Phoenix from the Convention Center

Updated last: February 23, 2021 (to reflect permanent closures and changes, not temporary measures due to COVID-19).

Originally published May 30, 2016.

Let’s say you’re in town for a thing at the Phoenix Convention Center. You have a spare hour here and there. Maybe a spare afternoon. And then you have a flight to catch. How can you get a little taste of Phoenix while you’re here?

Or maybe you’re a local, looking for somewhere new to eat or hang out while you’re downtown for an event like Phoenix Fan Fusion (formerly Phoenix Comicon) or before you head to a symphony performance.

Here are some tips for a Phoenix experience with the Convention Center at the epicenter. All these locations are easy to get to from there without a car.

At the Convention Center

View: There are places to sit and experience the Arizona climate outside of all 3 of the Convention Center buildings (North, South, West). In the North Building, check out the view from the second- and third-floor (200 and 300 level) terraces on the south side of the building. Look for the mountains beyond the downtown. (Building maps)

Food: While all the Phoenix Convention Center Food is managed by Aventura, a Phoenix-based division of Aramark, they do contract with local companies such as City Central Coffee in the Metro Marché food court in the North Building. Some events (like Phoenix Fan Fusion) may also have locally-owned food trucks outside.

Music: The West Building of the Convention Center is actually connected to Phoenix Symphony Hall, where there is a variety of performances throughout the season. Check the Phoenix Symphony’s online schedule for concert and ticket information.

Bike Share: There are bright green Grid Bikes you can rent by the minute from kiosks outside the Convention Center, in Heritage Square, and several other locations downtown. Sign up first online or via the Social Bicycles app – membership is required even for a single “Pay as You Go” ride.

In the Neighborhood

There’s tons of stuff to see/do/eat within walking distance. Here are some recommendations, in order of their (rough) distance from Phoenix Convention Center.

.2 mi Cartel Coffee (1 N 1st St)

Relax and sip some really good coffee. It’s very close to the Convention Center, but just far enough away to be much less hectic.

~~They share space with Kaleidoscope Juice, in case you also need a smoothie, salad, or breakfast sandwich.~~ Update: This Kaleidoscope location has closed. However, you can still find them in Scottsdale, Gilbert, and North Phoenix.

.3 Cityscape (1 E Washington St)

Two blocks of mixed-use space, including residences, offices, fitness centers, a hotel, salon, barbershop, drugstore, comedy club, shopping, and restaurants.

Patriots Park – Before the high rise buildings of CityScape, there was Patriots Park. The newer development includes a park-like central plaza with a grassy area, splash pad, and a solar-powered charging station.
Check the event schedule for music, comedy, and free outdoor movies.

The Arrogant Butcher offers a straight-up delicious variety of new American dishes, plus charcuterie and a raw bar.

.3 Arizona Center (455 North 3rd Street)

The best thing about Arizona Center is probably its Garden Grotto. Pathways wind through desert plants and past a pond. There’s a fair amount of shade and lots of benches. I feel like a little garden walk is a great remedy for convention hall chaos.

There is also shopping and restaurants.

.4 Heritage Square (113 N 6th St)

Part of the original Phoenix townsite, the Square is now home to several museums, a couple restaurants, and cultural festivals throughout the year.

Rosson House – Victorian House and History Museum. You can only go inside with a ticket for a 60-minute tour.
Pizzeria Bianco – Possibly the best pizza in the U.S., and people fly to Phoenix to eat here.

.5 Sports Venues

Chase Field – Watch some Diamondbacks baseball under the famous retractable roof or take a tour.
Phoenix Suns Arena – For basketball, big concerts, and other arena-y events.

Just stops away…

The Valley Metro light rail is a convenient way to get around Central Phoenix (some tips). There’s just one line and automatic ticket kiosks at each station.

You can catch westbound trains off Washington in front of the West Building / Symphony Hall. The eastbound stop is on Jefferson, just across from the South Building.

Hop on the westbound train (it’ll curve north) to check out these places, listed by number of stops from the Convention Center.

2 stops: Civic Space Park area – Van Buren/Central Ave

Her Secret is Patience sculpture
Crescent Ballroom – Bar, Mexican restaurant, and concert venue near park. Free live music in the lounge daily, including flamenco shows on Saturday nights.
~~Phoenix Public Market – Cafe open daily,~~ farmers’ market on Saturday, ~~food trucks midday Friday.~~ Update: The cafe has closed but Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market still happens on Saturdays.

3 stops: Roosevelt Row – Roosevelt/Central Ave

First Fridays – Roosevelt Row, the arts district of Roosevelt Street, comes alive for the monthly First Friday night artwalk, when the street is taken over by pedestrians and art galleries are open late. Boutiques and cafes have extended hours. There is live music, an outdoor arts market, free trolleys to transport you from place to place, and a party atmosphere.
Third Fridays are a newer addition with fewer crowds and more gallery openings.
MADE Art Boutique offers locally handcrafted items.

