Exploring Denver, CO
Updated March 21, 2024
Time needed in this city - A long weekend (3 nights)
Filled with microbreweries, restaurants, outdoor activities, and eclectic people, this mile-high city has something for everyone!
The below information is a complete guide of the best places to stay, the top rated places to dine and drink, and all there is to see and do. We’ve also included a summary of the history of this eclectic city!
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Where to Stay
Halcyon Hotel - Tip: Head to the basement and experience their speakeasy “B&GC”.
Oxford Hotel - Built in 1891 (Tip: Head to their speakeasy “The Cruise Room”.)
The Crawford Hotel - Used to be Denver Union Station
The Gaylord Rockies Resort and Spa - outside of downtown but full of activities to do within the resort
Thompson - Tip: On the 6th floor, you will find a speakeasy called “Reynard Social”.
Where to Dine & Drink
Annette
Small yet sunny spot for seasonal, modern American plates plus craft cocktails, in stylish digs.
Beckon
A pre-paid, ticketed dining experience with ever-changing, seasonal menus & chef's counter seating.
Brasserie Brixton
French cuisine with a twist offered in a hip mainstay featuring an open kitchen & a cozy bar.
El Five
I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant! It sits in my top five restaurants I've been to in the world, accounting for food/drink quality, ambience, decor, and view. The dishes are tapas from Gibraltar, with modern spins, such as vegetarian paella with quinoa. The drinks are crafted into works of art, such as mine that came with an orchid (name not included, since their bar menu changes frequently).
The decor is reminiscent of old Israeli comic books, coupled with chic dining decor and lighting. But hands down, what completely sold me on visiting there was the view. From the deck (which you can dine on), you have an unobstructed view of downtown.
Happy Camper
Cool, outdoorsy pizza place with cocktails & brunch, plus an expansive AstroTurf-lined patio.
Linger
This old mortuary (that once housed Buffalo Bill’s remains) is now a lively restaurant with a rooftop lounge & global small plates.
The rooftop neon sign that used to proclaim “Olinger Mortuaries” was barely even altered, with the capitol “O” simply being turned out and the word “mortuaries” being slightly altered so that the current sign reads, “Linger Eatuaries.” The funereal history continues on in the interior as well where the old A/C units have been turned into hanging lamps, glass-topped metal conveyor belts are used as tables, and a church pew is used as the host’s stand. The ground floor boasts large garage doors that once welcomed corpse-laden hearses and now open to offer a summer breeze. Below the restaurant, in the basement level, is now a mixed use retail space that includes an athletic club (this space was once Olinger’s embalming space).
Mercantile Dining and Provision
High-performance space includes a New American eatery, wine library, artisanal market, and barista bar.
Nocturne
Bi-level lounge & eatery serving up eclectic plates & cocktails amid live jazz music.
Potager
Rustic dining room whose organic New American menu changes monthly to reflect what's market-fresh.
Restaurant Olivia
Warm, relaxed choice for classic French dishes with modern touches, plus local beer & cocktails.
Run For The Roses (Speakeasy)
Cocktails & bar bites offered in a swanky, lower-level lounge with a private room for large groups.
Safta
Stylish, airy stop in the Source Hotel for modern Middle Eastern grub such as wood-fired pita bread.
Spuntino
Charming restaurant featuring classic Italian dishes with a seasonal bent in a rustic environment.
Tavernetta
Upscale, buzzy Italian hot spot from an acclaimed team with an open kitchen and a fireplace lounge.
The Wolf’s Tailor
Innovative restaurant serving wild game, seasonal food & tasting menus amid industrial surrounds.
Welton Room
Imaginatively crafted cocktails & coffee served in a trendy, contemporary space. TIP: Try their liquid nitrogen cocktails.
Williams and Graham - Speakeasy
Prohibition-era speakeasy in a corner bookstore with handcrafted cocktails, small plates & desserts.
