Best Of Tucson®

Best Airport/Gallery

Tucson International Airport

Let's hear it for the changing displays of work by local artists that enliven the walls of TIA. And let's hear it for TIA's recent expansion, which made it bigger, fancier and marginally slicker, but still positively homey compared to most airports. To really appreciate TIA's understated charms, make your last stop before home Sky Harbor's Terminal 4. The Phoenix aesthetic--garish, whimsical faux-Hohokam--has never been more nightmarishly expressed than in its "fun" orange accent lighting, monumental fast-food court, squat, sparkly mosaic-ed pillars and shops overflowing with spendy Arizona kitsch. ("Look, Martha, we have one more chance to buy an ugly brown pot from the Heard Museum!") One more reason to thank the Lord you live here.