The Best Things to Do in Phoenix

Each location of this local adult shop chain gets its own decor scheme, so the Arcadia spot leans street art while the West Valley one goes full Alice in Wonderland. Groove stocks lingerie, dancewear, toys, and bachelorette supplies, and the staff are the kind of helpful that doesn't make anyone squirm. There's a rewards program for regulars, which the store describes, with admirable restraint, as benefiting frequent customers.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Adult Shop · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Adult Shop · Best of Phoenix

A boutique bodega stocked with natural wines, Arizona-made snacks, and objects no reasonable person needs but everyone leaves carrying. The purple psychedelic oven mitt, the artichoke candle, the butterfly dice: the inventory reads like a fever dream curated by someone with genuinely good taste. Cold drinks, eclectic merch, Baggu bags, and a hot sauce section round it out. It also hosts yoga sometimes, which tracks completely.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Bodega · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Buy Something You Don’t Actually Need · Best of Phoenix

More than 400 Indigenous-owned small businesses share a permanent indoor market in Old Town Scottsdale, selling handmade goods that range from beaded jewelry and hand-carved pottery to soaps and sand art. The nonprofit vending program requires all participants to be of Native American descent, so purchases go straight to the makers. A seasonal outdoor market runs on weekends in cooler months for anyone who prefers browsing under the sky.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Indigenous-Made Goods · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Indigenous-Made Goods · Best of Phoenix

A festival-wear shop on Mill Avenue stocked with shiny bodysuits, fuzzy sets, wild sunglasses, flow toys, and everything else you need to look properly unhinged under a light rig. Most of the merchandise comes from Arizona makers, so the sequins carry some local pride. The store has a posted zero-tolerance policy for bigotry, which shouldn't be a selling point but somehow still is. Go when your next event is two weeks out and you've convinced yourself you have something to wear.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Rave Gear · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rave Gear · Best of Phoenix

A 360-degree ocean tunnel sits at the center of this mall aquarium, and yes, it's inside Arizona Mills, which somehow makes the sharks feel more surreal. Over 5,000 species move through 161,000 gallons, including reef sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, and a tank where kids can locate both Nemo and Dory without a map. The tide pool lets you touch baby sharks, and a paid add-on gets you up close with rescued sea turtles. Cheaper than its Scottsdale rival by a wide margin.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Aquarium · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Aquarium · Best of Phoenix

Part antique mall, part haunted house, Terror Trader is a horror-themed marketplace where local vendors fill coffin-shaped cases with slasher memorabilia, VHS tapes, and ceramic human organs. A museum room of real skulls anchors the space, and life-size slasher villains lurk around corners for good measure. Phoenix New Times named it the best place for horror buffs two years running. The crowd, predictably, does not shop in beige.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place for Horror Buffs · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Store for Horror Buffs · Best of Phoenix

A vast stage and a sound system loud enough to rattle the fillings out of your skull make The 44 in Glendale the go-to metal venue in the Valley, which feels cosmically correct given that Alice Cooper grew up nearby. National touring acts share the bill with tribute bands and local talent, and the bar food is cheap enough that you can eat and still afford a band tee. Bring earplugs unless you enjoy tinnitus as a souvenir.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix

Chandeliers and exposed rafters inside a 1930s building that now hosts 1,800 people for live music on a good night. The Van Buren is a midsize concert venue in downtown Phoenix where general admission keeps things relatively democratic and the sightlines are genuinely hard to complain about. Live Nation books the calendar, which means a steady rotation of artists big enough to matter but not yet filling arenas.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Midsize Music Venue · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Midsize Music Venue · Best of Phoenix

Tens of thousands of used books spread across the fairgrounds floor once a year, priced so low it feels like a clerical error. The VNSA Used Book Sale is Phoenix's annual bibliophile free-for-all, run by volunteers and drawing serious collectors alongside people who just need something for the pool. Bring a tote, bring cash, and arrive with a loose plan, because the sheer square footage has a way of dissolving any sense of time or restraint.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Book Sale · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Book Sale · Best of Phoenix

A vintage shop tucked into a North Phoenix strip mall, Wang's moves the kind of T-shirts that make strangers stop you on the street: old Suns gear, beat-up band tees, the Marilyn Manson shirt your mom vetoed. Stock turns over constantly, so regulars follow their Instagram like a dispatch line. Prices run fair to real money depending on the piece, though the Saturday sale bins reliably yield something good for ten dollars.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Vintage T-Shirts · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Vintage T-Shirts · Best of Phoenix

Trays of loose bricks sorted by color and size sit open on the floor so you can hunt down that one piece you've been missing since 2009. Arizona Brick Co. is a family-run LEGO shop carrying new sets, used sets, individual minifigures, and the kind of loose-brick selection that serves both the casual builder and the person who considers this a lifestyle. Price points range enough that you don't have to be a completionist to leave with something.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best LEGO Store · Best of Phoenix

