Guides · Tucson
Tucson
30 places · 8 areas · any 7 stops free, then $4.99 for the whole city · offline map 42.4 MB
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Pick any 7 of Tucson's 30 places, free
- Browse all 30Every place, where it is and the basics are open to everyone.
- Pick your 7Add any 7 stops to your route. Each opens with its full guide and stays yours.
- Plan and walkBuild day-by-day walks from your picks, as many as you like, offline.
Drives: the first stage of every road trip is free.
An example half day
8 of the highlights, 1 day, about 2.3 mi (3.7 km), planned by the app's own engine and shown here with their guide. In the app you choose your own.
Day 1 · ~2.3 mi (3.7 km)
1
Barrio Viejo
Downtown Tucson; old barrio of adobe row houses built right up to the street
Walk the streets of Sonoran row houses, flat-roofed adobe homes built flush to the sidewalk, and stop at El Tiradito.
2
El Tiradito
Barrio Viejo; the Wishing Shrine, where candles burn for a sinner denied holy ground
Look at the candles and handwritten notes left in the cracks of the old wall; if you light a candle, local belief says your wish comes true if it burns all night.
3
St. Augustine Cathedral
Downtown; cathedral with a 1928 Mexican baroque front of saguaro and yucca, modeled on Querétaro
Look closely at the cast stone front for the saguaro and yucca blossoms and the small image of Mission San Xavier, then step inside.
4
Pima County Courthouse
Downtown on the Turquoise Trail; Spanish Colonial Revival courthouse of 1930, now a heritage center
Walk around the old courthouse and step inside the heritage and visitor center.
5
Presidio San Agustín del Tucson
196 N. Court Avenue; rebuilt corner of the 1775 Spanish fort where Tucson began, with a pit house
Walk the rebuilt adobe corner, see the excavated pit house and the old wall section, and catch a living history day if one is on.
6
Fox Theatre
Downtown; 1930 movie palace, the only known Southwestern Art Deco one, restored in 2005
See the lit marquee and front at night, and check the program for a film or concert inside.
7
Hotel Congress
311 E. Congress Street; 1918 hotel where the Dillinger gang was caught in 1934, now a music venue
Have a drink or a meal in the 1930s-style lobby and cafe, look at the Dillinger display, and catch a show at Club Congress.
8
Armory Park
Downtown; historic neighborhood of 1880s railroad-era houses on the Turquoise Trail
Walk the neighborhood's blocks and look at the mix of Victorian, Mission Revival and Classical houses.
More of the top sights
A few of the 30 places in the full guide. Each one has its own written guide in the app: what to do, what to notice, the history, and why it hits.
Mission San Xavier del Bac
Tohono O'odham San Xavier reservation; white mission church of 1783-97, built by O'odham hands
Tombstone Historic District
Tombstone; silver boomtown of 1879 with the shaded boardwalks of Allen Street
Saguaro National Park West
Tucson Mountain District; forests of giant saguaro along the 5-mile Bajada Loop Drive
Mount Lemmon
Santa Catalina Mountains; 9,171-foot summit by scenic highway, 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the city
Sabino Canyon
Santa Catalina Mountains; desert canyon of a creek and nine stone bridges, reached on foot or by shuttle
Saguaro National Park East
Rincon Mountain District; saguaro forest below the Rincons along the 8.3-mile Cactus Forest Loop
Pima Air and Space Museum
6000 E. Valencia Road; nearly 400 aircraft on 80 acres, next to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan
Kartchner Caverns State Park
South of Benson; living limestone cave seen only on guided tours, kept secret for 14 years
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
West of Tucson; 98-acre zoo, garden and museum of the Sonoran Desert, with two miles of paths
Areas
El Presidio · Downtown and Barrio Viejo · University · Tucson Mountains · Rincons and Catalinas · Santa Cruz Valley · Pima Air and Space · Tombstone and Kartchner
Illustrations are drawn for the app. Place descriptions are written by hand and checked against a primary source; facts draw on Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors.