This is a quick list of Meily and David's fav things to do in Tucson. There are several more amazing places to eat and things to do. Please do not hesitate to ask for any specific style restaurants, bars, or things to do.

Get around town:

There is no reason to struggle with driving in Tucson or risk a DUI. We recommend downloading the Uber or Lyft app to get around town. Plenty of codes can be found for free rides for first time users. There are taxis, but they are not always around or reliable if you call for one. The Tucson Streetcar is another great way to get around http://www.sunlinkstreetcar.com/ .

Food:
Welcome Diner for breakfast, brunch, or lunch. Amazing!!! http://welcomediner.net/
Frankie's for some amazing cheesesteaks! http://www.frankiescheesesteaks.com/
Bison Witches, get the chili bread bowl. Warning, it is a little spicy! http://www.bisonwitches.com/
Hub has a great happy hour, get the prime fries. http://hubdowntown.com/
May's Counter for Chicken and Waffles. http://www.maystucson.com/
Guadalajara Grill http://guadalajaraoriginalgrill.com/

Ice-cream, forget DQ! Hit up these spots:
Hub Ice Cream Factory is our fav! http://hubicecream.com/
The Scremery is a very close second. https://www.thescreamery.com/
Desert Dream Ice Cream is more of a traditional style ice cream shop. Classic and tasty

Bars are everywhere in Tucson. These are a few unique ones:
The Independent Distillery https://www.theindependentdistillery.com/
Highwire Lounge (NOT Hi Fi) is not just a bar, but a science experiment gone completely right! http://highwiretucson.com/
Kon Tiki is classic tiki bar that provides strong drinks and hangovers. The food is really tasty. I recommend the salmon and monkey's on a stick.

Things to do:
The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. We love it so much that we have year passes. http://theminitimemachine.org/
D & D Pinball is a blast! A must do on 4th Ave https://www.facebook.com/danddpinball/

Welcome to Tucson.

Here's a handy dandy cheat sheet to dip into.

1. Check out the city!

You're probably based somewhere around the UA campus/downtown area, so let's start here…

University Boulevard

Great people watching, and too many fun eating, drinking, and chilling options to mention. For delicious pizza by the slice, giant Jenga, and patio fun, check out No Anchovies. Enjoy the happiest of Happy Hours at neighboring Pasco with its collection of locally inspired craft cocktails and delicious appetizers. For a morning- or anytime-boost, check out Espresso Art Café – a multicultural University favorite. If sugar is your energizer of choice, you will be like a kid in a candy store among the almost limitless selections at Campus Candy.

Do: check out all of the unique food and fun spots, and the relative peacefulness of Geronimo Plaza.

Don't: eat Chipotle. This is Tucson; you can (and must) eat real Mexican food.

Fourth Avenue

Take a stroll west from University Boulevard, or board Tucson's nod to modernity (the Streetcar), and head to the site of guaranteed fun and likely weirdness. This is where the yuppies, hippies, hipsters, and homeless all run wild! Che's Lounge is the go-to for serious drinkers of all backgrounds; proof that intoxication is truly the great equalizer. A less down and dirty option is The Shanty with its polished copper bar-top, lush patio, and extensive beer collection; this is Tucson's oldest continually licensed bar. Serious beer and wine fans will love Tap & Bottle, and Ermano's, which also serves delicious food.

Hippies, radicals, and intrigued spectators thereof, should head to the Hippie Gypsy, and Anitgone Books for some subversive retail therapy. When the fun or weirdness factors become too much, cross the rainbow crosswalk and head back towards University, or head downtown.

Do: stroll or stumble from bar to boutique, and expect to be thoroughly entertained.

Don't: go to O'Malley's or Maloney's; get talked into a 6AM start at The Buffet (which is not a buffet), or expect to be able to explain logically some of the characters and scenarios that you may encounter.

Downtown Tucson

Downtown Tucson is finally up and coming, and you know a place is on the right track when a whiskey and donut joint opens up; Batch is one of several great relatively new additions. For a fancier feast, try Downtown Kitchen. Pueblo Vida and Borderlands are great local breweries; Cartel Coffee is a cool spot to scratch any caffeinated itches, and Mercado San Agustin (at the end of the Street Car) has shops, restaurants, and even more coffee.

Elsewhere in town: many locals swear by Eeegee's, a mediocre sandwich shop best known for its flavored ice/slushy style products; fans of the Food Network may recognize El Guero Canelo, known for its Sonoran hot dogs (hot dogs with all manner of Mexican-ish items smothered all over), and look out for Mattress Firm stores on almost every intersection!

2. Check out the desert!

You are in a desert, so let's do some desert stuff…

If you haven't seen the Sonoran Desert before (or for a while), you will be blown away by its natural beauty. Before the sun sets, head out west to Gates Pass (a straight shot down Speedway Blvd from the University campus area). The "scenic view" signs are the biggest understatement since someone said "Justin Beiber has a slightly annoying way about him". This is a quick, easy, and free way to sample the Sonoran Desert.