Somewhere between a liturgical supply house and a very niche gift shop, Autom is the kind of place that sells hanging censers and baptismal fonts alongside saint medallions, garden crosses, and yes, religious-themed Croc charms. The only retail outpost of a catalog operation that ships nationwide, it's been around forever and skews Catholic but has enough for curious shoppers of any tradition or none at all.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Religious Supplies · Best of Phoenix

Every October, one wing of this sprawling family nursery quietly transforms into a Christmas wonderland, which says something about how seriously Phoenix takes its holiday seasons. The rest of the year, Berridge is the kind of plant nursery you budget an hour for and leave three hours later, having consulted the staff about desert-hardy options and wandered the greenhouse twice. An old-school Phoenix institution with acres to roam.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Plant Nursery · Best of Phoenix

Neon, glitz, and gold cover every surface of this 3,500-square-foot Scottsdale nightclub, which has been an anchor of the entertainment district long enough to feel like a local institution. The format is straightforward: drinking and dancing, with aerialists and guest DJ sets keeping things from going stale. Expect a line out front and a crowd dressed accordingly.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Nightclub · Best of Phoenix

A foam tube "noodle forest," a pretend grocery store where kids can shop and restock, a tricycle track with a car wash: this children's museum in a beautifully restored old downtown schoolhouse keeps small visitors busy enough that they forget to argue. The oak floors date to the original building, so parents get architecture while their kids get chaos. Plan a few hours; one level is never enough.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Keep a Kid Entertained · Best of Phoenix

A crystal shop tucked inside a warehouse that shares a building with a storage facility, so easy to walk past that finding it feels like half the ritual. Inside, the scale surprises: room after room of crystals, including one dedicated entirely to amethyst. A resident cat roams the floor. Weekly sound healing and yoga sessions run under lighting made entirely of crystals, which is either very on-brand or a fire code conversation waiting to happen.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Crystals · Best of Phoenix

A tabletop game store that doesn't charge to use its gaming space, which tells you something about the vibe before you even walk in. Funkatronic Rex stocks tabletop, card, miniature, and role-playing games, with a packed event calendar and staff who clearly play everything they sell. The place landed a segment on "Critter Hug," the Critical Role talk show, which tracks. Phoenix New Times named it Best Game Store in 2024.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Game Store · Best of Phoenix

Floor-to-ceiling windows that actually let daylight in make this casino feel less like a submarine than what you're used to. The outdoor gardens drive the point home. Inside, there's a large sportsbook with a long LED wall, 800-plus slots, table games, and 40 craft beer taps. Honey & Vine handles sit-down dining. Don't skip the perimeter walk: the walls display artwork by Gila River Indian Community members, and it's worth the detour.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Casino · Best of Phoenix

The Stormrider drops you roughly 70 feet into the water, which is one way to spend a Tuesday in Mesa. Golfland Sunsplash is a full-scale water and amusement park with a wave pool holding 450,000 gallons, a raft ride that starts nearly seven stories up, a lazy river, a toddler pool, miniature golf, and an arcade big enough to lose an hour in. Bring the whole chaotic family; the park has something for every age group and nerve tolerance.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Waterpark · Best of Phoenix

A former automotive garage on Grand Avenue that now holds whatever washed up in one retired fire captain's decades of hunting. The category is "industrial vintage," but that undersells the weird old dolls and model airplanes sharing space with vintage photos and art books. It keeps Thursday-through-Saturday hours, so the First and Third Friday artwalks on Grand are a natural excuse to stop in and see what's appeared since last time.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Store Full of Surprises · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Secret Spot at Footprint Center · Best of Phoenix

The 9-foot bong is reserved for special occasions, and the staff will tell you so with a straight face. This Tempe smoke shop has been around forever, and while the name got a subtle refresh somewhere along the way, the mission hasn't: walls of glass pieces, a deep vape section, grinders, rolling trays, hookah supplies, and a staff that actually knows the inventory. Phoenix New Times named it Best Smoke Shop in 2024.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Smoke Shop · Best of Phoenix

An ice rink in the Sonoran Desert is a bit of a flex, and Ice Den Scottsdale leans into it. Free skate sessions run most days (advance registration required), and lessons are available for anyone still holding the wall. A bar and restaurant called 18 Degrees handles the spectators. When the Phoenix Coyotes development squad uses the ice, you get a side of actual hockey. It is, without question, the coldest place for miles.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Ice-Skating Rink · Best of Phoenix

Five stages, three bars, and over a hundred performers make Jaguars one of the larger adult entertainment clubs in the Southwest. The kitchen runs a full lunch and dinner menu, so you can show up hungry in more than one sense. Rap and pro-athlete sightings raise the energy on big nights, and the annual pole competition draws serious talent from across the region. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Strip Club in 2024.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Strip Club · Best of Phoenix