Food & Drink Tours
Things to See & Do
Adams Mystery Playhouse
Denver's only full-time Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre where you can have “killer “ cocktails and a dinner “to die for”, followed by helping the actors to solve the murder. Located right by downtown Denver, their creepy-cool historic mansion is a one-of-a-kind experience. Approximate event time is 2 1/2 hours.
Big Blue Bear
Outside of the convention center, in a large window facing 14th Street, visitors will see a giant blue bear peeking into the event center. Made of about 4,000 tiny triangles, the 40-foot bear towers over passersby who can also peek into the convention center, giving meaning to the artwork’s formal name, “I See What You Mean.”
Daniels and Fisher Tower
A replica of St. Mark’s Bell Tower in Venice was built in 1911 and was the tallest building on the Denver skyline until the 1950s (375 feet above street level).
The building was commissioned by William Cooke Daniels and was built as part of an expansion of the original store in Denver’s prime shopping district. Daniels had spent significant time in Europe and wanted to build something monumental to draw people to his store - the tower was meant to serve as the main entrance.
The original Daniels and Fisher department store had 400,000 square feet (nine acres) of space, making it the largest store in Denver. The tower served as managerial offices, an infirmary, lounge, lunchroom, and an in-house school. There was also an observation deck on the 20th floor that drew a steady stream of tourists.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Daniels and Fisher experienced a decline in sales, prompting a sale of the store in 1958. Nine years later, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority’s Skyline Urban Renewal Project was approved. The plans for this undertaking entailed the demolition of most of downtown, including the Daniels and Fisher building. Denver’s preservationist society enacted a last ditch effort to save the tower, which was declared a landmark, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though the tower was spared, the rest of the building was not—it was demolished in 1971.
In 1980, a developer purchased the building for $72,000 with the intent of turning it into condominiums. After $3.5 million in renovations, the interior had been upgraded into office units but the tower’s exterior was still in poor shape.
The tenants of the building funded an extensive renovation effort in the 1990s, and every major part of the building was restored over the course of the next 15 years. Today, the tower houses office condominiums and an event space on the upper floors. The Seth Thomas clock is still visible on all four sides of the tower and has been completely restored.
TIP: During the month of April, the observation deck is open to visitors as part of "Doors Open Denver". There is a cabaret in the basement.
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver. The 23-acre park contains a conservatory, a variety of themed gardens, and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
In 1868, Edwin Carter moved into a tiny cabin in Breckenridge, Colorado, to pursue his passion - the scientific study of birds and mammals of the Rocky Mountains. Almost single-handedly, Carter assembled one of the most complete collections of Colorado fauna then in existence. Word of his collection spread and in 1892, a group of prominent Denver citizens declared their interest in moving his collection to the capital city for all to see. Carter offered to sell the entire collection for $10,000, which he did. The founders then went onto collect other items.
Together, these collections formed the nucleus of what would become the Colorado Museum of Natural History, officially incorporated on December 6, 1900. After years of preparation and construction, the Colorado Museum of Natural History finally opened to the public on July 1, 1908. It became so popular that by 1918, another wing had opened
In 1927, a team, led by the Colorado Museum, discovered two stone projectile points embedded in an extinct species of bison, in Folsom, New Mexico. These Folsom points demonstrated that humans had lived in North America more than 10,000 years ago, hundreds of years earlier than previously believed. These discoveries, along with its growing popularity, prompted the city of Denver to increase its funding for the museum, leading to a name change to Denver Museum of Natural History in 1948. The name was changed again in 2000 to the present Denver Museum of Nature and Science, reflecting the institution's wider focus.
TIP: While there, go on an elf scavenger hunt!
Denver Omelet Plaque
There are many stories about how the Denver Omelet came to be, though only one is immortalized in a plaque. The tale is that it was invented by early settlers in the region who added onions to enhance the flavor of eggs that had lost their freshness over long journeys West. Besides a note about the dish’s origins, the plaque includes a recipe for the omelet, advising passersby to beat two to three eggs, add ham or bacon, green pepper, onion, and fold to serve.
