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Get your travel plans ready because the new year is right around the corner, and Condé Nast Traveler has just dropped its highly anticipated list of "The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2024."
Included in the list is Barrio Viejo, Tucson, Arizona, which visitors are encouraged to travel to for "a historic melting pot galvanized by delicious dining and cultural programming." Here are a few additional — and convincing — reasons to purchase a ticket to this scenic and vibrant location as written by Amber Gibson:
"Sitting in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes, Tucson has always drawn travelers looking for outdoor adventure. And now, they will have a whole new reason to visit: a revitalized downtown. In particular, Barrio Viejo, which has a significant mix of cultural influences, will receive a National Historic Landmark designation in 2024. Originally home to Mexican and Chinese immigrants, among others, the neighborhood boasts one of the largest concentrations of stylistically unchanged 1880s adobe buildings in the US, some of which have been converted into all-day cafés and restaurants. The new designation will likely light the fuse on even more restaurant and gallery openings.
Barrio Viejo is also where Tucson's oldest performing arts venue, the 300-seat Teatro Carmen, is currently being restored, with plans to reopen for live performances, film screenings, dining, and outdoor programming on its 8,000-square-foot patio. When in Barrio Viejo, shop for hand-glazed tiles at Carly Quinn Designs, sip a mesquite cold brew at Exo Roast Co., or learn about agave spirits at Crisol Bar, all within walking distance from the cool new Leo Kent Hotel that opened in summer 2023.
A 20-minute walk away from Barrio Viejo, the Tucson Museum of Art marks its 100th anniversary in 2024 with an exhibition titled Time Travelers: Foundations, Transformations, and Expansions at the Centennial, which offers new interpretations of significant artworks collected by the museum over the past century, followed by the Arizona Biennial in October, which spotlights some of the most exciting new artists across the state—and all of that will be topped off by a celebratory centennial block party."