Chandler Travel

Chandler is a city situated in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.  This place is a prominent suburb of Phoenix Arizona.  It has an estimated population of 240,595 residents.

Chandler’s central location makes it very accessible for East Valley exploration and to the neighboring city of Phoenix. A number of attractions are located in Chandler while others are a short distance away.

There are 300 sunny days in Chandler each year which means longer time for the outdoors.  The days are warm and comfortable especially at nights.

A. Tourist Attractions

Grand Canyon – Chandler travel will not be complete if you do not visit the famed Grand Canyon.  This is a landmark destination in the entire state of Arizona. Chandler is only a few miles from it.

Historic Downtown Chandler – this area is filled with various shops and recreational activities.

The Arizona Railway Museum – this museum exhibits restored train cars from various time periods in the country’s rail history.  It displays original rail company china and glass, rail cars used in movie sets, rail cars and others.

Ostrich Festival – Chandler has an ongoing age-old tradition of farming, breeding and raising ostrich.  This is a festival held at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler in keeping with the tradition. It features everything about Ostrich such as Ostrich races, interactive games, parade, entertainment, food, and arts and crafts. The festival is held every year during March.

Chandler Jazz Festival - This is a yearly Jazz festival in Downtown Chandler that features different famous jazz performers. There is no fee for admission.

The Chandler Center for the Arts – this is the main advocate of the arts in greater Chandler area.  The facility is shared with the Chandler School District.  The Chandler Center for the Arts offers local, national and international performances.

Chandler Fashion Center Mall – this mall is just a few feet from Historic Downtown Chandler. It has more than 180 shops and restaurants.  It houses the Dancing Waters which is the biggest water fountain in a U.S. shopping center.

Firebird International Raceway - Firebird has an area of 440 acres.  The place focuses totally on motor sports. The facility holds the NHRA Winston Drag Racing national event, IHBA Drag Boat Racing, and four test courses including a CART-certified East Course, home of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving and ProFormance Driving Events.

The Vision Gallery - a nonprofit for fine arts located in Chandler’s Historic Downtown displaying artworks created by more than 300 local and national artists.  It also offers Vision Kids, an arts educational program for children in the East Valley.

USA Skateland Chandler has solid wood skate floors, state of the art lighting and sound systems, areas for  concession and birthday celebrations, rental skates and roller blades, huge game rooms and various novelty shops.
Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery of Western and Native American Art – this gallery houses more than 1,500 pieces of art in different mediums such as watercolors, oil paintings, wood-turned bowls, basketry, pottery, Kachinas and jewelry.

B. Things to Do

Since Chandler is close to the mountains, you can camp, hike, rock climb, sail and even ski regularly.

Shopping is one activity that you can indulge in.  You can also sample the local’s sumptuous cuisine.

Every first Wednesday of the month, local artists would have art exhibits for viewing and selling purposes.  This weekly activity is called Chandler Art Walk and it features all kinds of arts and crafts from jewelries to paintings.
Golf is another activity you can do.  The Bear Creek Course designed by Jack Nicklaus is a good place to unwind. Another one that has a good golf course is the Hotel San Marcos.

A skate park is also provided. Most teens hang out in this place. It has an area of 35,000 feet.  You can do skateboarding or line skating here.

The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving teaches student racers how to drive like a professional race car driver.