Tucson, Arizona, USA
Created | Updated Sep 26, 2008
Tucson has a diverse heritage of Mexican, Spanish, Native American, and other European cultures. It is considered a prime tourist location because of the beautiful landscape of the Sonoran Desert, and the beautiful weather. However for about a month or two right around July, Tucson starts their monsoon season. The cool, heavy rains of the monsoons are decorated with a dazzling display of lightning storms. The monsoons bring the desert to life, and wildflowers bloom everywhere. Tucson is also home to thirty-five golf courses.
This guide entry will hopefully shed some light on little known areas around Tucson and encourage visitors to explore the wonderful city of Tucson. This guide will describe a brief history of Tucson, some great places to eat, and some great places to visit.
Welcome to Tucson!
A Brief History of Tucson
The area of Tucson was home to several native American tribes, some even dating back almost 12,000 years ago. However the first time it was ever called "Tucson", was on August 20, 1775 when it was settled by Spaniards as a fort.
The word Tucson means "At the base of the black hill" in the O'odham language, which is a reference to the volcanic Peloncillo Mountains.
After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Tucson became Mexican territory. Tucson finally became part of the United States in 1853, after the Gadsden Purchase. Tucson was the capital of Arizona from 1867 to 1879.
Basic Information
Tucson's area is approximately 195.1 square miles (505.3 km2) and has an elevation of 2,389 ft (728 m) above sea level. Tucson is located on an alluvial plain and it is surrounded by the Santa Catalina Mountains, the Tortolita Mountains, the Santa Rita Mountains, the Rincon Mountains, and the Tucson Mountains.
The average temperature during the summer is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37oC) during the day and and average of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24oC) during the night.
However the average temperature during winter is 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21oC) during the day, and 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3oC) during the night.
Tucson has a current Metro Population of 946,362.
The Best Places to Eat
Tucson is full of amazing places to eat, and they are not extremely expensive. You can find almost every type of food here in Tucson. Mexican, Italian, Asian, Arabic, and good old fashioned (and terrible for you) American, are just a few of the extremely numerous genres of food you can find here, esppecially if you know where to look.
The Casbah Teahouse
Don't be fooled by the name, this place is much more than just a Teahouse. It a full organic restaurant with an amazing atmosphere. The Caspah Teahouse does have every kind of tea imaginable (even Earl Grey with milk). If you ever get the chance to visit Tucson, be sure to include The Caspah Teahouse on your list of 'places to visit' and you will not be disappointed.
628 N 4th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 903-0305
Baggins Gourmet Sandwiches
This place is definitely one of the best places to eat in Tucson. They have so many awards that they have to devote one whole wall just to put them on display. Baggins has been voted 15 years in a row as the 'Best Sandwich in Tucson'. If you happen to find yourself there, try the Spiced Tea, it is truly amazing.
There are several locations throughout Tucson.
Ali Baba's Restaurant
This restaurant is a truly amazing experience. They have the best tasting, most authentic Arabic food in Tucson. You should definitely try the kebabs or the shwarma if you ever get the chance. Ali Baba's is also vegetarian friendly.
2545 E Speedway Blvd # 125
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 319-2559
Cafe Poca Cosa
This restaurant never disappoints. Their menu changes twice a day, every day, but that just adds to their creativity. Cafe Poca Cosa sometimes has weird (but delicious) items on their menu, things like Peach Tamales. Cafe Poca Cosa does seem to close down for about month each year, for renovations and vacations, so if you are interested, be sure to call ahead or check their website (provided above).
110 E Pennington St
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 622-6400
If you are low on cash you could always go to Taco Bell.
Other Places of Interest
There are a lot of fun things to do in Tucson despite contrary belief. There are several great movie theaters, arcades, parks, skating rinks, zoos, museums, hiking trails, biking trails, and horseback riding.
The Tucson Museum of Art
This museum is the size of a city block. It houses more than 7,000 pieces of art, some dating back to 250 B.C. The genres of art include: Art of the Americas, Art of the American West, Modern, and Contemporary Art. Well worth it for the $8.00 (£4.04) entrance fee.
140 N Main Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-2333
The Pima Air and Space Museum
The Air and Space Museum is one of the largest air and space museums in the entire world. They have roughly 300 different models of aircraft and space craft on display. Built into the Pima Air and Space Museum is the Challenger center, one of the few space shuttle simulators in the world. The price is kinda steep at $450.00 American(£227.20), but if you can, you should try it.
6000 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85706
(520) 574-0462
The Reid Park Zoo
This zoo is home to more than 400 different animals from regions all around the earth. Equipped with a gigantic walk-in aviary, classes, camps, and all kinds of different features, it is certainly worth the $6.00 (£3.03).
1100 S Randolph Way
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 791-4022
The Tucson Mall
Inside this mall is almost 1.3 million square feet of pure shopping. It has 200 stores not including the 5 department stores. Some of the quite notable stores include Macy’s, Dillard’s, Build-A-Bear, Banana Republic, Brookstone, Gymboree and Guess. On the whole it is just another mall, but certainly the best mall in Tucson.
4500 N Oracle Rd
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 293-7330
Golf N' Stuff
This well designed and well decorated arcade is a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. More than 100 arcade games, intense laser tag, bumper boats, go carts, batting cages, an 18 hole miniature golf course, and a snack bar. It has almost everything the body needs. It also has DDR.
6503 E Tanque Verde Rd
Tucson, AZ 85715
(520) 885-3569
Biosphere 2
Biosphere 2 is just amazing. It is the world's largest active environmental laboratory. It has several different ecosystems such as the Ocean (which holds over 1,000,000 gallons, or 3785411.784 liters of water) with coral reef, Mangrove wetlands, Tropical rainforest, Savannah grassland, and the Fog desert. Check out the Live Webcam from inside. With a 40 ft(12.192 m) ocean cliff, plants more than 60 ft(18.288 m) high, a restaurant, a hotel, Biosphere 2 is a truly amazing experience. It's on the outskirts of Tucson, but it is worth traveling the distance. Adult tickets are only $20.00(£10.10).
32540 S Biosphere Rd
Oracle, AZ 85623
(520) 838-6200
A View of the Universe from Tucson
It is also a good idea to mention that you will never see stars as beautiful as you do in Tucson. There are numerous observatories such as the Kitt Peak National Observatory which has 24 high power optical telescopes (the biggest collection in the world), and two radio telescopes. However, you do not even need to visit a fancy observatory to enjoy the stars, just lay down somewhere comfy (and safe) and enjoy. Tucson is definitely the astronomy capitol of the world.
Links
http://www.visittucson.org
This is a good site for tourist information.
http://www.tucsonaz.gov/index.php
This is a link for information about the city government.
