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Downtown Phoenix, after the sesh
Ballgames, basement shows, wood-fired pizza and a light rail that gets you home. Here's how to do downtown right.
Downtown Phoenix is a grid of glass towers, parking garages and a few stubborn old buildings that somehow survived every wave of demolition. On a game night it's packed. On a random Tuesday at 2 in the afternoon in July it can feel like the whole city evacuated. Both are kind of great.
The move is simple. Sesh at home or wherever you're staying (if they allow it), take the light rail in, eat something serious, catch a show, ride back. Downtown rewards people who don't drive, and parking down here is a tax on your patience anyway.
The downtown Phoenix vibe, plus a little history
This is where Phoenix started. Heritage Square sits on the last remaining residential block of the original Phoenix townsite, and the Rosson House there went up in 1875, back when Arizona wasn't even a state. Walk past it at dusk and you get a weird time-travel moment: Victorian porch, red brick, a skyscraper looming behind it.
Preservation down here started in the 1970s when the city stepped in to save the Rosson House, and the park around it opened in 1980. A lot of the rest of downtown got knocked down for parking over the decades, which is why it can feel patchy. The good stuff is in pockets. Learn the pockets.
Today downtown runs on sports, concerts, the convention center and the college crowd. The pro ballparks and arenas bring the crowds, the music venues bring the people you actually want to hang with, and the blocks north toward Roosevelt Row bring the art.
Things to do downtown
Most of this is walkable from the light rail. In summer, plan your outdoor walking for after sundown and do the indoor stuff during the day.
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Downtown Phoenix
Heritage Square and the Rosson House
113 N 6th St, Phoenix, AZThe Rosson House is an 1875 Victorian, one of the oldest standing homes in the city, and the block around it is lined with other early Phoenix buildings. It's a calm, shady little pocket in the middle of the concrete.
Pair it with dinner. Pizzeria Bianco is on the same square, so you can do the history thing, then eat, without moving your car.
TipGo in the cooler months and stroll the square after dark when the old houses are lit up.
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Heritage and Science Park
Arizona Science Center
600 E Washington St, Phoenix, AZRight next to Heritage Square. It moved into this building in 1997 and it's a big, hands-on, air-conditioned place, which in a Phoenix summer is reason enough.
It's built for kids and school groups during the day, so if you want fewer field trips, aim for later in the afternoon or an adults-only event night if they're running one.
TipBest rainy-day or 115-degree-day plan downtown. Just don't show up stoned and loud on a school day.
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Downtown Phoenix
Crescent Ballroom
308 N 2nd Ave, Phoenix, AZHalf lounge, half music room. The front is a bar you can hang in without a ticket, and the room in the back is small enough that every show feels close. Local showcases, touring indie acts, comedy, some free nights.
The Mexican kitchen that ran here for years now goes by Condesa, and the Crescent still serves a short version of the menu. Burritos at a show. That's the dream.
TipCheck the calendar for free nights. Cheapest good time downtown.
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Downtown Phoenix
Valley Bar
130 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZAn underground bar and venue, literally. You get in through an alley off Central near Monroe and head down into a basement, which is rare in Arizona. The bar side is the Rose Room, named for Rose Mofford, Arizona's first woman governor, and the cocktails are named after local politicians.
The music room does concerts, DJ nights and comedy. Being underground, it stays cool. A big deal here.
TipFinding the alley entrance is half the fun. Look for it on the Central and Monroe corner.
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Downtown Phoenix
The Van Buren
401 W Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZThe mid-size room downtown. Plenty of space to move around, and there's a second-floor bar that looks down on the stage if you'd rather watch from above with a drink than fight for the front.
Gus's fried chicken is a couple blocks east on Van Buren, which makes the pre-show plan very easy.
TipGrab the upstairs rail early if you want a seat and a view.
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Downtown Phoenix
Orpheum Theatre
203 W Adams St, Phoenix, AZBuilt 1927 to 1929 in Spanish Baroque Revival style, bought by the city in 1984 and reopened in 1997 after a long restoration. The ceiling alone is worth the ticket.
It's home to the Phoenix Opera and hosts Broadway shows, ballet and concerts. Dressier crowd than the basement bars. You'll be fine in clean sneakers.
TipEven a show you're lukewarm on is worth it just to sit inside this room.
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Downtown Phoenix
Ballgames and arena nights
The baseball stadium and the big arena are both downtown, a short walk from the light rail. Game nights flip downtown from sleepy to packed in about an hour, and every bar fills up.
If you're not going to the game, know the schedule anyway. It decides whether you get a table anywhere.
TipOn game nights, take the train. Garages fill and traffic locks up.
Where to eat and drink downtown
Downtown food is better than its reputation. Munchies coverage runs from wood-fired pizza to fried chicken, and the blocks toward Roosevelt keep the taco spots going late. For the full Valley list, hit where to eat.
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Heritage Square
Pizzeria Bianco Heritage Square
623 E Adams St, Phoenix, AZChris Bianco's original downtown pizzeria, the place people fly in to try. Wood-fired pies in a small old building on the square. Bar Bianco is right next door if there's a wait.
It earns the hype. Order a pie, share a salad, don't overthink it.
TipWaiting? Grab a drink next door at Bar Bianco instead of standing on the sidewalk.
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Downtown Phoenix
Matt's Big Breakfast
825 N 1st St, Phoenix, AZThe downtown breakfast spot with the line out front. Big plates, griddle classics, the full diner-but-better thing.
Morning-after food at its finest. Breakfast and lunch only, so this is a wake-and-bake-then-eat plan, not a late-night one.
TipGo on a weekday if you can. Weekend lines are no joke.
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Downtown Phoenix
Condesa
130 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZThe Mexican restaurant that spent 13 years inside the Crescent Ballroom as Cocina 10, now with its own home on Central. The full menu lives here now.
Valley Bar's basement is at the same address, so dinner then downstairs for a show is about as short a commute as Phoenix gets.
TipEat here, then walk the five minutes to Crescent for a show.
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Downtown Phoenix
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
341 W Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZSpicy fried chicken, a couple blocks from The Van Buren. Exactly what your body is asking for at 8 p.m. after a sesh.
No-frills. Big flavor. You'll want extra napkins.
TipPre-show fuel for anything at The Van Buren.
Questions about Downtown Phoenix
Can you smoke weed in downtown Phoenix?
Not in public. Arizona is legal for adults 21+, but smoking on sidewalks, in parks, at light rail stops or outside the arenas is a petty offense. Sesh on private property where the owner allows it, then head downtown.
Is downtown Phoenix walkable?
Yes, the core is flat and compact, and most venues and restaurants are within a few blocks of a light rail stop. The issue is heat, not distance. Walk at night or in the cooler months.
What's the best way to get to downtown Phoenix without driving?
The light rail. It runs down Central and 1st Avenue through downtown with stops near the venues, and it connects to Tempe and Midtown. Rideshares are easy too.
Where should I eat in downtown Phoenix?
Pizzeria Bianco at Heritage Square is the one people travel for. Matt's Big Breakfast is the morning pick, Condesa does Mexican on Central, and Gus's handles fried chicken near The Van Buren.
Are there cannabis lounges in downtown Phoenix?
No. Arizona law doesn't license consumption lounges, so there's no legal place downtown to buy and smoke on-site. You buy at a dispensary and consume on private property.