Arizona State University, Phoenix

I wouldn't recommend this university for the serious student. It's in the middle of Tempe, a bona fide "college town", with loud parties and homeless people scattered around a city struggling to constantly re-invent itself. Tempe has really high taxes, too. Unless you plan on living outside of the main part of the city and commuting in on the new metro train or bus system (which is decent but not as good as in most major cities), pick a better place to continue your education.

At the tip of beautiful Mill Ave, the city of Tempe built beautiful Tempe Town Lake in 1999. Next to the lake is a great park

You can rent paddle boats, electric boats, or kayaks (my personal favorite) and cruise up and down the lake. From the lake you can watch planes land at next door Sky Harbor Airport, view the buttes at Papago Park, and get a great view of Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals and ASU Sun Devils.

Fishing is allowed on the lake if you have an Arizona Fishing License.

On the weekends there are boat tours of the lakes (sure, the lake isn't really big enough to warrent a cruise, but I'm a sucker for a guided tour).

For the (little) kids there is a great water area called Splash Playground, so even if it is a hot day the kids will have fun (the water is on only in the summer).

"It may be fake, but at least it's a lake!"

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This is a compound that encompasses about 4 block area in middle of the city center by 7th & Washington. It is the schools for journalism, nursing, and teaching for the most part. The Tempe campus has more offerings. There are 5 locations of campuses in Phoenix proper

Mill Ave is a beautiful street in Tempe full of restaurants, shops, and bars.

You can find antiques at shops like 'Those Were The Days'.

There is lots of shopping, to quote the official website, 'With nearly 60 different retailers, downtown Tempe offers visitors the variety of a mall while providing a unique, outdoor shopping experience. Shopper favorites such as Urban Outfitters, Bath and Body Works and Sunglass Hut maintain locations in the downtown. Meanwhile longtime local favorites like Yucatecan Imports, Urban Angels and Headquarters provide unique stores where shoppers can find a variety of interesting merchandise. '

There are great restaurants on Mill Ave, like PF Changs, RA Sushi and Ziggys.

And (my favorite), great bars like The Library, Margarita Rocks, Mill Cue Club, and lots more.

Mill Ave is also full of characters. On a weekend night you can see street performers and musicians. Crazy people hang out there, like the Mill Ave Food Critic, a homeless man who cons people out of money by giving restaurant reviews and cons businesses out of free food by threatening them with bad reviews (http://azpantry.com/millavenuefoodcritic/).

At the tip of the street is Tempe Town Lake and nearby are both Arizona State University and Arizona Mills Mall, so you may want to add them to your Tempe itinerary.

Although you can't compare it to the nightlife in a place like Rush Street in Chicago or the West End in Dallas, Mill Ave is safe and it is also warm all winter long.

When you are in Phoenix, make sure and visit.

This is one of the only places in phoenix that has a real nightlife.

(its techinically in tempe, but phoenix-tempe are basically the same place)

If you go to mill ave and university and walk north on a friday or saturday night. (towards the bridge)
you will see lots and lots of young people, college students, and lots of clubs, restaurants and bars... and street musicians, etc.

If you like sushi, i suggest you check out a restaurant called RA, which is on this street.

At the end of Mill avenue,
there is also a bridge that is very pretty at night because it is decorated with all kinds of little lights, and at the end of the street is a small lake, (there aren't any other lakes in phoenix, so its pretty special)

if you go there on a weeknight, there probably wont be much going on. I highly reccommend going there on a weekend.

The Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium was the last building designed by the famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1964.