HOW TO GET THERE: The plaque is part of the "All Things Colorado" plaques on California street, between 15th and 16th streets, on the opposite side of the Light-Rail station. In addition to the omelet, there are 11 other plaques nearby.
DINOSAUR RIDGE
In 1876, fossil excavation began at Dinosaur Ridge (part of the Morrison Formation of Jurassic age) with the first identified Stegosaurus fossils in the world discovered shortly after. Other fossil bones found in the layers of rock include Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Allosaurus. In 1973, the area was recognized as an outstanding example of the nation's natural heritage and was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.
When Alameda Parkway was being constructed in 1937 (by the WPA) in order to provide access to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, workers discovered dinosaur tracks. As those footprints were damaged and destroyed over time, more tracks were intentionally uncovered in later decades. These were found to include mostly Iguanodon-like footprints, perhaps from an ornithopod dinosaur called Eolambia. Omnivorous bird-like ornithomimid tracks, crocodilian tracks, and large carnivorous theropod tracks are also present.
The site offers guided bus tours, interpretive signage, a small Exhibit Hall with geological and paleontological displays, a Discovery Center, and a gift shop. Dinosaur Ridge's interpretive signs at trail locations explain the local geology, paleo-ecology, trace fossils, bone fossils, economic development of coal, oil, and clay, and many other geologic and paleontological features.
Fifty-Two 80s
Covering a span of about 15 years during the 80’s and 90’s, the entire shop is a museum of pop culture remembered in toys, clothes, and memorabilia. Visitors will most certainly find many of their old toys, old music videos playing on one TV, while a few minutes of Ghostbusters II plays on another, and maybe some fashions they would have rather forgotten. There are boxes and boxes of trading cards for Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids, and New Kids on the Block. There are Smurfs, vintage Pepsi cans, Pac-Man, Care Bears, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Atari, Hulk Hogan, Beetlejuice, and just about every other loudly colored cultural icon and nostalgic fad cluttering every inch of the store.
The store owners speculate that they have around 4,500 items in their collection, including pinball machines, action figures, stuffed toys, shot glasses, cardboard cutouts, pins, posters, puzzles, board games, cassette tapes, video game cartridges, Halloween masks, and more. The inventory, which was initially put together in just 1 1/2 years, is essentially a time-machine that transports shoppers back to a time when catching the new cartoons on an early weekend morning was the best part of the week.
GARDEN OF THE GODS
The garden's red rock formations were created millions of years ago with archaeological evidence showing that prehistoric people visited Garden of the Gods about 1330 BC. At about 250 BC, Native American people camped in the park - they are believed to have been attracted to wildlife and plant life in the area and used overhangs, created by the rocks, for shelter. For example, the Utes' oral traditions tell of their creation at the Garden of the Gods, and petroglyphs have been found in the park that are typical of early Utes.
Starting in the 16th century, Spanish explorers and later, European American explorers and trappers traveled through the area. In 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins purchased 480 acres of land that included a portion of the present Garden of the Gods. Upon his death in 1909, his family gave the land to the City of Colorado Springs with the
In 1995, the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center was opened just outside the park.
TIP: If you need transportation and would also like to see Pike’s Peak, click here for a great tour!
H. R. Meininger Co.
Emil Meininger moved to Colorado after losing everything in the Great Chicago Fire. He opened the first art supply store in Denver, H. R. Meininger Co., in 1881. By 1986 (and generations later), the store had become the largest art supply store west of the Mississippi. In its current location since 1993, H. R. Meininger Co. has had everyone visit, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Daniel Sprick.
Still family-owned and operated to this day, guests can visit the 7,000-square-foot store in Denver, which not only sells art supplies and inspiration, but is also filled with artwork, history, and cases full of antique and unique art supplies.
