This Vibrant, Artsy Arizona City Is A Cheaper Alternative To Phoenix With Fewer Crowds

Millions visit Phoenix every year to bask in the daily sunshine, marvel at the awesome desert scenery, and enjoy numerous attractions such as Heritage Square, Phoenix Zoo, Taliesin West, and the buzzing Melrose District. That's all great, but if you want to avoid the crowds, save a few dollars, and go off-piste, try Glendale just nine miles northwest of the state capital. 

Glendale has a mix of the old and new, the rugged and leisurely. You can find independent charm in the downtown district's bars, eateries, antique shops, and museums before hitting the hub of modern amenities at the sprawling Westgate Entertainment District, with its restaurants, boutiques, and cooling water fountain. Best of all is Glendale's easy access to parks, trails, lakes, and vistas. To the east of the city is Papago Park, an arid landscape marked by palm trees, tumbleweed, and Martian red rocks pocked with holes, craters, and entire caves. 

For an impressive view over the valley, take the hole-in-the-rock trail. Just north of the trail is the Desert Botanical Garden — a 140-acre plot with a collection of some 50,000 cacti, succulents, and wildflowers. For something more open and rugged, drive north on Routes 60, 101, and 74 to Lake Pleasant Regional Park, where there are extensive hiking trails along its 116-mile shoreline and ample boating potential across its 10,000-acre surface. So, if you're heading to the hottest major city in the nation, have a read below before heading up Route 60 to Glendale.

Glendale's historic downtown district is built around Murphy Park, a three-acre plot established in 1909 that held a 110 foot flagpole — the state's tallest — until 1964. Today, you'll find independent bars, restaurants, and stores selling antiques and other vintage goods, namely clothes, furniture, and nostalgic vinyl and VHS tapes. The best time to visit is from November through January when the park lights up for the annual "Glendale Glitters" event.

Two blocks north, past more eateries and tea shops, is the Arizona Doll and Toy Museum. Once located in downtown Phoenix, curator Kathy Lanford moved the non-profit to Glendale some years ago, on the southeast corner of Myrtle and 59th Avenue. The venue, an unassuming yellow bungalow, is home to dozens of toys and dolls from throughout the 20th century. Some figures may be familiar to middle-aged visitors, namely the vintage, fuzzy-haired G.I. Joes, but others are genuine antiques, such as a Bruno Schmidt baby doll dating to around 1900.

Glendale is a haven for Mexican and southwest flavors. You'll find Ajo Al's Mexican Cafe nestled in an attractive topiary garden on West Bell Road and North 75th Avenue, opposite Arrowhead Towne Center. Inside is a roomy space with booths, a high ceiling, trinkets, and a regional color palette of bold blue, deep red, and pastel shades of green, orange, and yellow. In business for almost 40 years, the cafe has won loyal customers with street tacos, fresh salsa, Mexican pizzas, and its signature frozen margaritas.

Ajo Al's is just one of over 30 Mexican restaurants in Glendale. For classic American fare, you'll find numerous bars, diners, and restaurants including Black Angus, a ranch-to-table steakhouse, Dillon's KC BBQ, a slow-cooking institution since 1999, and Throne Brewing Company, Glendale's first locally-owned craft beer brewery.

If it's a taste of central Europe you're looking for, then head downtown to Haus Murphy's, a German bar and restaurant serving wurst, pretzels, Black Forest gateau, and Munich beer including Hofbrau and Weihenstephaner. Alternatively, head north past the leafy grounds of Glendale Civic Center towards A Touch of European, a family-run cafe serving hearty Polish food including kielbasa sausage, pierogi dumplings, and pork goulash.