Seven Diamond pool tables anchor this no-frills West Phoenix bar and billiard hall, where draft beer and chips and salsa keep things moving for hours. Darts, UFC nights, and a genuinely laid-back vibe round out the options. The one catch: JJ's hosts tournaments but has no website to post them on, so call ahead before making the trip. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Pool Hall in 2024.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Pool Hall · Best of Phoenix

A compact gear shop in north Phoenix run by former Grand Canyon outfitters who wrote the book on rim-to-rim hiking, not metaphorically but as an actual published guide. The selection leans toward boutique and sustainable brands rather than big-box standbys, and the staff will talk you through your next trip with the enthusiasm of people who just got back from one. They also organize group hikes and workshops if you need a push to get outside.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Outdoors Store · Best of Phoenix

The floor-to-ceiling rose bouquets here run a hundred stems deep, which is why they photograph better than most wedding venues. La Ocasion is a full-service flower shop with two climate-controlled rooms at the McDowell Road location, where arrangements range from classic long-stems to roses bundled with gold-wrapped Ferrero Rocher. There's also a grand piano and a pool table on site, apparently for scale, or for the photo op.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Massive Bouquets · Best of Phoenix

Eight screens tucked into Scottsdale Quarter, so you can browse a dozen shops, debate dinner, and then settle into a reclining seat for something that might actually be good for you culturally. Landmark leans toward indie and arthouse programming alongside mainstream releases, plus classic film screenings at prices that feel almost apologetic. The sound is solid, the picture sharp, and the crowd skews toward people who checked the reviews before buying the ticket.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Luxury Movie Theater · Best of Phoenix

The lounge here is comfortable enough that you could forget there are lanes out back, which is either a design triumph or a problem depending on how serious you are about bowling. This Sunnyslope alley has been independently owned forever, and the bar leans into the Big Lebowski energy hard enough that ordering a White Russian feels basically mandatory. Plush seating, warm lighting, geometric walls, and plenty of beer on tap round it out.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Bowling Alley · Best of Phoenix

Natural fabrics and neutral tones dominate the racks at Local Nomad, a lifestyle boutique tucked into Uptown Plaza that stocks women's clothing, accessories, bath products, home goods, and a small kids' section. The edit skews breezy and warm-weather-ready, which makes sense given the setting. Buy online and pick up in hours if you'd rather not browse in the heat, though the store itself is worth the stop.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Women’s Clothing · Best of Phoenix

A loop trail inside Phoenix city limits that puts you face-first into the sunset if you walk it clockwise. The Lookout Mountain Preserve trailhead sits off 16th Street, and the climb is moderate enough to do on a weeknight after work. The west side of the loop opens onto distant peaks going orange, and the north stretch flattens out into scrubby brush where quail and the occasional roadrunner do their thing. Dogs on leash are welcome.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Sunset Hike · Best of Phoenix

The floor bar sits right next to the stage so you never have to choose between a drink and the show. This mid-size live music venue on Mill Avenue holds around a thousand people, which is somehow both big enough to book national touring acts and intimate enough that there isn't a bad spot in the house. A Perfect Circle, Social Distortion, and the Black Keys have all played here, and local showcases keep the calendar full between the headliners.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Reggae Venue · Best of Phoenix

Nearly 180 cars fill a converted big-box store in Glendale, ranging from a 1909 REO touring car to muscle cars that look like they're still angry about the gas crisis. The collection rotates regularly, since the owner keeps classics stashed all over the Valley, so repeat visits turn up something new. A vintage carousel and a 1929 Chevrolet popcorn truck keep younger visitors occupied while the gearheads linger over the Hot Rod back issues.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to See Classic Cars · Best of Phoenix

Over 31,000 acres of Sonoran Desert spread across Scottsdale's northern edge, with trails ranging from gentle wanders to climbs that will remind your calves they exist. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy runs training and education programs alongside the hiking and biking, so you can leave knowing more than just that saguaros are tall. It reads less like a city park and more like the desert reminding you it was here first.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Reconnect With Our Desert Roots · Best of Phoenix

A specialty grocery in Mesa stocking Michigan imports that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere in the Valley: Koegel's meats, Amish cheese curds, Mackinac Island fudge, and enough Faygo flavors to fill a Detroit corner store. The staff are Michiganders themselves, so commiserating about the Lions is entirely on the table. If you moved here from the Mitten and have been quietly suffering, this is the place.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Shop If You’re Missin’ the Mitten · Best of Phoenix

Tucked behind a well-known restaurant in the Melrose District, this midcentury antique shop packs teak dining chairs, Eames loungers, boomerang coffee tables, and a rotating cast of kitschy lamps into a showroom that rewards slow laps. Everything is properly restored and priced accordingly, though a more affordable layer of vintage clothing, jewelry, and bric-a-brac runs underneath. Somewhere in there might be a 1970s Thomas electronic organ, unless someone got there first.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Antique Store · Best of Phoenix

