Scottsdale

Scottsdale bills itself as 'The West's Most Western Town,' but most visitors know it for the opposite — polished resorts, designer shopping, championship golf, and one of the busiest nightlife districts in the Southwest. The two sides coexist: a restored 1900s main street sits a few blocks from luxury spas and rooftop clubs.

Old Town Scottsdale is the walkable core: art galleries, Western-wear shops, patio restaurants, the Scottsdale Arts District, and a famous bar-and-club scene that draws crowds every weekend. The Thursday-night ArtWalk has run for decades. To the north, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve protects tens of thousands of acres of desert with trailheads like Pinnacle Peak and Tom's Thumb.

Scottsdale's event calendar is the Valley's heavyweight: the Barrett-Jackson collector-car auction (WestWorld, January) and the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament (one of the rowdiest, best-attended events on the PGA Tour, at TPC Scottsdale in early February) headline the winter, and spring brings hot-air-balloon and arts festivals.

It's a year-round destination thanks to resort pools and AC in summer and perfect hiking weather the rest of the year. Whether you come for the golf, the galleries, the desert trails, or the nightlife, Scottsdale is the most polished face of metro Phoenix.