This size explains how the city is able to accommodate nearly 60,000 hotel rooms, more than 200 golf courses, and upwards of 30,000 acres of desert preserves.

Phoenix is one of the country’s largest cities-at more than 519 square miles, it even outranks nearby Los Angeles. The unveiling of Her Secret Is Patience, a stunning outdoor sculpture designed by Janet Echelman, has finally given the city its signature artistic landmark. Less edible works of art are on display at the Phoenix Art Museum, which holds one of the Southwest’s largest collections. The city’s proximity to Mexico has always influenced its cuisine, but in recent years James Beard Award-winning chefs have introduced the flavors of Asia and Europe to the downtown culinary scene. If city noise is actually what you’re looking for, Phoenix’s downtown will readily oblige with its eclectic mix of things to do. The trail passes landmarks such as the historic Arizona Falls and the Wrigley Mansion, and it’s secluded enough to keep the city noise at bay. Swilling’s early canals are still in use today: the Arizona Canal Trail runs alongside one of Maricopa County’s most vital waterways and provides cyclists with 16 miles of scenic pathways. No name fit this town better than Phoenix, an allusion to the mythical bird that literally rose from the dust. A town quickly sprang from the formerly barren desert. When Civil War veteran Jack Swilling came through hundreds of years later, he saw the ruins of the Hohokam’s canals and set about building a new irrigation system to take their place. Given the paucity of water, it’s hardly surprising that the Hohokam people who originally inhabited the area were eventually uprooted by a prolonged drought. More than 30,000 acres of desert surround the area that’s presently known as Phoenix.

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