Family
Children's Museum of Phoenix
Three floors of climb-on everything for the under-10 crowd. Go at open, leave before the meltdown.
Downtown Phoenix
$Indoors
Kid-friendly, teen-friendly, multigenerational
Family
Plans that survive a toddler, a teenager, and a grandmother in the same car.
Late August in Phoenix is an indoor sport. Everything below is cooled, shaded, or scheduled after sundown.
Family
OdySea Aquarium
The rotating SeaTREK carousel is the whole reason. Freezing cold inside, which is the point in August.
Salt River
$$Indoors
Family
Butterfly Wonderland
A humid glass atrium full of butterflies. Weirdly calming for everyone, not just the kids.
Salt River
$$Indoors
Family
Arizona Science Center
Planetarium, giant screen, and enough hands-on floors to burn a whole 110-degree afternoon.
Heritage Square
$$Indoors
Eat
Pizzeria Bianco
The pizza that put Phoenix on the national map. Still the answer for out-of-towners.
Heritage Square
$$Indoor + out
Culture
Heard Museum
The definitive collection of American Indian art, and the one museum every visitor should see.
Midtown
$Indoors
Do
D-backs at Chase Field
The roof closes, the AC roars, and $4 hot dog nights make this the cheapest good time in August.
Downtown PhoenixAug 20 – Sep 27
$$Indoors
Date to confirm
Eat
Doughbird
Rotisserie chicken and pizza — the peace treaty for a table that can't agree.
Biltmore
$Indoor + out
Do
Topgolf Riverwalk
Misted bays, bad swings, good queso. Works for a birthday or a Tuesday.
Scottsdale Riverwalk
$$Indoor + out
Do
Phoenix Mercury
The end of the WNBA season is the loudest Footprint Center gets all summer.
Downtown PhoenixAug 20 – Sep 20
$$Indoors
Date to confirm
Shop
Uptown Farmers Market
Get there by 8:30 in September or you're shopping in the sun. Best prepared-food row in town.
North CentralSaturday mornings, 8am–noon
$Outdoors
Shop
Gilbert Farmers Market
Under the water tower — produce, pastries, and a kid-to-dog ratio of roughly 1:1.
Downtown GilbertSaturdays, 8am–noon
$Outdoors
Culture
Phoenix Art Museum
Infinity Mirror Room, a serious fashion-design collection, and pay-what-you-wish Wednesday evenings.
Midtown
$Indoors
Culture
Musical Instrument Museum
Every country on earth, with headphones that switch automatically. Kids lose their minds in the play gallery.
North Phoenix
$$Indoors