4 Best Sights in Central Business District, Denver

Outdoor cafés and tempting shops line this pedestrian-only 18-block, 1¼-mile thoroughfare, shaded by red-oak and locust trees. The mall's businesses run the entire socioeconomic range. There are popular meeting spots for business types at places like the Yard House in the Sheraton Hotel; a front-row view of the many street performers and goings-on from restaurants' sidewalk patios; and plenty of fast-food chains. Although some Denverites swear by the higher-end Cherry Creek Shopping District, the 16th Street Mall covers every retail area and is a more affordable, diverse experience. You can find Denver's best people-watching here. Catch one of the free shuttle buses at any corner that run the length of downtown. Pay attention when you're wandering across the street, as the walking area and bus lanes are the same color and are hard to distinguish.

The grande dame of Denver hotels was built in 1892, and is still considered the city's most prestigious address. Famous guests have included President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Beyoncé. Even if you aren't staying here, the Brown Palace lobby is a great place to sit on comfortable old couches, drink tea, and listen to piano standards (or harp, during afternoon tea). Reputedly this was the first atrium hotel in the United States; its ornate lobby and nine stories are crowned by a Tiffany stained-glass window.

This 330-foot-high, 20-floor structure emulates the Campanile of St. Mark's Square in Venice, and it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built in 1909. William Cooke Daniels originally commissioned the tower to stand adjacent to his five-story department store. Today it's an office building with a cabaret in the basement as well as the city's most convenient clock tower. It's particularly striking—the clock is 16 feet high—when viewed in concert with the fountains in the adjacent Skyline Park.

Denver's first firehouse was built in 1909 and now serves as a museum where original items of the trade are on view, including uniforms, nets, fire carts and trucks, bells, and switchboards. Artifacts and photos document the progression of firefighting machinery from horses and carriages in the early 1900s to the flashy red-and-white trucks of today.