Though it’s less than half the size of Phoenix, Tucson (pop. 486,000) is at least twice as nice a place to visit. With a lively university community, some of the most beautiful desert landscapes anywhere on earth, and more palpable history than anywhere in the Southwest outside New Mexico, Tucson is well worth taking the time to get to know. It also makes an excellent jumping-off point for visiting the Wild West towns of Tombstone and Bisbee in the state’s southeast corner.

  However, with daytime temperatures averaging over 100°F, Tucson is hotter than heck during the summer months (early May to late September), so try to visit during the rest of the year. Spring is especially nice, with wildflowers blooming and spring training baseball bashing away, but this is also the most expensive time to be here—room rates in March are easily double those the rest of the year.

  Many of Tucson’s biggest attractions (Biosphere 2, Mission San Xavier del Bac, the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and Saguaro National Park) are outside the city limits and covered under various road trips, but the downtown area is worth a wander for the many historic buildings that have been spared the redeveloper’s wrecking ball, including a recently restored Fox movie palace.

  East of downtown, the nicely landscaped 350-acre University of Arizona campus, which spreads between Speedway Boulevard and 6th Street, holds the engaging historical exhibits of the Arizona State Museum (daily; $3; 520/621-6302) and one of the country’s preeminent photography collections in the Center for Creative Photography ($2; 520/621-7968), nearby at 1030 N. Olive Road.

  In the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains that rise north of Tucson, Sabino Canyon (daily; 520/749-2861), with its seasonal waterfalls and a nearly year-round creek, is a great place to stretch your legs while getting a sense of how pretty and vibrant the desert can be. Sabino Canyon is 17 miles east of downtown, well-signed off Tanque Verde Road.