Denver

One step on the staircase of the Colorado State Capitol bears the inscription "One Mile Above Sea Level" – Denver sits exactly one mile above the ocean. A trip to Denver combines a lively downtown with museums, breweries, and murals, all set against the Rocky Mountains rising on the western horizon. A vacation in Denver has another thing going for it: hiking, skiing, and open-air concerts are just an hour's drive away.

Gold Rush on the Frontier

In 1858, prospectors found gold at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, and a tent city sprang up, named after the governor of Kansas, James W. Denver. The finds were modest, but the town became a supply center for the mines in the mountains. The railroad brought silver barons, merchants, and cattle ranchers, and Denver grew into the "Queen City of the Plains." In 1876, Colorado became a state, with Denver as its capital. Today the city is a booming metropolis with tech companies, a young population, and a strong outdoor culture that shows in its bike paths, parks, and relaxed attitude.

Sights in Denver

The Colorado State Capitol, with its gold-leaf-covered dome, sits in the Civic Center, surrounded by museums and libraries. The 16th Street Mall, a pedestrian zone with a free shuttle bus, leads to Larimer Square, the city's oldest block, with string lights hung over the street. Union Station, a train station from 1914, is now a gathering spot in the LoDo neighborhood, with restaurants and a hotel. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, west of the city, is a natural amphitheater set between red sandstone cliffs and is considered one of the most beautiful concert venues in the world. The Denver Botanic Gardens and City Park, with its mountain views, are perfect for catching your breath, and at Coors Field you can take in a Rockies baseball game.

Museums and Neighborhoods

The Denver Art Museum, with Daniel Libeskind's jagged Hamilton Building, holds one of the most important collections of Native American art in the U.S., and next door the Clyfford Still Museum shows works by the abstract expressionist. The History Colorado Center, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in City Park, and the Meow Wolf installation Convergence Station, a walk-through art world, offer plenty of variety. Capitol Hill and North Capitol Hill are lively residential neighborhoods with Victorian mansions, bars, and concert halls. To the north are Highland, West Highland, and Berkeley, where you'll find restaurants, boutiques, and craft bars along Tennyson Street and at Highland Square. La Alma–Lincoln Park is a historically Mexican American neighborhood with murals around Santa Fe Drive, where galleries open on the first Friday of every month. RiNo, the River North Art District, is full of street art and breweries, and in Glendale, to the southeast, the Cherry Creek Trail runs through the area.

Eating and Drinking in Denver

Denver is a beer town: dozens of breweries, the Great American Beer Festival in the fall, and the Coors brewery in nearby Golden make it a destination for beer fans. Restaurants in Denver serve green chile, a spicy stew of green chiles and pork, often smothered over burritos, the Denver omelet with ham and bell peppers, and bison burgers. Rocky Mountain oysters, fried bull testicles, are a dare for the curious. At the Denver Central Market food hall in RiNo and at Avanti in Highland, you can sample a bit of everything.

Getting Around, When to Go, and Day Trips

Denver International Airport, with its distinctive tent-like roof, is far outside the city; the A Line commuter rail gets you to Union Station in about 40 minutes. Within the city, light rail, buses, and rental bikes are practical, but you'll need a car for the mountains. The best time to visit for the city and for hiking is June through September, while in winter skiing beckons at resorts like Vail, Breckenridge, or Winter Park. Because of the altitude, drink plenty of water and go easy on alcohol. Day trips take you to Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mount Blue Sky, and the old mining towns of Georgetown and Idaho Springs.