Phoenix has preserved large tracts of open space within its city limits, providing many recreational opportunities. Containing 16,500 acres, South Mountain Park is the largest municipal park in the world, with a 58-mile network of hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails. The Phoenix Mountain Preserve includes desert summits near the middle of town. Squaw Peak Park sees 750,000 hikers a year on its summit trail, which connects to a network of trails for hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers. Camelback Mountain's distinctive silhouette dominates the city's northern skyline, beckoning hikers and rock climbers only minutes from downtown.

With more golf courses per capita than any state west of the Mississippi, Greater Phoenix has enough tee times to accommodate two-and-a-half million golfers annually. Skies are usually sunny, and warm winter days ensure that rounds are almost never canceled; even in the summertime, early-morning and late-afternoon rounds are quite comfortable. During peak season, tee times may be slightly harder to arrange, but many hotels and resorts offer package deals for guests. The PGA's most attended tour event, the Phoenix Open comes to Tournament Players Club in Phoenix during January and the LPGA Standard Register PING Tournament brings professional women's golf to town in March

The Desert Botanical Garden, containing over 20,000 plants, is world-renowned for its efforts in protecting endangered flora. The Garden's Plants and People Trail and Desert Discovery Trail exhibits educate visitors on the local desert environment and how people interact with it. Also known for its work in saving endangered species, the Phoenix Zoo prides itself on the natural settings it provides for about 400 species of animals, including several indigenous ones found along the Zoo's Arizona Trail.

The city's performance venues include the beautifully restored Spanish Colonial Revival style Orpheum Theatre, built in 1929. The Arizona Theatre Company, Ballet Arizona and Actors Theatre of Phoenix perform in the Herberger Theater Center. Phoenix Symphony Hall presents the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona Opera. The new Dodge Theatre is a marriage of modern technology and a Broadway stage house, presenting everything from concerts to plays to conventions.

Phoenix is proud of the mix of Native American and pioneer history that helped build the city. The best-known museum is the Heard, which houses one of the world's finest collections of Native American art and artifacts and presents the annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest. Preserving the ruins of an ancient Hohokam community, Pueblo Grande Museum gives a glimpse of what a large prehistoric settlement looked like. Downtown Heritage Square preserves pioneer homes next to the Phoenix Museum of History, both illustrating how early settlers lived.

Some area shopping malls have become destinations in and of themselves. Arizona Center's palm trees tower over idyllic garden settings and a host of fine shops. Biltmore Fashion Park is home to Saks Fifth Avenue and Polo/Ralph Lauren; its gardens, fountains and outdoor cafés give the feel of a European town.

As befits a large city, menus in Phoenix cover the entire range of cuisines. The specialties of the region are Mexican and Western, but every possible ethnic choice can be found somewhere in the city. Concentrations of elegant restaurants are spread along the Camelback Corridor and in the Arizona Center, but isolated gems are found throughout the city. The downtown Copper Square district includes nearly a hundred dining establishments.