Denver Essential Info
Overview
Denver is an outdoor city filled with urban adventures. It’s known for its world-class cultural attractions, thriving craft breweries, chef-owned restaurants and diverse music scene, all within easy reach of the Rocky Mountains.
Situated in the South Platte River Valley, this modern city draws openness from the Great Plains to the east and embraces the spectacular views of the mountains to the west. Residents of this mile-high landscape are noted for their sunny dispositions—to match the area’s 300 days of sunshine—and can-do attitudes. It’s very much a “maker culture,” where anything is possible.
So where do you begin? Park the car and explore the walkable downtown on your own two feet or get your heart pumping by renting a bicycle from Denver B-cycle. Check out Larimer Square and historic LoDo (Lower Downtown) where Victorian brick buildings have been transformed into chef-driven restaurants, specialty boutiques, art galleries and cocktail lounges. Or head to Union Station, a renovated Beaux-Arts train station that’s home to 10 chef-owned restaurants and bars, boutique shops and the 112-room Crawford Hotel. It’s not far to the Golden Triangle Creative District where you’ll find some of the city’s finest museums. And don’t miss the River North Art District (RiNo) where historic warehouses and factories now house jazz bars, restaurants, craft breweries and art galleries.
Basics
Best Time To Go
Apr-Oct
Current Time
Current Weather
Mostly Cloudy
Fun Facts
- The Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second-largest venue of its kind in the United States and features an annual ensemble of Broadway touring shows.
- Denver is only one of three U.S. cities that has seven professional sports teams for year-round excitement.
- Denver Art Museum has one of the largest collections of American West-themed art in the world.
- The city has its own American bison herd, which can be seen just off Interstate 70 on the way to Colorado’s ski country.
- Denver is located at 5,280 feet. A step on the Colorado State Capitol Building is exactly one mile above sea level.
- William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a cultural icon of the Old West, was buried on Lookout Mountain in nearby Golden, which overlooks the places where he spent his life, the Rockies to the west and the plains to the east.
- Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater may look man-made, but it’s actually a naturally formed concert venue, which was millions of years in the making.
Popular Foods
- Green chile: If you’ve never tried this quintessential Denver ingredient, you’ll find it in endless varieties to spice up already delicious Mexican dishes.
- Local ingredients: Denver’s restauranteurs strive to source local as much as possible like Palisade peaches, Colorado lamb and Olathe corn.
- Gourmet food markets: Go on a one-stop culinary adventure. To get a sample of Denver’s best offerings, head to Denver Central Market, home to a bodega selling milk, eggs, butter, yogurt and bulk coffee; a meat and cheese shop; a bakery; a full-service fish market; a butcher; and a chocolate shop. Not far away is The Source, where you’ll find just-baked breads, artisan cheese, organic wine and small-batch spirits.
- Unusual meats: The Wild West lives on at Denver’s oldest restaurant, The Buckhorn Exchange. Feast on elk, ostrich and yak meat. At The Fort Restaurant in Morrison, you’ll find Rocky Mountain oysters and bison eggs, among other things.