No need to leave the resort property to get an artistic fix. Tour The Phoenician's museum-quality collection of fine art and antiques valued at $25 million. Free audio tours provide interpretive insight into works by European, Asian and American artists. The diverse collection features French tapestries, Navajo rugs, bronze and marble sculptures, original paintings, monotypes, contemporary fiber art, Chippendale furniture, and large prehistoric snail fossils. Take the tour and receive complimentary tickets to the Phoenix Art Museum.
Shown: Cavello’s Ferriccio Ferrazzi Painting

Learn the characteristics of desert plants on the 1/3-mile main trail at the Desert Botanical Garden. Nestled amid the red buttes of Papago Park, the garden showcases 50 acres of outdoor exhibits, including 139 rare, threatened, and endangered plant species from around the world. Offshoot trails focus on succulents, herbs, wildflowers, dramatic vistas, and plant usage. Twist agave fibers into twine and pound mesquite beans to make flour on the 1/3-mile Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail. Patio cafe and shop on premises.
Tour offered for Convention spouses and guests Thursday, Nov. 13.

Built to LEED Silver standards, the nearly 1 million-square-foot first phase of mixed-use development CityNorth, opens Nov. 13. Some 47 stores and eight restaurants include Pioneer, bebe, Bobby Chan, GUESS, LensCrafters, Talbots, White House | Black Market, Chico’s, and Verde Maison. Sustainable design elements include light-pollution reduction, water-efficient landscaping, and a recycling program.

Scottsdale's 15.7 million square feet of retail has been a source of cutting-edge design, with such award-winning projects as US West in Fashion Square. See the city's latest retail innovation, debuting Sept. 27 at MyStudio in Fashion Square. The first of a nationwide rollout, a 3D holographic display uses patented technology to project high-res videos into space on the exterior of the recording studio.
Shown: US West

Tour one of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest architectural masterpieces, Taliesin West. His personal home, studio, and architectural school campus, the site still serves as a living, working, and educational facility with an on-site architectural firm. Taliesin West is the international headquarters for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the site of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, and the winter campus for the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Daily tours offered.

Meander through unique concrete structures designed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri, father of arcology, at Cosanti in Paradise Valley. Designated an Arizona Historic Site, Cosanti presents a bioclimatic architectural environment with imaginative design elements reflecting innovative construction techniques. Soleri began work on the experimental buildings in the mid-1950s and was later joined by his students. Cosanti serves as the residence and sculpture studio of Soleri and his staff. Proceeds from the sale of Soleri Windbells maintain the structures and fund construction to test Soleri's theoretical work. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5,000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4,060-acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers.

Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder as a renovation of a former movie theater, SMoCA has five galleries showcasing art, architecture, and design. November exhibitions include proposals by 35 architectural teams from a national competition for flipping local strip malls in Scottsdale, Tempe, and Phoenix. SMoCA also features an outdoor sculpture garden housing James Turrell's Knight Rise and Scrim Wall, a monumental curtain of prismatic glass by James Carpenter Design Associates.

Live out a racing fantasy. Dubbed the "Fastest 60 Acres in America", the school features a 15-turn, 1.6-mile road course designed by professional racer Bob Bondurant for high performance, race driving, and advanced driving instruction. Two-, three-, and four-day courses offered Starting Nov. 17, or request a course date or get on the short-term booking list.

Dedicated to the heritage and living cultures and arts of Native peoples, the Heard's boasts approximately 39,000 works of cultural and fine art in three locations. Emphasizing the cultures of the greater Southwest, Heard collections also include American Indian fine art from throughout North America including drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Key collections areas feature textiles, katsina dolls, pottery, jewelry, baskets, cradleboards, paintings, sculpture and world cultures' materials.

Experience the beauty of the Sonoran Desert via land, water, or air. Explore the area from the ground on hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking trails or through a Jeep or Hummer tour. Rivers allow for scenic canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and tubing. Hot air balloon, helicopter, and airplane services offer a aerial views of dramatic terrain. Some tour operators combine adventure venues for unique experiences.