Heard Museum

#1 Desert Botanical Garden The desert may seem like the last place you'd expect to find flora. Yet the Desert Botanical Garden is home to thousands of species of cacti, trees and flowers ... Read more » Courtesy Desert Botanical Garden

#2 Camelback Mountain As one of the highest peaks in Phoenix, Camelback Mountain is among the most scenic hiking spots in the city. Soaring more 2,700 feet in elevation, Camelback's summit ... Read more » Glanduin / Getty Images

#3 Musical Instrument Museum The Musical Instrument Museum, located about 20 miles north of downtown Phoenix, invites visitors to check out its collection of more than 6,000 instruments from around the world. On ... Read more » Courtesy of Musical Instrument Museum

#4 Phoenix Zoo The Phoenix Zoo is a great place to enjoy nature without your little ones dying of boredom. There are four trails (measuring 2½ miles in total) that wind through ... Read more » Courtesy Phoenix Zoo

#5 Phoenix Art Museum Housed within a prime example of contemporary architecture is one of the largest art museums in the Southwest (with more than 18,000 works of art, some of them dating ... Read more » Bill Timmerman / Courtesy Phoenix Art Museum

#6 Heard Museum If you're a history buff or an art aficionado (or both), take advantage of the spectacular exhibits – and air conditioning – housed in the Heard Museum. According to many, the ... Read more » Craig Smith / Heard Museum

#7 Taliesin West Frank Lloyd Wright loved the Sonoran Desert, and he used these 600 acres at the base of the McDowell Mountains as his winter home and school. With the help of ... Read more » Andrew Pielage / Taliesin West_Evening_credit Andrew Pielage_copyright Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

#8 Golf Courses Despite its desert surroundings, Phoenix is emerging as a premier golf destination. In fact, the Valley of the Sun is home to several hundred courses with difficulty levels ranging from ... Read more » Dru Bloomfield / Flickr

#9 Chase Field Watching the Arizona Diamondbacks play at Chase Field is a worthwhile experience, even if you aren't a die-hard baseball fan, according to recent visitors. Reviewers appreciated the kid-friendly atmosphere ... Read more » Visit Phoenix

#10 Spas If hiking and golf aren't really your cup of tea, consider a day spent wrapped in seaweed or soaking in mud. Alongside its luscious green golf courses, Phoenix is ... Read more » Matthew Wakem / Getty Images

#11 Arizona Science Center Seek refuge from the broiling Phoenix weather in the Arizona Science Center, where interactive displays teach kids about everything from electricity to weather patterns to outer space. Other topics covered ... Read more » Arizona Science Center

#12 Pueblo Grande Museum and Cultural Park History and archaeology buffs should put a trip to Pueblo Grande, a National Historic Landmark and the largest preserved archaeological site within Phoenix, at the top of their list of things ... Read more » Robot Brainz / Flickr

# Children's Museum of Phoenix Boasting more than 300 play experiences across three floors, the Children's Museum of Phoenix is a hit with kids. Spanning more than 48,000 square feet, the museum offers ... Read more » Courtesy Children's Museum of Phoenix

# Papago Park Read more » Getty Images

# South Mountain Park Read more » AndyKleinPhotography / Getty Images