A century-old Baptist sanctuary that survived a fire, decades of abandonment, and a near demolition date has reopened in downtown Phoenix as an event and wedding venue. The vaulted shell of the place is the draw, and concert promoters are already circling to bring live music into the space. A restaurant is reportedly in the works too, making this one of those rare civic second acts worth watching unfold in real time.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Revitalization · Best of Phoenix

A small neighborhood Japanese grocery where the edit does the work: one or two quality options per ingredient instead of an aisle of noise. Pantry staples, fresh miso, mackerel, and myoga fill the shelves, and the snack aisle runs deeper than the usual suspects. A rack of Japanese DVDs in the corner handles dramas, anime, and language study for anyone planning a longer project at home.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Japanese Market · Best of Phoenix

The shop stocks tour merch from acts that recently played the Nile Theater down the street, so if you missed the show you can still walk out with the shirt. It's a small record store inside The Greenbelt building, selling vinyl, tapes, CDs, and apparel, with a tightly curated mix of rock, country, punk, indie, and hip-hop. The selection runs new and used, and the rotating band merch gives it a reason to check back in that most shops can't offer.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best New Record Store · Best of Phoenix

Sixteen courts, good lights, and lines you can actually see make Pecos Park the default answer when someone in the Phoenix area wants to play pickleball. It's a public park in Ahwatukee, so turnover happens fast even on packed weeknights. The rest of the family has no excuse to stay home, either, since there's a skate plaza, splash pads, a dog park, and courts for basketball, soccer, and volleyball waiting for them.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Public Pickleball Courts · Best of Phoenix

The Lone Tree at the trail's end looks genuinely out of place, a single pine against the bone-dry Superstition Wilderness like someone forgot to finish the landscape. This 5.4-mile out-and-back near Gold Canyon earns its reputation through steep incline and payoff in equal measure, with Weavers Needle, Battleship Mountain, and Canyon Lake all in view. Pack a lunch and hold out for the shade under that tree, or climb the boulders beside it for the full panorama.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Picnic Trail · Best of Phoenix

A 4.2-mile out-and-back near Superior with enough cliff scrambling to remind you that your body is mostly just bones. The payoff at the top is a mailbox stuffed with trinkets, letters, and reportedly condoms left by previous hikers, plus sweeping views of the Superstitions. Expect some butt-sliding on the descent, and bring real shoes. Arriving late rewards you with a west-facing sunset over the mountain terrain below.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Hike With Views · Best of Phoenix

A dog grooming salon where regulars apparently sprint to the front desk on arrival, which tells you something about the vibe. Puff & Fluff has been around forever and now runs eight Valley locations from this uptown Phoenix original. The menu covers everything from baths and nail trims to facials and massages, plus a service listed last on purpose. Monthly memberships exist for the truly devoted pet parent. Cats are also welcome, presumably on their own terms.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Pamper Your Pooch · Best of Phoenix

Indoor putting venue where a laser dot shifts the tee-off position each round so the same 18 holes play differently every time. The smooth, well-graded course runs from forgiving to genuinely tricky, and pros are on hand to fix your stroke without making you feel like a hazard to society. The attached Bar19 does above-average bar food and decent pours, though the signage probably shouldn't need to say "don't overdo it before you putt."

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Place to Learn How to Putt · Best of Phoenix

Redcat Racing builds 1:10 scale radio-controlled lowriders, the kind that bounce, hop, and ride smooth on miniature spoked wheels, no parade permit required. Their Chevy Impala models are the calling card, and an '80s Monte Carlo that lifts and dances via joystick followed close behind. A mini truck with a flopping bed is coming next. Phoenix-area shops AZ Turn and Burn RC and Duncan's RC carry them if you want to see one in person before you commit.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best RC Lowrider Cars · Best of Phoenix

A fair-trade shop in Old Town Scottsdale where every tag carries a story about who made the thing and whether they were paid for it. Clothing, jewelry, home goods, and handbags sit alongside work from local independent artists, all priced without the boutique markup you'd expect. The model is less retail transaction, more ongoing relationship between maker and buyer, which sounds earnest until you see how well it works in practice.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Future of Fashion · Best of Phoenix

A national running chain that actually watches you run before selling you anything, Road Runner Sports does gait analysis in-store (or virtually) to match shoes to how your foot hits the ground. Street, track, or trail, the selection covers it all, along with the usual supporting cast of shorts, shirts, and visors. The kind of place where a casual weekend jogger and a marathon-obsessed type end up equally sorted.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Running Shop · Best of Phoenix

