Where to stay in Denver

See

Denver is a vibrant city with plenty of attractions for visitors, plus a diverse collection of neighborhoods that can be attractions in themselves. Many of Denver's older areas are the perfect density for exploration; you'll find an interesting mix of apartments and homes with flowery front gardens, wide flagstone sidewalks, bright green lawns and big, shady trees. Capitol Hill, Highlands, Baker, Berkeley, Uptown, Sloan's Lake, Cheesman, Washington, City and Congress Parks are just some of the neighborhoods bustling with people and places to see.

• Black American West Museum & Heritage Center
• Center for Colorado Women's History
• Chamberlin Observatory
• Children's Museum of Denver
• Colorado State Capitol
• Denver Art Museum
• Denver Firefighters Museum
• Denver Mint
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science
• Forney Transportation Museum
• History Colorado Center
• Molly Brown House Museum

Do

Late spring and early autumn are excellent seasons to do things outdoors in Denver. Besides the city's various lush green parks, there are plenty of outdoor festivals, sports, and gondola rides. (Yes, gondola rides.) In winter, the snow-peaked mountains in the distance and the crisp air on your cheeks make it the perfect time to tour Denver's famous breweries or check out the downtown arts scene.

• Convergence Station
• The Southwest Rink at Skyline Park
• Archery Games Denver
• Elitch Gardens
• Lakeside
• Comedy Works
• Colorado Ballet
• Colorado Symphony
• Denver Center for the Performing Arts
• Opera Colorado
• Mercury Cafe
• Bluebird Theater

Eat

Mexican food is abundant and satisfying and takes a local Denver flavor. Green chili is the order of the day: a brown, chunky and spicy sauce made from pork and Pueblo or Hatch green chilies that works well on everything from chorizo and eggs to tamales. Denver is also known for "western" food using ingredients such as angus beef, buffalo, rattlesnake, cutthroat trout and Rocky Mountain oysters. The city also embraces its cultural diversity with a wide range of ethnic restaurants. Southeast Asian restaurants are especially abundant with a multitude of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in every style and price range.

Drink

Colorado produces more beer by volume than any other state and Denver ranks first for US cities. In fact, former Colorado governor (and former Denver mayor) John Hickenlooper was a microbrewer before running for office.

Stay safe

Denver is quite safe for a city its size. Use common sense when traveling, particularly in downtown and some of the other inner-city neighborhoods. Denver does have a visible population of people experiencing homelessness, but the city has strict laws about accosting for money. In general, panhandlers don't harm anyone. Downtown has a fairly active 24/7 population, especially in LoDo, so it's generally safe. Still, it may be a good idea not to travel alone at night in some of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown. Although the inner-city neighborhoods are not as bad as those in some other cities, they have higher rates of crime than the rest of the city. The rest of Denver is safe, though.