Phoenix

Phoenix needs 2 days: the Musical Instrument Museum -the world's largest collection, with pieces from over 200 countries- on one, a sunset hike up Camelback Mountain or South Mountain Park on the other. October-April avoids the extreme summer heat, when temperatures routinely top 43°C. It's cheaper than California's coastal cities. It's the fifth most populous city in the US despite its extreme desert climate, and its metro area (the «Valley of the Sun») gets over 300 sunny days a year, the foundation of its golf and spa tourism industry.