Tucson gets love on Time magazine’s 2023 list of World’s Greatest Places

PHOENIX — What does Tucson have in common with Barcelona, Kyoto, Naples?

They all made Time magazine’s World’s Greatest Places of 2023 list.

That’s no typo. Time’s list makers think Arizona’s second-larest city is definitely worth a visit.

“To compile this list of the World’s Greatest Places, the top spots to visit this year, Time solicited nominations of places from our international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences,” the magazine said in an article explaining how it picked the 50 spots.

The list includes the usual suspects — think Jerusalem, Vienna and Budapest — but it also wanders off the beaten path.

And that leads us to Tucson.

In his write-up on the Old Pueblo, Nicholas DeRenzo focuses on the Old Pueblo’s cross-border culture.

DeRenzo touts Tucson’s innovative food scene, with shoutouts to James Beard Award-winning baker Don Guerra of Barrio Bread and chef Maria Mazon of BOCA Tacos y Tequila.

He also singles out the Barrio Viejo neighborhood for its “19th century Sonoran row houses (Tucson’s answer to Pueblo Revival architecture) and new galleries.”

Tucson is one of six U.S. cities on the list, joining Willamette Valley, Oregon; Yosemite National Park, California; Bozeman, Montana; Tampa, Florida; and Washington, D.C.

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