chile on the side as well as a side of rice and beans.
- Maynard’s Market & Kitchen: Since we were in Tucson for Thanksgiving, we had our Thanksgiving feast at this unique restaurant. Located in the historic train depot, the atmosphere was very cool and the food was all incredible.
To start, we had a platter consisting of cured meats, cheeses, top knot liver pate, deviled eggs, house marinated olives, nuts, pickled vegetables, and herbed bread.
Next we had a panzanella salad with consisted of kale, toasted bread, red onion, butternut squash, brussels sprouts, pepitas, dried cranberry, goat cheese, and maple vinaigrette.
For our drinks, we had a rose Chardonnay and a cider cocktail.
For the main course, Jonah got the herb roasted Arizona prime rib, pan jus. Sierra got the maple roasted Scottish salmon with cranberry almond salsa.
Both entrees were served with citrus glazed parsnips and carrots, haricot vert with bacon and parmesan, roasted sweet potatoes with marshmallow and toasted granola, white cheddar and roasted garlic whipped Yukon gold potatoes, brioche stuffing with roasted mushrooms, caramelized onion and sage, giblet pan gravy and orange-cranberry sauce.
For dessert, Jonah had the warm berry cobbler with lemon-vanilla bean ice cream.
Sierra got the pumpkin cheese cake tart with nutmeg caramel and cream chantilly.
- In-N-Out: A popular chain on the west coast, if you are a fan of a good cheeseburger and shake, we would recommend stopping here. They have a “secret” menu and Jonah gets the burger and fries “animal style” (onions and special sauce). We both get our shakes “Neapolitan style” (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry combined).
We definitely enjoyed our time exploring the city of Tucson a little bit and would recommend it if you want to relax and get outside of Phoenix into a little cooler weather.
