We love a date night with phases.
Phase one: Do fun activity. Phase two: Eat or drink something. Phase three: Walk around and enjoy fresh air.
Complete phases in whatever order works for you — kinda like a choose-your-own adventure book.
This kind of date works especially great downtown, because the walking-around phase is just built in. You park once and then get to explore.
It can be especially fun if there's a festival or another event going on downtown (ie: Tucson Meet Yourself this weekend). Just remember, parking can get a bit crazy and roads may be closed during some of the larger festivals.
Here are a few multi-phase date night ideas downtown to inspire your own plans.
Tucson Museum of Art + Café à la C'Art
The main gallery has been cleared of obstructions and new flooring installed throughout at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N Main Ave in Tucson, AZ on October 11, 2017.
Spend an afternoon wandering the galleries at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave. On Oct. 19, a new exhibition will open at the museum: "The Western Sublime: Majestic Landscapes of the American West." The exhibit explores how "sublime landscape is understood and its effects on the peoples, histories, and cultures of the American West in the past and the present," according to the museum's website. A number of exhibits at the museum are currently closed through Oct. 18, so museum admission is pay-what-you-can. Regular prices are $12 for adults, $7 for students, and free for kids 12 and under or military and veterans with ID.
After (or before — maybe you need sustenance for your museum wanderings), grab a meal at the charming Café à la C'Art, 150 N. Main Ave., on museum grounds. If you can sit outside, please do. The patio is an oasis with fairy lights, ambling vines and glorious shade. Go here for more information about the museum and here for information about the cafe.
Yoga Oasis + Good Oak
Playground Tucson and YogaOasis have joined forces to offer Rooftop Yoga every Tuesday evening.
Pop into YogaHour at Yoga Oasis, 245 E. Congress St., for an hour-long class of continual movement and music. This is a good class for all yoga levels, so even if you and your partner are at different fitness levels, you can both play. You can find a YogaHour class most days of the week — for date night, we suggest the 4:15 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. classes on Fridays. Classes cost $5 with cash or $6 with card. From there, head over to Good Oak Bar, 316 E. Congress St. The bar serves regional whiskey, beer and wine, along with agave-based spirits.
You could also try the Playground Bar and Lounge's rooftop YogaHour with Yoga Oasis Tuesdays at 7 p.m. The class is $6 and you must bring your own mat. All yogis get $2 off wine and draft beer.
Go here for more information about Yoga Oasis and here for info on Good Oak.
Tucson Meet Yourself: Come for the food, stay for the culture (Sponsored)
Tucson Meet Yourself comes to downtown Tucson for its 46th year on Oct 11, 12, and 13. For three days, more than 200 folk artists, performers, and food vendors bring you a taste of their culture and tradition. The festival is free and open to the public.
Where: The festival occupies four city blocks and Jacomé Plaza, in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library.
When: Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Cost: Free, bring money for food!
Find more information here.
Meet Me at Maynards + Hub ice cream
Runners participating in the Meet Me At Maynards, a walk and running event downtown along East Congress Street.
Make it a Monday date-night to participate in Meet Me at Maynards, downtown's weekly walk/run which starts near Maynards Market and Kitchen, 400 N. Toole Ave. There are route directions for 2-to-4-mile walks — or you can get artsy and take one of the mural walks. You can walk on your own or with a leader at 5:30 or 5:45 p.m. Registration starts at 5:15 p.m. To save time, you can do it from your smart phone at the Meet Me at Maynards website. If you get your hand stamped, you can get discounts at select restaurants after your walk.
Get more information about Meet Me at Maynards here.
For example: You can get half off ice cream scoops at the Hub Restaurant and Ice Creamery, 266 E. Congress St., not to be confused with the Hub Ice Cream Factory across the street. One of our favorite flavors is Queen Bee — a vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee and dark chocolate. 🐝
Arizona Theatre Company + Penca
The Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., hosts the Arizona Theatre Company.
The "walk" phase on this date is extra lovely. You'll stroll down Scott Avenue between the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., to Penca, 50 E. Broadway. This quiet street doesn't have much traffic, but it does meander past a life-size griffin and flowering trees.
Arizona Theatre Company has begun its 2019-2020 season, and we're particularly excited about the upcoming play "Silent Sky." The production spotlights the work of Henrietta Leavitt, a real-life astronomer in the early 1900s, who was making discoveries at a time when the scientific community pretty much ignored women. The show runs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 9. There aren't a ton of tickets left, but you could still snag one — though your seats might not be the best. Tickets range in price from $40 to $70. For more information, go here.
Before or after the show, grab a meal at Penca, a stylish Mexican restaurant in a historic building on Broadway. Check out Penca's menu here.
See LeAnn Rimes at the 2019 Chasing Rainbows Gala! (Sponsored)
LeAnn Rimes is a two-time Grammy award winner, an internationally multi-platinum selling acclaimed singer and ASCAP award-winning songwriter. Out of the 42 singles she has released throughout her expansive career, LeAnn’s record "How Do I Live," continues to rank No. 4 on Billboard’s "Greatest of All Time: Hot 100 Songs," and it holds the record for being the second longest charting song ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Where: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.
When: Sunday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.
Cost: Tickets start at $45
More information here
Tucson Roadrunners + Empire Pizza
Mascot Dusty and the Roadrunners are averaging just over 4,000 fans per game at Tucson Arena. A playoff push could help the city’s hockey scene.
Grab a slice of pizza from Empire Pizza, 137 E. Congress St., for just a few dollars before you head over to the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., to watch a Tucson Roadrunners hockey game.
The arena will be chilly, so even if fall temperatures stay higher than we'd like, you can don your sweater and scarf anyway. Home games usually start around 7 p.m. Tickets start around $13. Get more information about the Tucson Roadrunners here.