A cactus garden behind the batter's eye in center field is either deeply Arizonan or deeply on-brand for a stadium that splits duties between the Diamondbacks and Rockies each spring. Salt River Fields sits on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with Camelback Mountain framing certain sightlines beautifully. Grab a lawn blanket in the outfield, then slip out to the backfields before first pitch to watch players actually train.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Watch a Spring Training Game · Best of Phoenix

The floor here runs 26,000 square feet, which is enough room to build up real speed before you remember you haven't skated in twenty years. Skateland is a roller rink, old-school and unashamed about it, with arcade games, a snack bar, and a lighting rig that commits fully to the bit. Kids get character glow skates on Sundays; adults get their own nights on Thursdays and Fridays where no one's kid is cutting across your lane.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Roller Rink · Best of Phoenix

A few pedals in and Phoenix disappears entirely, swapped for quiet Sonoran desert and the kind of saguaro scenery that makes you forget the city grid exists. South Mountain's trails run the range from a gentle beginner slope to a genuinely spine-jangling technical stretch, so there's something for toddlers on balance bikes and retirees alike. Hikers and dog walkers share the path, so a handlebar bell earns its place in your kit.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Mountain Bike · Best of Phoenix

Removing a glove with your teeth turns out to be a teachable skill, and Spellbound Burlesque is the troupe doing the teaching. They run nearly monthly shows around Phoenix, with local regulars sharing the bill alongside national headliners, and a standing residency every second Wednesday at Century Grand. The whole enterprise leans body-positive and inclusive, which in practice means the performances are less Vegas showroom and more genuinely weird and fun.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Burlesque · Best of Phoenix

Stinkweeds has been a fixture on Camelback forever, the kind of independent record shop where the staff actually knows what's in the bins. The focus leans toward indie labels, which means a healthy selection of local acts and obscure up-and-comers alongside the expected classics and new reissues. Vinyl, CDs, and the occasional find you weren't looking for all coexist here, which is the whole point of going in person instead of just opening an app.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Record Store · Best of Phoenix

Every product on the shelf at this west Phoenix soap and body care shop comes with an ingredient list and an EWG toxicity rating, because the owner believes you should know what you're rubbing on your skin. The focus is vegan bath and wellness goods, from coconut-almond soap to raw sugar scrubs in rotating scents. You can order online, but showing up in person lets you actually smell what you're buying, which turns out to matter.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Bath and Body Goods · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Large Music Venue · Best of Phoenix

A wood-clad 600-seat auditorium anchors this performing and visual arts center on the edge of Tempe Town Lake, with a black box studio theater, a gallery that spills into the lobby, and an outdoor amphitheater for when Arizona evenings cooperate. The Tempe Symphony Orchestra, Childsplay, and several other resident companies call it home, so there's almost always something on. Public art installations are scattered throughout, in case you arrive early and need somewhere to look thoughtful.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Open Mic Night · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Guardians of Local History · Best of Phoenix

Chiptunes hum over a system where you can buy, sell, trade, or just linger with a controller at the in-store lounge. This retro and modern video game shop stocks titles, consoles, and accessories across every system ever made, plus repair supplies and reproduction cartridges for the obsessives. Coin-op rarities like "Demon Front" sit alongside weekly "Super Smash Bros." tournaments. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Video Game Store in 2024, and the regulars look like they already know why.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Video Game Store · Best of Phoenix

Every Wednesday night at The Hot Chick, a drag queen named Barbra Seville calls bingo numbers with enough side commentary to make ten rounds feel short. It's a weekly event, not a bar night, so come ready: prizes range from gift cards to air fryers to things that would embarrass your mother. Half-off wine bottles and $8 High Noon seltzers run all night, happy hour starts at three, and a DJ keeps things going after the last card is called.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Drag Bingo · Best of Phoenix

A gift shop where the disco-dancing armadillo T-shirts share floor space with monsoon-scented candles and handmade cactus earrings. The Merchantile is a large, multi-vendor retail space organized by local maker, so each booth is essentially its own small shop. If you need something genuinely Arizonan to bring home, this is a better bet than the airport.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Shop for Arizona Merch · Best of Phoenix

The intimacy works in your favor here: a mid-sized regional theater company tucked into a relatively small downtown house, where you're close enough to catch every flicker of doubt on an actor's face. The repertoire swings from classic musicals to newer dramatic work, and the room's acoustics make the whole thing land harder than a bigger stage would allow. A reliable anchor of Phoenix's performing arts scene.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Small Playhouse · Best of Phoenix

A science boutique in Mesa where you can buy an actual fossilized dinosaur bone, which is either a totally normal purchase or proof that adulthood has its privileges. Tyrannostorus stocks stuffed animals, books, and specimens alongside goods for ancient Egypt, space, and shark enthusiasts, so the dino-obsessed child you once were will feel right at home, and so will everyone else who still has a favorite prehistoric creature.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Store for Your Inner Dino Nerd · Best of Phoenix

