Denver and Colorado Holidays

What are the best things to do in Denver?

1. Rocking out in the Rockies: visit the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. This one-of-a-kind concert venue is an amphitheatre cut out of the landscape in this city park. Carved from a Martian-red backdrop of craggy cliffs the concert venue is 16 miles west of the city. Enjoy concerts under the stars from every seat of this near-10,000 capacity space.
2. What’s brewing in Denver? There are more craft ales, breweries and ale appreciators here than in any other American city. The oldest, Tivoli Brewing Company, opened in 1859, while Wynkoop Brewing Company is notorious for experimenting with everything from roasted bull testicles to spicy ancho peppers, if you please. After that you might well be ready for some on-tap therapy at Denver’s Beer Spa. Visit in autumn for the annual giant Great American Beer Festival (GABF), one of the largest in the world.
3. Big, brash and undeniably bold, the Rockies are one of the world’s most iconic ranges. Some peaks rise 4,000 metres, and you’ll find anything from rivers, waterfalls, alpine fields and snow-capped peaks. Take the high road to Trail Ridge Road (up to 3,600 metres) or if you prefer, you can walk with a ranger to spot elks, moose and bears. Colorado Springs is where you’ll find the stunning formations of the Garden of the Gods Park or head to Cave of the Winds Mountain Park, offering cave tours and a zip line. Seven Falls offers an impressive 55-metre waterfall or hop on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway for panoramic views.
4. Where can you discover Denver's art scene? Santa Fe is a good start. Set within the ‘Golden Triangle’ area, you’ll find the reopened Denver Art Museum, with fashion and textiles including Native American works. Also here is the Clyfford Still Museum, holding the artist’s abstract art. For art with an edge, check out the Museum of Contemporary Art in LoDo, or the Meow Wolf exhibition at Convergence Station, while for regional artists, check out gems like Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. If you’re looking for where ‘art is born’ head to RiNo, where you can rub shoulders with creatives through open studios or take a graffiti tour. Other spots include Tennyson Street Cultural District, in the Berkeley neighbourhood, or Westwood Creative District, in the south west around Morrison Road, for the city’s Mexican American roots.
5. Aside from its red-rock amphitheatre, there’s plenty: see the Denver Center for the Performing Arts – the second-largest complex of its sort in the whole US to the November-based Denver Film Festival, displaying some 250 plus films from indies to hits. By night, explore the historic and bohemian vibe of Larimer Square, which becomes a sassy spot for dinner, local bands or stellar live performances at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox.
6. Union Station’s facelift has been so effective you’d never guess it’s 150 plus years old. Revamped in 2014, it now forms one of the city’s central bustling bases with its 12,000-square-feet atrium adorned with cocktail bars, boutiques, restaurants, indie bookstores and shops. You’ll find it in the city’s buzzing LoDo area.
7. Denver’s denizens love two wheels. It’s impossible to miss them, what with 85 miles of cycling trails stretching around the city, decent bike-sharing schemes and bike hire stations generously dotted about. It’s a great and green way to explore the city’s colourful and cool districts.