This city of 200 000 inhabitants is part of the fabulous landscape of the Sonora desert. Scottsdale is often chosen as the last stop on a route in the surrounding national parks and offers a variety of leisure and relaxation opportunities. Golf, in particular, is king. With over thirty courts at their disposal, fans will be spoilt for choice when it comes to perfecting their swing. The spas, or fitness centres, associated with splendid hotels also offer the possibility of discovering all kinds of relaxation techniques. A wellness break to complete with a walk in the Sonora desert. Located at the gates of the city, it is full of candelabra cactus, rocks sculpted by the wind and impressive gorges sculpted by erosion. But it is in spring that it adorns itself with its most beautiful colours, when its meagre vegetation blooms and turns for a few weeks into a huge floral carpet. To discover absolutely the desert of Sonora where one observes immense cactus, the Saguaro cactus. Some reach 15 meters high. In March-April, these cactus are even more magnificent because these are the months of bloom. This site is the largest desert area in North America. The city has many art galleries and art shops. You can also visit the winter studio of the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Scottsdale. Already, the name has something retro and it evokes a reassuring world, very Dad is right. A perfectly carefree world where you play golf in the morning and go to the spa in the afternoon. A world that attracts its share of congressmen and holidaymakers every year. Scottsdale's reputation as a chic place is due in part to the place occupied by the arts, which allows it to rival Santa Fe and Los Angeles in this respect. Canals are essential to desert life. The Hohokam natives understood this well, having dug the first irrigation system in the area over 3000 years ago. Of course, modern canals replaced the ancestral system that carried water from the Colorado River to Scottsdale and into the valley.