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LoDo
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.
From Broadway to Chestnut Pl., Denver, Colorado, 80202, USA
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Downtown
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.
321 17th St., Denver, Colorado, 80202, USA
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Jefferson Park
This is one of the finest museums of its kind in North America, with constantly changing hands-on exhibits that engage children up to about age 10 in discovery. A three-and-a-half-story climbing structure soars through the center of the museum, complete with a bridge and gondola, along with a water area featuring geysers, pumps, and a 30-gallon structure that replicates a toilet flushing. Also among the 16 indoor playscapes and an outdoor area are a teaching kitchen where kids can cook real food; an art studio staffed by artists in residence; a grocery store; a veterinary office; and Fire Station No. 1, a real fire hall with a pole and kitchen. One of the biggest attractions is the Center for the Young Child, a 3,700-square-foot playscape aimed at newborns and toddlers and their caregivers; or little ones can enter Bubbles Playscape, where science and soap collide in kid-made bubbles up to 6 feet long.
2121 Children's Museum Dr., Denver, Colorado, 80211, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $17
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Jefferson Park
More than 300 artists contributed to this Denver variation on Santa Fe's psychedelic, immersive art experience in an even bigger space, here called Convergence Station. Four floors are packed with funky art installations, tunnels, platforms, and interactive pieces, with music and other sound accompaniments. The overall effect is a bit of a fever dream, with clever and humorous takes on everyday objects interspersed with video and storytelling through dioramas. Entry is by timed ticket only, but once you enter, you can stay as long as you'd like. All ages will want to spend a few hours here, but kids especially become transfixed by the sensory overload. It's open Sunday through Thursday from 10 am to 10 pm and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Adults-only nights and live music events are peppered throughout each month.
1338 1st St., Denver, Colorado, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $45
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The exquisite 9,000-seat Red Rocks Amphitheatre, amid majestic geological formations in nearby Morrison, is renowned for its natural acoustics, which have awed the likes of Leopold Stokowski and the Beatles. Although Red Rocks is one of the best places in the country to hear live music, be sure to leave extra time when visiting—parking is sparse, crowds are thick, paths are long and extremely uphill, and seating is usually general admission.
18300 W. Alameda Pkwy., Morrison, Colorado, 80465, USA
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Auraria
From November to April, the Denver Nuggets play at Ball Arena (formerly Pepsi Center); from October to April, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Mammoth play there, too. The 19,000-seat arena is also the primary indoor venue for large musical acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Hart, and Carrie Underwood, as well as performances such as Disney on Ice. Tours of the facilities are available several days a week.
1000 Chopper Cir., Denver, Colorado, 80204, USA
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Downtown
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.
1601 Arapahoe St., Denver, Colorado, 80202, USA
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Downtown
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.
1326 Tremont Pl., Denver, Colorado, 80204, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $9
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Jefferson Park
On the north side of the South Platte across from Elitch Gardens, this is the only million-gallon aquarium between Chicago and the West Coast. It has four sections that show aquatic life in all its forms, from the seas to the river's headwaters in the Colorado mountains. The 250-seat Aquarium Restaurant surrounds a 50,000-gallon tank filled with sharks and fish. Other highlights include an expanded stingray touch pool, a gold-panning area, animatronic creatures, and an interactive shipwreck. The aquarium also has a lounge with a weeknight happy hour, and the truly adventurous can learn how to scuba dive or snorkel in the tanks.
700 Water St., Denver, Colorado, 80211, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $26.50
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Auraria
This elaborate and thrilling park was a Denver family tradition long before its 1995 relocation from northwest Denver to its current home on the outskirts of downtown. The park's highlights include hair-raising roller coasters and thrill rides; for younger kids and squeamish parents there are also plenty of gentler attractions such as bumper cars and tea cups. Twister II, an update of the classic, wooden Mister Twister, is from the original Elitch Gardens, as is a 100-foot-high Ferris wheel that provides sensational views of downtown. A 10-acre water-adventure park is included in the standard entry fee. You can spend a whole day at either the water park or the main park. Over Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, the park is open for holiday-themed events.
2000 Elitch Cir., Denver, Colorado, 80204, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Unlimited-ride pass $69.99, Closed late Oct.--Memorial Day except weekends in late Nov. and all of Dec.
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Globeville
Inside a converted warehouse are an 1898 Renault coupe, Amelia Earhart's immaculately maintained "Goldbug," and a Big Boy steam locomotive, among other historic vehicles. Other exhibits in this eccentric museum consist of antique bicycles, cable cars, and even experimental car-planes. This trivia-laden showcase is outside of the downtown loop: Go north on Brighton Boulevard; the museum is adjacent to the Denver Coliseum on the south side of I–70.
4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver, Colorado, 80216, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $15, Closed Tues. and Wed.
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Civic Center
The three-story, interactive History Colorado Center serves as the state's de facto historical society. Rotating lobby exhibits welcome visitors with hands-on, offbeat snippets of state history. In addition to revamped versions of the previous collections depicting state history from 1800 to the present, current exhibitions combine technology, artifacts, and multimedia presentations. Milk a life-size replica of a cow, drive a Model T Ford on the plains, or try a virtual ski jump, and then see what you would have looked like in a classroom in the late 1800s.
1200 Broadway, Denver, Colorado, 80203, USA
Sight Details
Rate Includes: $14, Daily 10–5
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LoDo | Business District
Officially, the Lower Downtown Historic District, the 25-plus square-block area that was the site of the original 1858 settlement of Denver City, is nicknamed LoDo. It's home to art galleries, chic shops, nightclubs, and restaurants ranging from Denver's most upscale to its most down-home. This part of town was once the city's thriving retail center, then it fell into disuse and slid into slums. Since the early 1990s LoDo has been transformed into the city's cultural center, thanks to its resident artists, retailers, and loft dwellers who have taken over the old warehouses and redbricks.
From Larimer St. to South Platte River, between 14th and 22nd Sts., Denver, Colorado, USA
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Jefferson Park
Just behind the REI flagship store, this serene park is at the center of the South Platte River valley path. Its rocks and rapids are especially attractive in summer to kayakers, bicyclists, and hikers. Sidewalks extend down the South Platte to the east toward the suburbs and west toward the Broncos' home, Empower Field at Mile High. A pathway in yet another direction leads to LoDo. From the park, it's about a 20-minute walk to the 16th Street Mall and Coors Field, which makes it a healthy way to sightsee when the weather is good.
1615 Platte St., Denver, Colorado, 80202, USA