Instagram-Worthy Light Show and Meditation
Immerse yourself in a world of illumination during a 1-hour light show in Denver. Get swept away through a combination of lasers, guided meditation, and accompanying rock music. Offered hourly, seven days a week, the immersive experience is easy to fit into any schedule and perfect for all ages. In addition to the show, your ticket grants you unlimited access to the Church's retro arcade lounge, art gallery, movie theater, and Gandhi Garden, with dozens of Instagram worthy picture spots throughout the Church.
Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art
The museum houses three principal collections and includes the original studio and art school building of artist, Vance Kirkland. On March 10, 2018, Kirkland Museum reopened after moving to a new building at 1201 Bannock Street in Denver's Golden Triangle Creative District.
Meow Wolf at Convergence Station
If you saw our post on Las Vegas, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Meow Wolf is all about. For those that don’t know, Convergence Station is Meow Wolf’s third (and largest) permanent exhibition. It’s the first multi-versal transit station, serving Earth (and home) to one of Denver’s most unique performance and event venues. It’s literally a quirky museum and event space that transports you into an entirely different dimension…. and it’s so fun!
Mile High Comics
Created by Chuck Rozanski, this gigantic 45,000 sq. ft. warehouse is filled with nearly 10 million comics, as well as toys and other memorabilia. It’s believed to be the largest comic book store in the country.
Rozanski began collecting comics in the 1960s and never lost the passion as he got older. During the 1980s, he was one of the first people to advertise back issues of comics for sale, in the back of Marvel Comics. That business would eventually become a very lucrative one, allowing Rozanski to purchase the warehouse. Colorado also presents the perfect climate for comic book storage.
Items inside this mega store can range from $1 to well over $20,000. They also host various events, such as conventions and even drag shows. Upstairs, Rozanski created a small exhibit dedicated to his collection of Native American art.
Mile-High Steps at the Colorado State Capitol
At the State Capitol Building, the 15th step is engraved with the words “One Mile Above Sea Level.” It held this distinction from 1909 to 1969, when a group of students from Colorado State University remeasured. Their calculations put a mile high on the 18th step, which prompted the installation of a bronze marker. In 2003, the elevation was measured again. This time, the researchers identified the 13th step as the correct benchmark. A brass medallion engraved with the silhouette of the Rocky Mountains was formally installed in a ceremony later that year.
The difference between the 15th and 18th step is 3.03 feet and the discrepancy has to do with an update to the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD), which is the standard control of orthometric height in the United States. The 1969 measurements had been done with a previous standard, not the NAVD of 1988, which remains in use today.
Molly Brown House Museum
Built in 1889, the Molly Brown House Museum (also known as House of Lions) was the home of American philanthropist, activist, and socialite, Margaret Brown. She survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic and was known as the “Heroine of the Titanic” for her service to survivors. She later became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".
Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA Denver) was founded in 1996 as the first dedicated home for contemporary art in the city of Denver. For seven years, MCA Denver occupied a renovated fish market in Sakura Square, in lower downtown Denver. In October 2007, it opened its new 27,000-square foot, environmentally sustainable facility in lower downtown Denver.
Rappelling Lessons
Enjoy an active way to explore Colorado's wealth of Rocky Mountain scenery, and learn the basics of rappelling, on this half-day hiking excursion. In the morning, make your own way to the departure point in Golden and hike to the top of North Table Mountain for impeccable views. Then, with first-hand instruction and safety gear, you'll go rappelling down several cliff faces, ranging from 30 feet to 100 feet in height.
RED ROCK AMPHITHEATER
The natural features, surrounding the amphitheater, were formed millions of years ago as part of the Fountain Formation, then lifted and tilted during a geological upheaval event called the “Laramide Orogeny” - the same time in which the nearby Garden of the Gods and Flatirons were formed.
