Tucson has a character all its own, and that applies to its shopping too as here you’ll find independent stores and art galleries surviving alongside the big chain shopping malls.
In Tucson you’ll find the kind of big shopping malls that exist all over America, but if you know where to look you’ll also find independent shops and art galleries selling unique items you certainly won’t find all over the USA.
Old Town Artisans
The first place to look is the heart of downtown in the Presidio district where the city of Tucson first began. Here a group of shops and galleries known as the Old Town Artisans can be found in a 150-year-old adobe building. There are only six of them but they are so big and the building so rambling that it seems much more. Here you’ll find some of the best art and crafts in the city, and work from the leading local and regional artists. There are beautiful contemporary ceramics alongside the best of Native American items such a jewelry, pottery, rugs, sand paintings, and the distinctive Hopi Kachina dolls.
Tucson Museum of Art
Very close by is the Tucson Museum of Art, which is well worth visiting even if you go no further than its impressive Museum Store. Here you will also find top quality work by local artists and craftspeople, as well as some really fun and colorful novelty items related to the museum’s collection and changing exhibitions.
Desert Museum and National Parks Shops
There are other good stores at the Visitor Centers for the Saguaro National Parks, both East and West, and the shop at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is on two different levels and has a vast choice of unusual gifts, mostly related to the natural world. But there are many more items too. From time to time you might find visiting artists giving demonstrations at any of these places.
Shopping Malls
If it’s more conventional shopping you want then Tucson has several large shopping malls around the city. One of the best is Park Place, where there are three huge stores: Macy’s, Dillard’s and Sears. Also here are dozens of other stores in five separate areas including jewelry, shoes, clothing, household items, a Swarovsky store, and several restaurants and a cinema too.
La Encantada is also another big shopping center, and there are restaurants here too but they are rather better than the average shopping mall eating places. The Encantada is on Skyline Drive in one of the smartest parts of Tucson. Stores include jewelry, shoes, clothing for men, women, and children, toys, an Apple Store, and a Bose Store.
OUR PICK OF THE GUIDES
From that blues bar you haven’t visited yet to the desert hike you keep meaning to plan, experience something new right here at home with Moon 52 Things to Do in Phoenix & Tucson.
- Cool things to do in and around the cities: Kick back at a Spring Training game or squeeze into the grandstands of El Gran Mercado for some lucha libre. Bike the famed Loop in Tucson, kayak Tempe Town Lake, and lace up your boots for an urban hike in the Phoenix Mountains. Support local BIPOC writers at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore and taste what’s on tap at a women-owned brewery. Savor Sonoran-style food like tamales and carne asada or try authentic Tohono O’odham fry bread.
