Phoenix

Phoenix is a desert city several hours' drive from any coast, so a beach vacation is not on offer. Swimming here means water you visit for the day or water by the hotel: the reservoirs on the Salt River east of the city, such as Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake, have small beaches and boat landings set among bare desert cliffs, and tubing down the lower Salt River is a summer tradition with locals.

For most visitors, though, swimming happens in pools. Resort pools with lazy rivers and water slides are where a stay is spent from May to September, when the city is too hot for much else.

The food that belongs to Phoenix comes from the Sonoran borderlands: carne asada and machaca, flour tortillas so thin they turn translucent, bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dogs from evening carts, and family-run Mexican kitchens across the south and west of the city. Southwestern cooking with chiles, mesquite and prickly pear adds a regional note, and the city has a serious reputation for wood-fired pizza and bread baking.

Beyond that it is a large American sprawl with a reliable restaurant scene rather than a great one. Downtown, the Roosevelt Row arts district and central Phoenix hold the more interesting independent places, Scottsdale handles polished resort dining and steakhouses, and everything is spread out enough that eating well usually means driving. Arizona wine from the south of the state appears on many lists.

Phoenix is a young city that grew fast in the twentieth century, so its sights are museums rather than streets. The Heard Museum holds one of the finest collections of Native American art and culture anywhere, the Musical Instrument Museum in the north of the city is large and absorbing, and the Phoenix Art Museum covers the usual ground well. Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's desert studio in Scottsdale, is the architectural highlight.

Older heritage is thin and scattered: the Hohokam ruins and canal remains at Pueblo Grande, the restored Victorian houses of Heritage Square downtown, and the copper-domed Neoclassical capitol of 1901, which houses a museum of the state's history. There is no historic centre to wander, and the sights are far enough apart that seeing them means a series of separate drives.

Going out in the Phoenix area splits into distinct pockets. Old Town Scottsdale is the loudest, a compact grid of clubs, rooftop bars and dance-floor bars that fills on weekends with groups celebrating something. Tempe's Mill Avenue, next to the big university campus, runs on students and cheap drinks, while downtown Phoenix and the Roosevelt Row arts district have craft beer bars, cocktail lounges and a more local crowd.

Bars close at 2am and there is no after-hours culture to speak of. Summer nights stay hot well past midnight, which pushes much of the drinking onto patios with misters and into pool parties at Scottsdale resorts. Because the districts are far apart, a night out usually means committing to one and taking a ride-hail home.

The landscape is the strongest reason to come. Rocky desert mountains rise straight out of the suburbs: South Mountain is one of the largest city parks in the country, Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak are steep scrambles with views across the valley, and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in north Scottsdale has long trails through saguaro forest. Mountain biking, horse riding and early-morning hikes are part of local life, and the Desert Botanical Garden makes a gentle introduction to the plants.

Further out, the Superstition Mountains, the wild horses along the lower Salt River and the red rock country around Sedona, about two hours north, are all within reach. The catch is the climate: from October to April it is ideal, but in summer temperatures above 40°C make hiking after mid-morning dangerous.

Arizona's distances are large, so the list within about two hours is modest. North on the interstate, the old copper-mining town of Jerome clings to a hillside, Prescott has a pleasant courthouse square and Western saloon street, and Montezuma Castle is a well-preserved cliff dwelling on the way to Sedona, an art and resort town in red rock country. South, Tucson is under two hours away, with its old adobe barrios and the white Mission San Xavier del Bac.

Closer in, Wickenburg plays up its cowboy past and the Verde Valley has a small wine trail. The Grand Canyon and the far south's historic towns are too far for a comfortable day, and every outing needs a car.

Phoenix works well for a family that comes in the cooler months and drives. The Phoenix Zoo, the aquarium in Scottsdale, the Arizona Science Center downtown and a well-regarded children's museum cover the main bases, and there are several water parks plus resorts built around pools with slides and lazy rivers. Spring training baseball in March is an easy, relaxed outing, and short desert trails suit older children.

The difficulties are practical. Attractions are spread across a huge metro area, so expect a lot of time in the car, and from June to September the heat makes outdoor time risky for young children outside early mornings. Hotels are spacious and the culture is easy-going and child-friendly.

Phoenix is one of the most car-dependent cities in the country. The metro area is a flat grid of wide arterial roads stretching for dozens of kilometres, with Scottsdale, Tempe, downtown and the hiking areas far apart. A light rail line connects the airport, downtown Phoenix and Tempe and is useful within that corridor, but buses are slow and infrequent for a visitor's purposes.

Walking is limited to small cores such as downtown, Old Town Scottsdale and Mill Avenue, and in summer even short walks are punishing. Most visitors rent a car; ride-hailing fills the gaps, and roads and parking are easy.

Shopping here is mall-based and Scottsdale-centred. A large luxury mall in Scottsdale and an open-air one near the Biltmore district carry the main international brands and department stores, and Old Town Scottsdale adds art galleries, Western wear shops and boutiques.

The distinctive buy is Native American work: Navajo and Zuni silver and turquoise jewellery, Hopi katsina carvings, pottery and rugs, best bought from museum shops and reputable galleries rather than souvenir stores. Beyond that, independent shopping is scattered, with a few vintage and design shops around central Phoenix.

Phoenix sits in the middle of the American price range, and the season matters more than anywhere. From January to April, when the weather is perfect and spring training and golf fill the valley, Scottsdale resorts and central hotels are expensive. In summer the same rooms drop sharply, and chain hotels along the freeways are good value all year.

Eating out costs what it does in most American cities, with Sonoran Mexican food the cheap and good option. The real extra cost is a rental car, which most visits require, along with parking at resorts. Hiking, which is one of the main things to do, is mostly free.

Phoenix has the full set of institutions a large American city keeps, without any of them drawing visitors on its own. The Phoenix Symphony plays at Symphony Hall downtown, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona run regular seasons, and touring Broadway shows come through ASU Gammage in Tempe, a round auditorium designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Herberger Theater Center hosts local companies.

The Musical Instrument Museum has an intimate concert hall with a varied programme, and a handful of mid-sized rock and indie venues downtown and in Tempe bring touring bands. Seasons run mostly from autumn to spring, and the summer is quiet.

Phoenix and Scottsdale are one of America's classic places to go for a resort rest. Large desert resorts with full spas, several pools and golf courses spread along the foot of Camelback Mountain and through north Scottsdale, and treatments built on desert ingredients such as sage, clay and agave are a regional speciality. In winter the dry warmth and long sunny days make lying by a pool an easy way to spend a week.

What it lacks is a public bathing culture. There are no historic baths or hot springs to visit in the city, and outside the resorts the pace is that of a sprawling car city. The best of it costs resort money and is at its finest from autumn to spring.