Up to eight players can fight off zombie hordes or battle robots in deep space without leaving Scottsdale, which sounds like a gimmick until you're actually sweating. Velocity VR is a group entertainment venue with multiplayer virtual reality at its center, plus go-karts, axe-throwing, and food and drinks for when someone needs a breather. It scratches the same social itch as laser tag used to, just with considerably better graphics and more steps logged.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Future of Local Gaming · Best of Phoenix

A Chicago-style speakeasy in suburban Glendale that survived a close call when its founders stepped away, saved by a general manager who bought the place outright and kept the plush seating and famously good acoustics intact. Local blues and R&B acts play the stage most nights, and a recently upgraded patio now lets you take your drink outside. Phoenix's blues scene is thin, so this one carries some weight.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Blues Bar · Best of Phoenix

A map shop that also keeps an enormous warehouse out back, which means the answer to almost any cartographic request is yes. Wide World Maps & MORE! carries road maps alongside wall maps, globes, and geography-themed decor, the kind of place where you walk in for one thing and leave planning a trip you hadn't considered. Old maps, new maps, maps of everywhere. GPS gets you there faster, but it never made anyone dream.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Find Your Way · Best of Phoenix

A small marketplace tucked inside a nondescript office building, Afri-Soul carries clothing, jewelry, accessories, beauty products, and handmade art sourced from across the African continent. The inventory turns up things you won't find in a conventional gift shop, paper bead bracelets, handwoven baskets, hand-painted belts, and bright cotton pieces that follow you home in your memory before they follow you home in a bag.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best African Shop · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Creative Compound · Best of Phoenix

Yoga here is more of a pretext than a practice: the real draw is a herd of baby goats wandering across your mat while you attempt downward dog. Arizona Goat Yoga runs low-impact classes on a farm outside Gilbert, many with themes like '80s or Halloween where guests and animals dress accordingly. Alpacas occasionally join in, and some sessions add cow cuddling for good measure. The staff keep the animals calm, which is more than can be said for the humans.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Greet Some Goats · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Free Art Museum · Best of Phoenix

The large metal tubs with fold-down side flaps are the key detail here: getting a reluctant dog into a bath is half the battle, and someone thought it through. Bark If You're Dirty is a self-serve dog wash and pet shop where you pick your level of clean, from a quick rinse to a full conditioned shampoo, then follow a staff member to the back and handle the scrubbing yourself. Brushes, flexible shower heads, towels, and brave-dog hair dryers are all supplied.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Dog Wash · Best of Phoenix

Bellair Golf Park is a driving range that stays open until 10 p.m., which tells you most of what you need to know about the vibe. TopTracer technology tracks every shot for those who like data, while everyone else just enjoys hitting things outside of the summer heat. It lands somewhere between serious practice facility and a genuinely good time, without the bill that comes with the fancier simulators around town. The west side's answer to a night out that doesn't require a dress code.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Trace Your Balls · Best of Phoenix

Row after row of paint, paper, clay, brushes, and mediums you'd need a degree to name fill this sprawling art supply store near ASU's campus. It draws everyone from grad students panic-buying portfolio supplies to hobbyists who wander in for one sketchbook and leave with a cart. If something isn't on the shelf, the website usually has it. Either way, you'll leave with more than you came for and a vague sense that your creative era is finally beginning.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Art Supplies · Best of Phoenix

Blue Dragon Vapor is a vape shop chain with several Valley locations, and the main thing separating it from the average smoke shop is that you don't feel vaguely ashamed walking in. The spaces are bright, clean, and well-stocked, with glass cases of hardware, a solid wall of e-juice, and staff who actually know what they're selling. Phoenix New Times named it Best Vape Shop in 2023.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Vape Shop · Best of Phoenix

A single painted "BOOKS" on the building exterior is the only advertisement this Sunnyslope used bookstore needs. Inside, towering shelves hold something north of 200,000 titles spanning fiction, nonfiction, true crime, romance, sci-fi, and out-of-print finds that have no business being this affordable. The staff will track something down for you or simply leave you to get pleasantly lost for an afternoon. Either way, clear your schedule.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Used Bookstore · Best of Phoenix

Forty-four pool tables is a lot of commitment to a cue, and Bull Shooters makes good on all of it. This spacious north Phoenix pool hall and sports bar runs 7 and 9-foot tables alongside poker, darts, karaoke, and 34 taps pouring everything from beer to cider. Staff take the felt seriously, so keep your pint on a coaster or expect a word about it. The kind of place where regulars have a favorite table and know exactly which one it is.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Pool Hall · Best of Phoenix

A two-story sportsbook inside a Major League Baseball stadium, which makes it the first of its kind in the MLB, for whatever that's worth to your sense of adventure. The space runs to a loungy patio, more screens than any reasonable person can track at once, and Guy Fieri's casual food operation keeping the calories coming. It's open on non-game days too, which is when the vibe drops to a manageable hum.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Sportsbook · Best of Phoenix

