Just south of downtown Tucson is The Downtown Clifton Hotel, a place of refuge for the independent minded traveler.
With stylish accommodations and personalized service, The Downtown Clifton is the dream destination for local adventures, contemporary Tucson cuisine, and blissful moments that will leave you wanting more.
The hotel has created the perfect itinerary for guests to make the most out of their visit!
Get an inside look!
7:30 AM – In-room French Press Coffee Service at The Downtown Clifton
Guests can always enjoy complimentary locally roasted coffee every morning in our lobby, but our in-room French press coffee service allows you to lounge a little longer in custom, hand-painted beds and read or watch one more episode of whatever you’ve been binge-watching.
8:00 AM – Walk through Barrio Viejo
Look west out your window to “A” Mountain, the birthplace of Tucson, and you will gaze over the historic rooftops of Barrio Viejo. As picturesque as that view is, to walk through the narrow, old Mexico feeling streets is to walk into the heart of Tucson. Head out of The Downtown Clifton, cross Stone Avenue, and follow your view of “A” Mountain down Kennedy Street into the Barrio. Be sure to peek down every alley and at every building side for the hidden murals of Tucson, including the artist Danny Martin’s own reproduction of the mural that originally existed on our hotel before we had to remove it for expansion.
8:30 AM – Breakfast at Meyer Ave Café
Make a right from Kennedy on to Meyer Avenue. Walk past (and even peek into) the revitalized Teatro Carmen. Built in 1915 as Tucson’s only Spanish language performance venue, it had long served as a neighborhood community center. Neighbors and artists have come together to return this gem to life and the community. You can enjoy more of Tucson’s old history while you enjoy an old-world European-style espresso and breakfast at Meyer Café and Mercantile, which is beautifully at home in the courtyard of one of the most pristine territorial era properties in the neighborhood.
9:30 AM – Stop at El Tiradito
From Meyer Avenue, walk west on Cushing Street. Take a quick right at the corner of Main and Cushing Street to stop at El Tiradito, The Wishing Shrine. Rumored to bring back lost love, the shrine is named for and marks the location of the territorial era murder of a young man by his lover’s husband and is the only shrine in the United States officially consecrated to sinners. After that, keep heading west on Cushing street to make your way towards Mercado San Agustin.
10:30 AM – Explore the MSA Annex
On your way, you’ll cross the Luis Gutierrez Bridge over the Santa Cruz River bed (during the monsoon season, you may even see water in the river bed, which last flowed in the late 1940s). The bridge marks 12 points in Tucson history on its solar canopy. Cross the bridge at just the right day and time and unique shadows will appear on the sidewalk to show a moment in history.
The bridge ends at the MSA Annex, a distinctive collection of local shops and restaurants built in modified shipping containers. Head past the Annex down Avenida del Convento and you’ll arrive at Mercado San Agustin.
11:00 AM – Explore Mercado San Agustin
The Mercado San Agustin, named for Saint Augustine, the patron saint of Tucson, is a vibrant Mexican-style plaza that boasts restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and pop-up markets and performances. Be sure to stop in La Estrella bakery for fresh, warm tortillas and pineapple and pumpkin empanadas. Order a few to-go burritos from Seis Kitchen and you have everything you need for an afternoon picnic.
12:00 PM – 3:30 PM – Hop on the streetcar
It’ll bring you right back downtown. Jump off at Broadway and Stone. As you walk down Stone Ave back towards the Clifton, be sure to stop into Sand Reckoner Cellars at the Citizen Hotel for a premiere Arizona wine experience in the only working wine cellar in Tucson. If you’re fortunate if enough to catch the winemaker at work, barrel tastings are a special treat. After that Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art is nationally and internationally recognized for its thought-provoking installations. Be sure to stop in at the historic Labor Temple which is home to a pop-up 25-person music venue masquerading as a vintage shop.
4:00 PM – Get ready for a night out with a cocktail at The Red Light Lounge
Happy hour at our Red Light Lounge starts at 4 pm, so stop in for a cocktail before hitting the town. After a drink, exit the hotel through the East end of our parking lot to Russell Street. This immaculately maintained historic residential corridor is a tiny, secret world right inside Tucson and a beautiful way to stroll into downtown’s entertainment district. As you keep heading north along Russell Avenue and eventually Scott Street, you’ll pass The Temple of Music and Art, The Scottish Rite Cathedral, and the statue of Toby the Griffin. Scott Street is anchored by not one, but two former funeral homes come cocktail lounges: Owls Club with its beautiful outdoor courtyard with fire pits and live music on the southern end and the literally underground Tough Luck Club at the north end. Both places are must-drink.
6:30 PM – Grab dinner at Cup Café or Maynards Market
There are plenty of great spots to have dinner at Congress. You don’t have to pick one of these two, but if you do, it gives you a good excuse to walk through the lobby of Hotel Congress, downtown Tucson’s most iconic spot. Hotel Congress offers everything from live music and good food, to yearly re-enactments of the on-premises capture of John Dillinger. Maynards, on the other side of Hotel Congress, is run by the same family and offers outstanding gourmet food by the historic train depot. If you have not been to the Hotel Congress lobby, you have not been to Tucson.
9:00 PM – Catch a show
Hotel Congress houses two stages and anchors Tucson’s vibrant music scene. Still, Tucson’s downtown is home to three beautifully restored historic theatres, all within a mile of each other; The Rialto, The Fox, and The Temple of Music and Art. Now that you are in the heart of downtown, be sure to catch one of the great live music acts at one of the theatres or clubs all around.
11:30 PM – Stop for an after-show drink
There are plenty of great spots to hit on your walk back. Good Oak Bar, R Bar at The Rialto – or when you are back on Scott Avenue, head into Owls Club.
12:30 AM – Hit the hay
Head on back to The Downtown Clifton when you are done and have sweet dreams of downtown Tucson.
