I’m from Toronto, and I love my hometown dearly, but I am starting to feel like each passing Toronto winter steals at least one small piece of my soul. Nowadays, once the first snowflake hits the ground, my mind has already wandered to greener pastures or, in the case of Arizona holidays, to beautiful deserts and temperate climes.

However, before I ever got to Arizona (a feat achieved only recently), I made the mistake in my head of noting that Arizona was a state where you could escape Toronto’s insufferable winters, and did little further research. If I learned anything during my time in Tempe, Arizona, it’s that this city and the surrounding area is so much more than a place that happens to have a rather appealing climate.

Tempe, I quickly found out, is a vibrant, active, intriguing and exciting little city, with enough going that by the time I had to head back to Canada, I had already made a mental list of all that I would hope to do the next time around. For me, it redefined what I thought of in terms of Arizona holidays or Arizona getaways almost in all aspects.

I want to talk to you about all the fun things to do in Tempe because, in my humble opinion, it’s a city that deserves to be on the map. At times, I can have an attention span that rivals an excitable gopher, and my attention was captured for the entirety of my stay there - so that’s rather telling, no? I’m smiling even thinking about my trip there, which, dear reader, is always an awfully good sign.

By the way, if you want to see what Tempe was like for me from a live perspective, check out my Instagram story highlights for the trip.

So, Fun Things in Tempe - Where do we Start?

Now, this is just me, but I usually like to start at the beginning.

Go Hiking in the Heart of the City