A giant disco ball hangs over the record bins at this wine bar, coffee shop, and record store hybrid near Roosevelt Row, which tells you most of what you need to know. Come in the morning for espresso, stay through the afternoon with your laptop, then let someone else split a bottle with you by evening when the DJs take over. The barista and the bartender are the same person, which keeps the whole operation refreshingly unsnobbish.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Record Store That’s Also a Bar · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Library · Best of Phoenix

Eight thousand square feet of new and used toys, organized into small nooks each run by a local collector devoted to a single franchise, is a genuinely unusual retail setup. This sprawling marketplace in north Phoenix covers G.I. Joe, Marvel, Hot Wheels, Transformers, Star Wars, Funko Pop!, and a dedicated anime section in the back with Gundam kits and Banpresto figures. Plan to lose an hour, possibly two, possibly your self-control around a wall of Hot Wheels.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Toy Store · Best of Phoenix

The Japanese discount chain beloved on the West Coast landed its first Arizona outpost next to 99 Ranch Market, and Phoenix has been restocking its kitchens ever since. Nearly everything rings up under five dollars, which makes it easy to load a basket with bento supplies, Sanrio goods, craft materials, and seasonal decor without doing math in your head. The selection turns over constantly, so repeat visits feel like a different store.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Retail Import · Best of Phoenix

Most convenience stores have given up trying by midnight. El Paisano Market in Tempe stays open until 3 a.m. on weekdays and 4 on weekends, with a full Mexican restaurant inside running nearly the same hours. Hot Cheetos nachos and a rotating burrito of the month sit alongside chicken sandwiches and cheeseburgers, which covers the full spectrum of what people actually want at 2 a.m. There's also a respectable Faygo selection, if you know, you know.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Late-Night Convenience Store · Best of Phoenix

Horror-themed arcade tucked next to Tempe's Yucca Tap Room, Electric Bat runs about 60 pinball machines alongside a curated spread of Japanese rhythm games, all played on house-branded tokens. The pins skew toward beloved classics, the decor skews toward gothic, and a monthly goth night called Play Dead keeps the regulars coming back even when they've cleared every machine. There's a tiki bar inside, which feels like the logical conclusion of all this.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Arcade · Best of Phoenix

A 2020 sci-fi comedy used this retro video game store as a plot point, which tells you something about the depth of its inventory. Fallout Games stocks hardware and titles across decades of gaming history, from Vectrex consoles up through modern systems, with collectibles, vintage Nintendo Power issues, and every cable you've been hunting down in a bin since 2009. The kind of shop where you go in for one thing and resurface an hour later with five.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Video Game Store · Best of Phoenix

Chessmaster Sundays might be the best reason to show up on a weekend, but Grassrootz earns its place all week as a Black-owned bookstore and juice bar in Central Phoenix. The shelves run deep on hip-hop culture, Black history, and fiction, with comfortable chairs nearby for settling in. Children's storytimes, live music, and lectures keep the calendar full, making it less a shop than a neighborhood living room with good books and pineapple ginger lemonade.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Bookstore That’s More Than a Bookstore · Best of Phoenix

Neon lights, a DJ booth, and rental skates that have seen things: Great Skate is a classic indoor roller rink doing what roller rinks do, and doing it on a packed schedule. Public sessions run most nights alongside kids' and adult lessons, themed skate events, and the occasional adults-only evening when the parents reclaim the floor. The food and drinks are rink-standard, which is exactly what the mood calls for.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Roller Skating · Best of Phoenix

Harkins put a Sonoran hot dog on the menu and called it the future of moviegoing, which is either visionary or just very Arizona. This dine-in theater at Lake Pleasant Towne Center pairs plush recliners and personal tabletops with a full food and drinks menu you order by pushing a button, like a La-Z-Boy crossed with a TGI Friday's, in the best possible, uh, fine: it works. Phoenix New Times named it the best luxury movie theater in 2023.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Luxury Movie Theater · Best of Phoenix

A giant netted cloud, frozen mid-drift above a downtown park, is not something you stumble past without stopping. Janet Echelman's sculpture hangs over Civic Space Park in steel and polyester twine, lit from within at night so it glows somewhere between storm formation and slow-motion tornado. Daytime shows you the bones of the thing; after dark it earns the gawking. Free to walk under, open to the sky, and significantly harder to explain than to visit.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Art by Night · Best of Phoenix

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is a full-scale waterpark on the northwest edge of Phoenix, and the Anaconda is its calling card, a multi-person raft slide that corkscrews and spins before depositing everyone into a pool in a satisfying heap. Younger kids have their own splash zones to tear through. When summer in the Valley runs past 110 degrees, "waterpark" stops being a leisure category and starts being a survival strategy.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Waterpark · Best of Phoenix