While the grounds were likely used by the Ute tribe in earlier times, an Army expedition, led by Stephen Long, rediscovered present-day Red Rocks in 1820. The prevalence of the nearby Colorado gold rush (1858-1859) drew further interest from prospectors and new settlers along the Front Range. Originally named the "Garden of the Angels", Marion Burts became the first recorded owner of the site in 1872. He sold it to Leonard H. Eicholtz who, in turn, developed the property into a park in 1878. Nearly 30 years later, Eicholtz sold Red Rocks to famed magazine editor, John Brisben Walker, in 1906. The site was then renamed to "Garden of the Titans" and further developed to incorporate a temporary platform for hosting concerts. In addition to the platform, Walker also built the Mount Morrison Cable Incline funicular railway, which carried tourists from the lower area of the park, up to the top of Mount Morrison. The incline operated for about five years, beginning in 1909.
In 1927, George Cranmer, Manager of Denver Parks, convinced the City of Denver to purchase the area of Red Rocks from Walker for $54,133 ($922,569 today), officially adopting the title of "Red Rocks" Amphitheatre. Construction began nine years later and was formally dedicated June 15, 1941 with a performance by Helen Jepson.
Just 25 minutes from Denver, it’s a great way to enjoy the skyline, workout, people watch, and attend shows.
The Yearling
The northwest lawn of the Denver Public Library is home to a whimsical piece of public art by Donald Lipski called, “The Yearling”. It features an enormous red chair with a pinto pony standing on its seat.
In 1993, the sculpture was commissioned to stand outside a Washington Heights elementary school in New York City. However, the school district asked Lipski to remove the horse. He refused, asserting that doing so would take away the magic of the piece. Thus, it was placed in storage while the city looked for an alternate display location. Ownership of the piece finally reverted to Lipski in exchange for him creating another art installation.
In 1997, “The Yearling” was placed on temporary display at the Doris Freedman Plaza of New York’s Central Park. While there, it was seen and purchased by Nancy Tieken as a gift for the City of Denver. It was moved there and permanently installed outside the children’s wing of the public library in 1998.
The red chair is fabricated from steel and measures 21-feet tall and 10-feet wide. Nicknamed “Scout,” the pony is six feet tall, from hooves to ears. He was made from painted fiberglass.
Unfortunately, the harsh Denver ultraviolet rays caused the horse’s finish to fade and it required annual repainting. A mold was made of the original pony and the figure was recast in more durable, permanent bronze. The fiberglass pony was moved to Denver mayor John Hickenlooper’s office. He became so attached to the horse that it moved with him to his new office when he became Colorado governor in 2011.
A History Summary
1850s - Part of the Territory of Kansas, Denver was sparsely settled until the late 1850s.
July 1858 - Green Russell and Sam Bates found a small placer deposit near the mouth of Little Dry Creek (in the present-day suburb of Englewood) that yielded about 620 g of gold - the first significant gold discovery in the Rocky Mountain region.
August 1858 - A group from Lawrence, Kansas arrived and established Montana City on the banks of the South Platte River (modern-day Grant-Frontier Park). This was the first settlement in what would become the Denver Metropolitan Area.
November 1858 - General William Larimer and Captain Jonathan Cox, Esq. (land speculators from eastern Kansas Territory) met with the Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer set up a campfire and four cottonwood poles, crossed together, creating the first "Larimer Square"to stake a square-mile claim on the site of the St. Charles claim, across the creek from the existing mining settlement of Auraria. He named it “Denver City”.
Spring 1859 - 1861 - Teams of thousands of gold seekers arrived, and the Pike's Peak Gold Rush was under way. In the following two years, about 100,000 gold seekers flocked to the region.
1859 - Denver City donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express in order to secure the region's first overland wagon route. It promised to get people to locations in as little as six days. The Apollo Hall Theatre also opened that year.
October 24, 1859 - An election was held to form a provisional government for the goldfields and the formation of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was approved.
