Top 10 Reasons to Visit Denver
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1. Great Museums: The Denver Art Museum sports a new wing designed by Daniel Libeskind, which holds the Modern/Contemporary, African, Oceanic and Western American art collections. The original building is home to one of the finest collections of American Indian art anywhere, as well as European, American, Asian and other collections. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science offers a spectacular view of City Park and the mountains from its top-floor terrace. Denver also has dozens of smaller museums, including the Black American West Museum; the Mizel Museum; the Museo de las Americas; the Firefighters Museum, the Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys; and the Vance Kirkland Museum.
2. The Rocky Mountains: The mountains make a dramatic, majestic backdrop, and offer awe-inspiring views from every downtown street corner.
3. Fantastic weather: The summer weather is warm and dry and the skies are blue. Summer humidity is usually around 20 percent!
4. Walkable Streets: The free mall shuttle, which runs along the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall, provides easy access to most of the downtown area. The mall offers amazing people-watching, great restaurants (many with outdoor dining areas), shopping, and free wifi.
5. Denver Public Library: The award-winning central branch of the public library, which was designed by Michael Graves, is only a few blocks from the Convention Center. Highlights include the Western History Collection and the Genealogy Collection, both on the 5th floor.
6. The Tattered Cover Book Store: Denverites are very proud of our local independent book store, which has a national reputation. The LoDo location is on the west end of the 16th Street Mall. All three locations offer cozy nooks, comfy chairs, and coffee bars. The Tattered Cover offers free book signings and lectures at one of its three locations every day.
7. Brewpubs: More than 80 different beers are brewed in Denver every day.
8. Atmosphere: Denver is a casual, friendly, relaxed city. It is pedestrian-friendly, safe,and clean, too! Did we mention friendly?
9. Coors Field: The Colorado Rockies will be in town! Games are scheduled against Cincinatti on for June 1st, 2nd and 3rd; and against Houston on June 5th, 6th, and 7th.
10. The Denver Mint: Only two U.S. mints are open for tours – don’t miss your chance!
Other Great Reasons to Visit:
Western History:
The Colorado History Museum is downtown, across the street from the Denver Public Library. History buffs will also want to take a tour of the Molly Brown House, which was the home of the Unsinkable Molly Brown and has been restored to its Victorian splendor. And don't miss the themed tours of the historic Brown Palace Hotel!
Outdoor Recreation:
Confluence Park is located on the western edge of downtown. Visitors can bike, walk, or rollerblade along the 11-mile Platte River Trail, which leads to the Cherry Creek Bike Path. Together, these trails make largest system of walking paths in the nation! At Confluence Park, visitors can watch or try rafting or kayaking the Platte river, shop at REI, or scale a climbing wall. Visitors who have cars can explore the Denver Mountain Parks, which include Echo Lake, Summit Lake, Red Rocks Park (home of the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater), Lookout Mountain Park (site of Buffalo Bill’s Grave), and Genesee Park's bison herd.
Entertainment:
The Denver Zoo is the fourth most popular zoo in the nation. The Denver Botanic Gardens is recognized as one of the top five botanical gardens in the U.S. The Downtown Aquarium includes more than 1 million gallons of underwater tanks. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts offers world-class theatre, opera, symphony, and ballet performances. Denver has a thriving arts and crafts scene, with dozens of art galleries in LoDo and the Santa Fe Art District. The People’s Fair, which is held June 2-3 in Civic Center Park, is one of the best street fairs in the country, and offers free entertainment, booths full of unique arts and crafts, delicious food, and tons of people-watching. Denver also offers a busy local music and performance calendar, from Broadway shows to classical music to hip-hop and jazz. There are dozen or more shopping districts in Denver, featuring the best national stores and local gift and clothing boutiques.
Side Trips:
The Mountains: within an hour, visitors can be in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, enjoying Central City, Golden Gate State Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and more! Beautiful Boulder is only 35 minutes away via public transportation. The Coors Brewery offers free tours (with free samples for adult guests), and is the world’s largest single brewing site. Colorado Springs and Cheyenne, Wyoming, are only an hour or two away and full of more western fun!
