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and homemade mozzarella. It doesn’t take reservations, so come early or prepare for a wait. If you can’t snag one of the 42 seats, console yourself with a meal sometime at Pane Bianco and taste the mozzarella goodness that put the pizzeria on the map. For liquid indulgence, try a post-supper cocktail at Durant’s, a martini and steak place with overstuffed leather booths and red-velvet wallpaper that was started long ago by Jack Durant, a man with underworld connections. To this day, powerbrokers do their deals here.

Watch the sun set red over Phoenix from the huge windows of the coolly elegant Jade bar at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa. Perched on the side of the mountain, it really does look like a huge resting camel contentedly looking over the valley. If there’s a wildfire somewhere in the state or it’s been a windy day (which kicks up dust and pushes out pollution), prepare for a dazzling show of red and yellow and blue in the sky. Sanctuary is a boutique resort; the service is first rate and the rooms draw the sort of celebrities that prefer peace, quiet and comfort over the glare and pop of the paparazzo’s flash. If one of the 98 mountain or spa casitas doesn’t do it for you – and if they don’t, we really live in different worlds – they have private homes for rent on the mountain that are great for groups.

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ART ATTACK

Every Thursday evening more than 100 of Scottsdale’s galleries keep their doors open until 9pm for Art Walk (www.scottsdalegalleries.com), centered on Marshall Way and Main St. On the first Friday evening of every month, downtown Phoenix kicks up the gritty and fun factor a few notches for First Fridays (www.artlinkphoenix.com). In addition to cruising the funky art galleries downtown and a glimpse of the city’s intelligentsia, expect music and the occasional poetry slam.

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The next morning, hike Camelback Mountain – if you dare. It’s a steep 1200ft climb from the base of Echo Canyon to the “head” of the camel. You might see locals loaded with colorful ropes and nylon webbing hiking up the first part of the trail – they’re going to the rock formation known as the Praying Monk (look at it from a distance and you can make out the monk shape) to do an 80ft climb up the monk’s back.

Before leaving this corner of the Valley, pay Cosanti a visit. This unusual complex of cast-concrete structures is the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright student Paolo Soleri, and where Soleri’s signature bronze and ceramic bells are crafted. For more wacky architecture, call ahead to make sure Mystery Castle is open. Imagine a life-size sand castle built by someone while they listened to Jimi Hendrix and you’ll have an inkling of what this home – made mainly of found materials – looks like.

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URBAN WILDERNESS

If you have the extra time, spend half a day at South Mountain Regional Park (http://phoenix.gov/parks/hikesoth.html). Even though it’s in Phoenix, the 16,000 acres offer plenty of trails to hike or bike where civilization feels thousands of miles away. Drive to the top along small, crazy-curving roads and you’re rewarded with a view of the valley below. Horseback riding is available, and check for Silent Sundays – when roads are closed to motorized vehicles.

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If you’re not staying at the Sanctuary, head to downtown Scottsdale and check into the Hotel Valley Ho for a taste of the good life, Rat Pack–style. Midcentury modern gets a 21st-century twist at this jazzy joint that once bedded Bing Crosby, Natalie Wood and Janet Leigh. The mood works well in the balconied rooms, and the pool and poolside bar make it easy to do a whole lot of nothing. The VH Spa is good enough reason to stay in all day.

For the young or the restless, from here it’s an easy walk around Scottsdale’s compact downtown – where the Arts District juts against the historic Old Town – studded with galleries, little shops, plenty of good eating, and drinking places that span the range from the Budweiser crowd to the Bordeaux set. Satisfy a sweet tooth at the Sugar Bowl candy shop.