February 28, 1861 - Outgoing U.S. President James Buchanan signed an Act of Congress organizing the free Territory of Colorado.
May 29, 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln appointed William Gilpin of Missouri the first Governor of the Territory of Colorado.
September 9, 1861 - The Colorado General Assembly first met and created 17 counties for the territory, including a new Arapahoe County with Denver City as its seat.
1863 - A fire broke out in the center of downtown Denver. High winds fed the sparks and in a few hours, a great majority of the wooden buildings, in the heart of Denver, were destroyed. A law was then passed to not allow buildings to be made out of flammable material.
1864 - Cherry Creek flooded, affecting the low-lying Auraria, destroying the Rocky Mountain News building, the Methodist Church, City Hall, and numerous offices, warehouses, and outbuildings. Eight Denver residents were killed, and enormous number of livestock were drowned. Positively, the Denver Theatre opened with its first opera performance.
1865 - Attacks on supply trains and market manipulations drove up prices. Grasshoppers swarmed the area and ate up vegetation. Real estate values fell so low that entire blocks changed hands during poker games.
1867 - Denver City became the Territorial Capital and its name was shortened to “Denver”.
1870 - The Kansas Pacific completed its line to Denver and the first train arrived from Kansas.
1874 - The silver mining boom began.
1876 - 1881 - Denver became the temporary state capital when Colorado was admitted to the Union, and a statewide vote in 1881 made Denver the permanent state capital.
1880s - 1890s - Gambling and crime rings grew larger and larger.
1881 - Tabor Grand Opera House opened its doors, as well as Union Station.
1890 - Denver had grown to be the 26th largest city in America, and the 5th largest city west of the Mississippi River. The rapid growth of these years attracted millionaires and their mansions, as well as poverty and crime.
1892 - The 10-story Brown Palace Hotel opened.
1893 - The Women’s Suffrage movement started, as well as the Denver Depression. due to socio-economic, race, and political unrest. The silver boom collapsed.
1894 - The capitol building was erected, as well as many mansions.
1902 - Denver City became its own county.
1904 - Several projects started that added new landmarks, updated existing facilities, or improved the city's landscape, including the City Auditorium, the Civic Center and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
1916 - Alcohol was banned in the state.
1917 - WWI saw expansion in farming and new mining operations for molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten.
1928 - Denver received a natural gas pipeline as coal fell to an all-time low.
1929 - Denver opened a Municipal airport, mainly used for mail and private pilots.
1933 - Prohibition Laws were suspended.
1934 - The Burlington Railroad introduced the Zephyr in 1934 with a record-breaking 13 hours and 5 minutes trip from Denver to Chicago. It was a revolutionary new diesel-powered train, streamlined and luxurious, that changed the public's expectations of rail travel.
1938 - Lowry Air Force Base opened.
1953 to 1989 - The Rocky Flats Plant, a Department of Energy nuclear weapon facility, formerly located about 15 miles from Denver, produced fissile plutonium "pits" for nuclear warheads.
1957-1968 - A major fire at the facility, as well as leakage from nuclear waste stored at the site between 1958 and 1968, resulted in the contamination of some parts of Denver, to varying degrees, with plutonium-239, a harmful radioactive substance with a half-life of 24,200 years.
1960s - Victorian homes were considered old-fashioned and unpopular, and were targeted for demolition. Thus, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission and Historic Denver, Inc. were formed to raise awareness of the value of these historic buildings and establish the local historical preservation movement.
1967 - Family Dog Denver opened, inviting in famous poets and musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix.
1970s - A skyscraper boom started as oil and gas companies moved in. Also, the city had more cars per capita than any other city in the U.S. This created unprecedented smog clouds by 1974.
Mid-1980s - Gov. Peña urged people to “reinvest” in their city by funding bonds used to create the convention center, the international airport, public schools, and the Colorado Rockies baseball team,
1999 - Colorado residents cited over-growth to the horrible road congestion problem.