Best Of Tucson®

Best Urban Landscaping

University of Arizona

How can anybody disagree with this choice? The walk from Main Gate to Old Main—with its stretch of stately palm trees, manicured lawns and flashes of color from all sorts of flowers—is lovely. The area around Old Main is considered a mini-arboretum, with mesquite trees, cacti, willows, palo verde, pine trees and much more. The campus arboretum has two self-directed tours where you can see long-established greenery imported from all over the world. One fave: The sour orange grove, a shady walkway just east of Gila Hall. Check out the UA Web site for a complete list, a detailed tour map and photos.

Runners up:

2. Tucson Botanical Gardens

2150 N. Alvernon Way

326-9686, tucsonbotanical.org

3. Tohono Chul Park

7366 N. Paseo Del Norte

742-6455, tohonochulpark.org