~~DeSoto Central Market – Food court of great local restaurants, bar, and coffee shop with lots of room to meet up with friends.~~
Pita Jungle is a vegetarian-friendly, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with a nice, big patio and local art on the walls. They offer specials for happy hour ~~and reverse happy hour (9pm to close).~~

Lola Coffee Bar is right next door to Pita Jungle. It’s a warm, welcoming place to hang out.
FilmBar – Cinema showcasing indie, local, cult, and classic films with a beer and wine bar.

4 stops: Phoenix Art Museum – McDowell/Central Ave

Collections include American, Asian, European, Latin American, and Western American Art, fashion, photography, and contemporary installations, such as the interactive You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies.

The museum also hosts traveling exhibitions, like Hollywood Costume, Michelangelo, and Super Indian – Fritz Scholder’s bold, bright pop art.

Extended hours/voluntary donations times on Wednesdays (3-9pm) and First Fridays (6-10pm), plus all afternoon on Second Sundays (12-5pm). During these times, no admission ticket is required for general entry. You have the option of making a donation via a cash box in the lobby.

5 stops: Heard Museum – Encanto/Central Ave

Fantastic museum of the historic and contemporary culture of indigenous peoples of the Americas, especially the Southwest. Collections include work on canvas, jewelry, pottery, texiles, and video interviews.

~~Extended hours and free admission on First Fridays, 6-10pm.~~

April 21, 2016June 2, 2021

A Strategically Located Embassy

You’ve got some pretty impressive neighbors when you’re staying at the Embassy Suites Washington DC Convention Center. The President, for example, lives just down the street. The first night we were in town, we were wandering around after dinner and ended up strolling by the White House.

We actually stayed there twice (at the hotel, not the White House), since we were flying in and out of Washington DC with the Charlottesville portion of the trip sandwiched in the middle.

As the name would suggest, all of the rooms at the Embassy Suites are suites with 2 or 3 rooms. So the living room and kitchenette/wet bar is separate from the bedroom(s).

For our second stay, our room was a large corner suite with its own conference table. It felt like I should call a meeting. Or at least spread out a craft project.

While there is a microwave, coffeemaker, and mini fridge in all rooms, a hot, made-to-order breakfast in the adjoining Finn & Porter restaurant is included in your stay.

You pick out your ingredients, and they whip you up an omelet right there in front of you. They’ll also serve diced potatoes, bacon, etc. on the side, and you can help yourself to fruit and pastries. It was really good, and the restaurant has a nice warm atmosphere.

One morning, I finished breakfast and just sat next to the fireplace with my coffee for a bit, while outside the windows DC dwellers were rushing off to work.

Meanwhile, I didn’t even have to bus my own table. They take care of that. In fact, I was looking for a trash can to toss something on my way out and instead a server just held out his hand to take it for me.

In the evenings, there is a reception with snacks and beverages (alcohol is available with ID).

Really, the only thing that was a hassle was parking. And that’s a DC-wide issue. While there was only valet parking at the hotel, stopping to drop the car off or check in when you arrive had the triple-parked confusion of a busy airport’s arrivals curb.

Another strategy is to skip renting a car altogether, especially if you’ll be in DC during a peak season (like summer or National Cherry Blossom Festival). And especially if you stay somewhere centrally located enough for walking and transit access.

The Embassy Suites where we stayed is near the Metro and bus lines, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and the majority of Washington DC’s main sights.

A few of the places we walked to from our hotel:

See what I mean about great neighbors?

—
We received a media discount from Embassy Suites.

March 3, 2016March 3, 2016

Exploring 3 Sides of Charlottesville, Virginia

Even though it was our first time in central Virginia, something felt familiar about the wooded hills we were driving through.

“Why does this landscape remind me of a painting in an American history book?”

Oh. Right. Because it’s exactly the kind of landscape that would have been a backdrop to the colonial-period events we learn about in school. The same kind of tree-lined ridges probably rolled right through the Jamestown Settlement, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and other landmarks memorialized in art, legend, and the bold print in history texts.

Our destination was Charlottesville, a charming small town near the Blue Ridge mountains in the heart of Virginia’s wine country and just a couple hours south of Washington DC.

Here are some sights to check out while you’re there, as well as places to refuel.

1. Outside of Town: Presidents and Pinot

Three U.S. presidents made their homes in the region, and all three properties are open to the public with daily house tours.

Monticello – the impressive, innovative, and, in some ways, quirky house Thomas Jefferson designed for himself. We were able to visit and will be telling you more about it in a separate post.
Ash Lawn-Highland – James Monroe’s home, also in Charlottesville near Monticello.
Montpelier – James Madison’s home, which is about 25 minutes away in the town of Orange.

Eat + Drink

While there is a cafe at Monticello, we opted instead for lunch at the nearby Michie Tavern, a historic site itself with a museum, shops, servers in 18th century garb, and a killer buffet. (Seriously. You’ll be hearing more about that, as well.)