A very short drive up A-Mountain will give you expansive views of the city, flanked by mountain ranges on all four sides. Make a pilgrimage to the beautiful 17th century San Xavier Mission, and you will be blessed with an abundance of delicious traditional fry-bread options.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a go-to destination for out-of-towners and is generally well liked. Be aware that, although the natural setting is beautiful, this is a zoo, and one with an excessive amount of walking required. If walking is your thing, head to Sabino Canyon and witness the most unlikely of desert sights: running water. Sabino Canyon is gorgeous. For serious hikers, this is a great base-camp; for the rest of us, a shuttle service runs up and down the canyon continually, stopping regularly for picnicking and sightseeing opportunities. Mount Lemmon is Tucson's very own ski resort (not a joke; but not often, and not in October), and a drive from base to summit (a little over an hour) takes you from saguaro-covered cliffs to pine-forested mountainsides.

Do: take a picture with a saguaro cactus.

Don't: hug a saguaro cactus. Or any of the wildlife.

3. Eat Mexican food!

This one is obligatory…

When in (almost) Mexico…

El Charro Café is the oldest Mexican restaurant in Tucson and is the default recommendation for out-of-towners. Reserve, or plan on waiting around. Food and margaritas are good, not epic, but overall experience is pleasing and a Short Uber from the campus area. Fans of Monica Lewisnky's former boyfriend flock from miles around to sample the Presidential Platter at Mi Nidito in South Tucson, a favorite of Mr. Clinton.

St. Mary's Mexican Food is (literally) on the other side of the tracks and is the real deal; a counter service option that is all about the authenticity of the cuisine. Taco Giro splits the difference: a dine-in experience complete with plates, silverware (very fancy!) and often, mariachi. Guadlajara Grill, Rosa's, and El Molinitos are all casual dine-in options that are unlikely to disappoint. When it's 3AM and you're craving a chimichanga, you're in luck. Tucson has a 24-hour Mexican drive-thru for every Mattress Firm store – a ratio that approximates to one for every 3.5 people!

4. Do southwest stuff!

Unleash your inner cowperson and explore the wild, Wild West…

Wyatt Earp. OK Corral. Doc Holliday. Any cowboyish/wild west thing that springs to mind is probably connected in some way (or directly) with Tombstone, AZ. It is a full day's trip, but if you suspect you would love Tombstone, you're probably right. The lines are blurry between functioning small town and full-blown tourist spectacle – is the guy at the bar with his six-shooter in costume or not? You can't always tell.

Another 45 minutes past Tombstone is Bisbee, an uber-cool historic town set on a copper-filled mountainside. The copper boom came and went almost a century ago, but this is still a bustling little place where the cowboys and hippies coexist in a manner only dreamed about on Subaru bumper stickers. Antique and curiosity shops galore; a fun spattering of bars, eateries, honey shops, hot sauce shops, and purple Jeep tours will please most tastes

Note: make sure you have ID; you will pass a US Border Patrol checkpoint!

Do: check out Big Nose Kate's in Tombstone; get in the spirit of things with some tacky wild-west props.

Don't: be disconcerted by the sound of gunshots or the horse poop.

5. Learn some Tucson trivia!

Impress your friends back home with theses fun almost-facts…

- If you cover your eyes, take a pin, and stick it in a map of Tucson, there is a 95% chance of hitting a mattress store.

- Tucson has more mattress stores than cars per capita.

- Tucson's economy is composed of: 5% University of Arizona, 2% manufacturing, and 93% mattress retail.

- When night falls on the western hemisphere, astronauts on the International Space Station can identify one Golden Gate Bridge, one Panama Canal, one Grand Canyon, and 756 Tucson area mattress stores.

Downtown Breweries:
Pueblo Vida Brewery
Dragoon Brewing
Borderlands Brewery

Downtown Restaurants:
Downtown Kitchen (fancy)
Johnny Gibson's deli counter (definitely not fancy, can take to courtyard or neighbor bars to eat)
La Cocina outdoor restaurant/Dusty Monk pub (connected)

Craft brew bottle shops/wine taps:
Tap & Bottle
Ermanos (also serves food)
Hop Shop (Ft. Lowell & Dodge)

Downtown Coffee Shops:
Cartel Coffee
Presta (west side)
Caffe Luce

Restaurants near venue:
Poco & Mom's
Jonathan's Cork
Prep & Pastry (east side)

Coffee shops near the venue:
Coffee X Change
Le Buzz

To Do Outdoors:
Saguaro National Park East hiking
Mt. Lemmon hiking/Iron Door restaurant
San Xavier Mission/fry bread
Sonoran Desert Museum
Reid Park Zoo
Hike Tumamoc Hill

To Do:
UA Museum of Art
San Augustin Mercado - shops, restaurants, cafe, bakery, coffee shop
A Mountain drive