Phoenix

Desert character. It can’t be conjured, landscaped or kindled with twinkling bulbs. John Ford knew that. So did Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis L’Amour. Spend a few days in Greater Phoenix and you’ll understand, too. America’s fifth-largest city still has cowboys and red-rock buttes and the kind of cactus most people see only in cartoons. It is the heart of the Sonoran Desert and the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and its history is a testament to the spirit of puebloans, ranchers, miners and visionaries.

This timeless Southwestern backdrop is the perfect setting for family vacations, weekend adventures or romantic getaways. Enjoy resorts and spas infused with Native American tradition, golf courses that stay emerald-green all year, mountain parks crisscrossed with trails, sports venues worthy of the Super Bowl and a spectrum of boutiques and fashionable malls few regions in America can match.