Downtown Phoenix

The vibe

Downtown is a weekday office park that turns into a party when a game lets out. On a Tuesday at 2 p.m. in July you can walk three blocks without seeing a soul, just heat shimmer coming off the parking garages. Then a concert ends and twenty thousand people pour onto Jefferson at once, all hungry, half of them lit.

It's compact. Roughly Fillmore down to the tracks, 7th Avenue across to 7th Street, with the light rail running east on Washington and west on Jefferson like a lazy loop. That train is the whole point of living here. You can get to a show, a pizza and your couch without ever touching a steering wheel, which is exactly how a baked night should go.

Downtown Phoenix at night is better than its reputation. It's not New York. It's not trying to be. It's a few great blocks of bars, music rooms and late food stitched together by misters, palm trees and the occasional guy on a rental scooter going way too fast.

Who lives here

ASU downtown students in the new towers, hospital and city workers, young couples who wanted to walk to the arena, and a handful of lifers in the historic blocks who remember when downtown had nothing open after six. Plus a steady wave of conference visitors from the convention center who wander around with lanyards asking where the "real" Phoenix is. It's about two miles north, buddy, up in the murals and galleries of Roosevelt Row.

Apartment living is the norm, which matters for stoners. Most of these buildings ban smoking on balconies and in common areas, so read your lease. Edibles and a discreet vape are the downtown resident's best friends. Our guide to where you can actually sesh in Phoenix covers the legal stuff in plain English (general info, not legal advice).

Best munchies

Downtown Phoenix restaurants punch way above the neighborhood's size. Start with the obvious one.

Pizzeria Bianco at Heritage Square

The little brick building on Adams in Heritage Square is the pizza that made Phoenix famous among food nerds. The Margherita is the move, and the Wiseguy (fennel sausage, smoked mozzarella, onion) is the one your stoner brain will dream about. There's a wait sometimes. Go anyway. Heritage Square's old Victorian houses next door are a pleasant spot to stare at while it kicks in.

Cibo

On the northwest edge of downtown near 5th Avenue and Fillmore, Cibo serves wood-fired pizza inside a converted early-1900s house. The patio is the draw: string lights, big trees, misters in summer. A baked dinner here feels like eating in somebody's backyard, in the best way.

Cornish Pasty Co

On Monroe, just off Central, Cornish Pasty is the downtown answer to "I need something heavy and I need it late." Big handheld pastries, a dark pub room, pool tables, and it stays open late (check hours, they change). The steak-and-potato pasties are the kind of food your body asks for at midnight.

Want the late-night version of all this? See our late-night eats guide for Phoenix, and for the full citywide rundown, the Phoenix munchies guide.

Things to do baked

Music rooms

Crescent Ballroom on 2nd Avenue is the city's favorite mid-size room: great sound, a patio bar and a crowd that actually listens. Valley Bar, tucked in an alley basement off Central, does smaller shows and has one of the moodiest bars in town. Both are a few minutes' walk from a light rail stop.

Arena and ballpark

The Suns and Mercury play at Mortgage Matchup Center (yes, that's really what it's called now; everyone still says "the arena"). The Diamondbacks are next door at Chase Field, where the roof closes and the AC blasts in summer. Watching baseball high under a retractable roof while it's 112 outside is a uniquely Phoenix pleasure. You can't light up inside either venue, so plan your edible timing around the national anthem.

Movies and wandering

The Arizona Center has a big multiplex (the AMC) plus palm-shaded courtyards to stroll after. A two-hour movie with a gummy is the perfect 115-degree afternoon. More picks in our Phoenix movie theaters guide.

For a drink before a show, Bitter & Twisted on Jefferson is a cocktail parlor in a historic building with a thick drink book. Majerle's on 2nd Street is the classic pre-game sports bar. Just remember the state's rule: no smoking cannabis in bars, restaurants or anywhere the public is invited in. Arrive already happy.

More ideas for the whole city live in our things to do high in Phoenix guide.

Best mountain or sunset spot nearby

South Mountain, straight down Central. Dobbins Lookout gives you the entire downtown skyline lit up orange, with the Estrellas fading out west. It's about a 20-minute ride, so grab a rideshare or a sober friend. The mountain preserves are smoke-free, so do your sesh at home first and let it ride on the way up. Our Phoenix mountains and sunset guide ranks them all, and South Mountain neighbors Laveen and the South Mountain foothills are the closest crash pads to the trailheads.

Closer to home, a high-floor apartment facing west is honestly a great sunset seat. Monsoon season brings purple skies over the West Valley that look fake.

The good and the annoying

The good

• The light rail. You can live car-free here, which is rare in this city and perfect for anyone who likes to get baked and go out.
• World-class pizza within walking distance. Two places, actually.
• Game nights and show nights make the whole grid feel alive.
• Easy hops north to the bungalow streets of Coronado and Garfield or west to Encanto Park and the Palmcroft historic homes.

The annoying

• Parking garages charge event prices the second anything is happening. Another reason to ride the train.
• Summer afternoons are a ghost town of hot concrete. Shade is a currency.
• Construction cranes everywhere. You will be detoured. Repeatedly.
• The Sunday-evening problem: half the kitchens close early, and a stoner with the munchies at 9 p.m. Sunday can feel very alone.

Downtown isn't dead. It's just napping until somebody tips off.