lot about Phoenix we enjoy showing off to guests, but when we want to impress them with something truly world-class, we head to MIM. EEEEE Old Town Scottsdale oldtownscottsdaleaz.com Every major city has its touristy spots — Times Square in New York City, the San Antonio River Walk. Metro Phoenix has its own little part of town that draws visitors from all over, too. We used to think that Old Town Scottsdale was kind of cheesy, but the longer we live here, the more we’ve come to appreciate the part of Scottsdale that’s bounded approximately by Osborn and Camelback roads on the south and north, and 68th Street and Miller Road on the west and east. Within these coordi- nates, you’ll find stores that sell things like Native American jewelry, Mexican blan- kets, and cactus tchotchkes, plus iconic eateries like the Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant, and museums like Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. We’re in Old Town often to visit spots popular with the locals, such as Citi- zen Public House and The Rusty Spur, but every once in a while we like to pop into a souvenir shop or two to appreciate our fair city through the eyes of someone who doesn’t live here. EEEEE Tovrea Castle 5025 East Van Buren Street 602-256-3221 tovreacastletours.com 68 If you’ve ever taken the 202 into or out of Tempe, you’ve probably seen Tovrea Cas- tle, the wedding cake-shaped building sit- uated between the Van Buren/52nd and Priest Drive exits. But unless you’re very, very lucky, you won’t get much closer to the iconic structure than the view from the highway. The castle, which is nearly 100 years old and is part of the National Regis- ter of Historic Places, can only be visited on a guided tour. Tickets are snapped up almost as quickly as they’re put on sale, so in December 2020, the Tovrea Carraro So- ciety decided that the only fair way to give access to the building and the grounds was a ticket lottery. There’s no cost to enter, and if you win, you can purchase up to four tickets at $22 each. The lottery for Spring 2022 tours is open October 1 through 15 if you want to be one of the fortunate ones to see inside Tovrea Castle. May the odds be ever in your favor. EEEEE Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix 1125 North Third Avenue 602-274-8700 japanesefriendshipgarden.org Lovely green spaces are rare in our desert metropolis, and even though we love our cactuses and our sand, sometimes we just want to take a moment and enjoy some grass and trees. Ro-Ho-En, more com- monly known as the Japanese Friendship Garden, is where we head when we want to commune with verdant nature. Tucked away just off Roosevelt Row, the garden was a joint project between the city of Phoenix and its sister city Himeji, Japan, that was completed in 1996. It’s a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city; the tree cover and water features drown out the sounds of urban life, leaving visitors with a quiet place to stroll. We’re still sad that the gift shop doesn’t sell pel- lets to feed the koi that live in the pond anymore (the food was attracting other an- imals), but even without that added attrac- tion, the Japanese Friendship Garden is still one of our favorite corners of town. BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 me g al o p olit an lif e B E LIK S T E A T L P ACO EURI TOS AC T T B E S T HIDD EN O A S I S B E S FO T IMP ENET T R R A RES BL S E