Intertwined with these sites is wine country. Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in bringing wine grape cultivation to the U.S., so the historic roots of the area’s vineyards run deep. You’ll probably pass several en route to visit the presidential residences.

My cousin’s wedding was at Trump Winery – yes, it’s owned by that Trump family. But considered on its own, it’s a gorgeous venue with good food and good wine. If you feel the product trumps politics, you can stop in for an afternoon tasting.

We enjoyed a bottle of wine from Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, which is located in Leon, north of James Madison’s Montpelier. They have a barrel cave with a wine shop above it and offer events like Sunday brunch and paint nights.

The Jefferson Vineyards are located on the grounds where Thomas Jefferson had wanted to establish a commercial vineyard.

2. Pedestrian Perfect Downtown

The historic downtown street has been replaced by a brick walkway with trees, benches, restaurant seating, and sometimes vendor booths and buskers. On either side are lots of places to shop, eat and drink, an ice skating rink, a movie theater, and an outdoor concert venue.

The wide walkways allow plenty of room for community events, like First Night Virginia, a performing-arts-centered celebration on New Year’s Eve.

You can see a short film on Vimeo about the history of downtown Charlottesville and the pedestrian mall.

https://vimeo.com/42652821

Eat + Drink

We spent most of our time in the downtown area.

The Omni Charlottesville Hotel, where we stayed, basically opens right up to the downtown mall. It has a restaurant and a sporadically-open coffee shop in the lobby.

Mudhouse, on the other hand, seemed like it was open (and busy) every time we passed by (actual hours are 7a-10p most days). They have really good coffee. In fact, they were on USA Today’s Top 10 coffee shop list and a Roast Magazine micro roaster finalist.

Timberlakes – drug store/soda fountain/sandwich shop opened in 1890. I tried the staff’s highly-recommended pimento cheese sandwich, which turned out to be basically a cold cheese log and spread on toast. All that to say, I’d recommend going there for the drinks. The front of the store also has any drug store essentials you might need.

South Street Brewery – while they do have seriously good burgers, their offerings go beyond typical pub fare to include a really nice variety of salads and delicious desserts. The beer drinkers at the table seemed happy with that too.

3. University of Virginia

The UVA is just over a mile from downtown, so a little of that college town vibe still seeps over.

There’s a free trolley that runs between the Downtown Mall and UVA with stops at the Amtrak and Greyhound Bus Stations.

Thomas Jefferson himself founded the university and (probably) designed its famed rotunda, a UNESCO world heritage site – along with the rest of the Academical Village and Monticello. The rotunda is currently undergoing renovations and is due to reopen this summer.

Eat + Drink

Next to the campus is a series of craftsman-style former student resident buildings that have been converted into the Oakhurst Inn and cafe, where we got breakfast on the way out of town. We called about 10 minutes ahead, and they had my insanely good breakfast sandwich and coffee ready for us to pick up when we got there.

Monticello Artisan Trail

The Monticello Artisan Trail winds through this entire area. Formerly known as the Monticello Wine Trail, it includes wineries, breweries, farms, artisan studios, and galleries.

I’d love to go back and spend more time in the area.

—

Revolutionary War painting by Henry Alexander Ogden (c. 1897). Public domain.

Thank you to Visit Charlottesville for assisting us with this trip. We were guests of Monticello and Michie Tavern when visiting each site. We received media rates for our stay at the Omni Hotel Charlottesville and a complimentary bottle of Prince Michel wine.

January 19, 2016May 23, 2023

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Yesterday was a free entrance day for US National Parks, and there are several more scheduled this year.

One of the first fee-free days we took advantage of fell on the same day as our nieces’ dance recital a few years ago. We searched “find a park” and saw that there was one – not exactly on the way – but in the right general direction.

Even though it’s just an hour south of Phoenix, I had never been to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge (not, incidentally, in the town of Casa Grande). Phillip hadn’t been since he was a kid, so we planned a pre-recital detour.

The “big house” it’s named for is a centuries-old adobe structure that’s still standing, now covered by a large metal roof constructed in 1932 to help protect it. Parts of walls from the surrounding complex remain, as well as an oval ball court.

It’s always fascinating to confront history like that and think about people living their lives within those same walls 600 years ago.

And then we went to watch our nieces dance their hearts out.

—

January 16, 2016January 17, 2016

Seeing DC and C-ville

Charlottesville

We spent New Year’s Eve at a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia celebrating my cousin’s wedding.

Charlottesville (a.k.a. “C-ville”) is where Thomas Jefferson built his famed home, Monticello, which we were able to visit the day we got into town.

It’s also home to an extensive network of studios and galleries, known as the Monticello Artisan Trail and a historic downtown pedestrian mall with stores, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and a skating rink.

You could walk right out on to the mall from the lush atrium of the Omni Hotel Charlottesville, where we stayed.

Washington D.C.

We flew in and out of DC. With our limited time there, we were able to catch a few museums, some of the monuments, and the still-decorated National Christmas Tree, as well as finding some good food and even doing a little crafting.