Le Girls Cabaret sits on the Tempe-Phoenix border, pulling in a crowd from ASU, Sky Harbor, and the surrounding neighborhoods with equal democratic ease. It's a full-service strip club, heavy on neon and velvet, where the performers have a runway-model quality about them that the room seems well aware of. Phoenix New Times named it the city's top strip club in 2023, which tracks.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Strip Club · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Way to Learn About Desert Critters · Best of Phoenix

A small vintage shop on the Scottsdale-Tempe border stocked with psychedelic rompers, prairie dresses, and old Levi's that will make you quietly reconsider your entire wardrobe. Pieces are true vintage, some carefully restored, and the selection rotates enough that nothing feels like a costume bin. Prices are on the higher side for thrift but reasonable for the category, and the occasional fill-a-bag sale draws a line out the door.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Vintage Clothing · Best of Phoenix

A movie theater that runs 35mm repertory screenings alongside cult oddities like "Reefer Madness" is already a different animal from the multiplex down the road. Majestic mixes first-run releases with arthouse picks, grindhouse fare, and anime imports, plus weekly horror nights and movie parties with singalongs and themed food pairings. There's a full bar, which makes the celluloid oddities go down easier.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to See a Classic Movie · Best of Phoenix

Colored concrete runs through the contest-style street course here, and the mini ramp sits in-ground where the desert sun can bake it properly. This is a full-featured public skate park in Queen Creek, newer enough that the surfaces still feel fast and smooth. It's a haul from central Phoenix, but skaters making the drive find an 11,000-square-foot layout that doesn't feel like an afterthought bolted onto a rec center.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Skate Park · Best of Phoenix

Once a month in the Melrose District, vendors spread out midcentury color across an outdoor vintage market, fall through spring. Clothes, jewelry, vinyl, and house decor carry the neighborhood's funky retro energy, and a few snack booths keep you going through the browsing. Dogs are welcome, which matters more than you'd think when the find of the morning turns out to be nothing.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Outdoor Vintage Market · Best of Phoenix

The clack of a Remington or an Olivetti fills this old-school typewriter shop, which has been around forever and looks every year of it. The shelves run from clunky pre-war workhorses to sleek midcentury portables, and the staff will sell you one, rent you one, or fix the one gathering dust in your closet. Ideal for anyone who's decided that a glowing screen is the problem and a ribbon-inked page is the solution.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Typewriter Shop · Best of Phoenix

A rotating light tunnel will make you grab for a wall you don't need. The Museum of Illusions is an interactive attraction where slanted rooms make one person look like a giant beside another, and every exhibit comes with a plain-language explanation of why your brain got fooled. It sits inside the Arizona Boardwalk complex and runs well on a hot afternoon when you want air conditioning with a side of mild existential confusion.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Have Your Mind Boggled · Best of Phoenix

A neon sign shop that's been bending glass tubes for Phoenix since the early 80s, Naturalite Neon has lit up everything from Ferrari dealerships to dive bars without anyone knowing to credit them. That anonymity is sort of the point. Half the glowing signs you've admired on a slow summer drive through the city probably came from this warehouse in Avondale, doing quiet, luminous work in the background of Phoenix's whole visual identity.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Neon Signs · Best of Phoenix

A VR lounge in Mesa that leans hard into the basement-gaming aesthetic rather than the cold, sleek future that VR always threatens to become. You can race cars, hit the slopes, or survive a zombie cage, and an hour runs just over twenty-five dollars. The crowd spans hardcore gamers and curious first-timers, which is sort of the whole point. Phoenix New Times named it the best virtual reality lounge in the valley in 2023.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Virtual Reality Lounge · Best of Phoenix

A nonprofit arts center running classes in ceramics, drawing, glass, jewelry, painting, and music across two Phoenix locations, this is the kind of place that assumes you want to actually learn something. Instructors cover theory alongside technique, and most courses run five or six weeks, so the commitment is real but not daunting. A good antidote to wandering a craft store hoping for inspiration to strike.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Art Classes · Best of Phoenix

An outdoor outlet mall on the Gila River Indian Community, Phoenix Premium Outlets trades indoor air conditioning for open-air discount hunting across a solid spread of name brands. Coach, Kate Spade, Nike, Adidas, and a Saks OFF Fifth anchor the handbag and sneaker heavy lineup, with factory stores for Banana Republic, Gap, and Columbia filling out the rest. It won't be confused with Scottsdale Fashion Square, but the prices will remind you that's fine.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Mall · Best of Phoenix

Ten acres, four greenhouses, imported pottery, and occasionally a yoga class held among the succulents. Plant Stand of Arizona is a nursery that runs a little wild with its square footage, stocking everything from hardy desert plants to indoor exotics to the kind of statement specimen that needs its own corner of the room. It draws beginners hunting for something to not kill and collectors who already know what they want and just need fifty of them.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Nursery · Best of Phoenix