1st Time Visiting Phoenix - Suggestions for Things to Do and See (Mesa: house)

[AtlasTraveler]

What do you suggest for a 1st time traveler to Phoenix? What to see? Eat? Culture?

I'll be visiting the Phoenix Metro over Thanksgiving holiday and I'm excited to take it all in! I've never been before. I have a few relatives who moved down to Phoenix from icy Minnesota.

Suggestions? I'll have around 6 days total!

[locolife]

Hate to beat a dead horse, but can you narrow down what you're interested in a bit and/or where you'll be staying? Phoenix, especially in the winter months, has a lot going on. Beyond the normal cultural/art/outdoors/foodie options you'll also find a ton of festivals happening in November and all of the Christmas activities should be kicking off.

I'm a huge outdoorsy type with bit of a foodie/artsy side, so my suggestions tend to focus on those things. If you can I suggest staying downtown Phoenix, I'm sure your friends moved to Scottsdale which is the "place everyone thinks they should be" with some truth to it. But I prefer the grittiness that is DT Phoenix over the perfectly manicured Scottsdale scene, both are easily visited from one another, I'd just make my hub DT Phoenix if possible.

To name a few:

Some Culture, not knowing anything about what you like:
- You'll be able to catch Las Noches de Las Luminarias at DBG
- While in the area the Phoenix Zoo is decked out that time of year with Christmas Lights
- You'll also be here to catch December's First Friday event at RoRo, this is a gritty, home-grown, art walk- one of the largest in the U.S. and shouldn't be missed.
- Heard/Phoenix Art Museums always have interesting exhibits rolling through, and while on museums you should also checkout MIM, SMOCA, Mesa Arts Center, and Tempe Arts. I'm sure I missed a few, but if you attend first friday you'll see a lot of local art.
- AZ Science Center, very cool

Some Food Ideas (I tend to focus on locally owned spots):
- Barrio Cafe, a true home grown Mexican food experience, one of the coolest concepts from a great local Chef
- Desoto Market, A hodge podge of great food options house in one restored brick building right at the corner of Central/Roosevelt
- Compass Room (probably not locally owned, but not sure) it's at the top of the Hyatt in Phoenix and rotates 360 degrees as you eat, awesome scenery and gets you a great lay of the land. I had zero complaints about the food, but we just went for drinks and appetizers before a show.
- Some other downtown Phoenix options: Matt's Big Breakfast, Pizzeria Bianco in Historic Heritage Square, FEZ.
- Tempe/Scottsdale have their own foodie scenes in and of themselves, you can find anything under the sun here... just look around the internet a bit.

Live Music, if you're into it:
- Valley Bar, Copper Blues, Crescent Ballroom, The Lost Leaf tend to be my favorites in Central Phoenix. When you head to Scottsdale/Tempe there are quite a few more to add to this list. Phoenix New Times website will give you a good events listing for not only music but everything else going on around the valley.

The hiking proximity to Phoenix is probably second to none around the country, maybe places like Salt Lake are better? But I don't think you'll find a shortage of trails, with something like 500+ miles in the ranges you see surrounding the valley. The tourist favorite is always camelback, but I'd suggest trying Piestewa Peak as an alternative. If you happen to be a Cyclist you're in heaven, because Phoenix has a ton of options for that as well.

Hope that helps, there's almost endless things to do, I've spent over 10 years of my life in Phoenix exploring the immediate area and the rest of the state, the beauty and continued growth/expansion never ceases to amaze me. Hope you enjoy...