Denver Attractions & Happenings
Come Early & Stay Late!
Some Denver and nearby places to visit and sights to see …
… and what’s going on during Convention week.
Plants, Gardens, & Parks * Shopping
Museums & History * Arts, Music, Theatre, & Opera
Sports * Other Local Attractions * Restaurants
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Denver Visitors Bureau
Mountain Trips & Elsewhere Beyond Denver
Plants, Gardens, & Parks
- Violet Showcase
- Our own local violet shop, run by Barb and Doug Crispin. A small shop filled with lots of violets plus other gesneriads, a variety of supplies, and singing canaries!
- Monday & Wednesday-Saturday, 10:00 – 5:00, closed Sunday and Tuesday.
- Combine with South Broadway Antique Row.
- Fantasy Orchids (near Boulder)
- A wonderful and large collection of all the orchids you could desire!
- Combine with a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion.
- Butterfly Pavilion (near Boulder)
- A butterfly tropical conservatory! 1200+ butterflies, 350+ plants. Half-mile nature trail loop (see Colorado’s prairie dogs, and many more critters). See butterflies. See butterflies. See butterflies. See butterflies … you get the idea!
- Hint: Most chrysalises open in the first hour of the morning.
- Combine with a trip to Fantasy Orchids.
- Local Nurseries
- Barr Lake State Park (northeast / Brighton
- Bald eagles! Also: coyote, deer, white pelicans, great blue herons, cormorants, egrets, and hawks.
- Activities.
- Chatfield State Park (southwest)
- Biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, more …
- Very pretty, against the foothills.
- Cherry Creek State Park (southeast)
- Trails through grasslands and marshes.
- Castlewood Canyon State Park
- Site of the ruined Cherry Creek dam.
- Trails: nature trail, dam trail, canyon and gulch trail, more. From easy to challenging.
- Denver City Parks
- Red Rocks Park (west)
- Gorgeous rock formations at the edge of the foothills.
- Concerts (check their site later for July concerts).
- More of the same magnificent geology at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.
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Shopping
- 16th Street Mall
- Larimer Square
- From their site: “Larimer Square epitomizes urban chic … This elegant, charming and completely irresistible package of dining, shopping and nightlife defines hip urban revitalization.”
- Historic Denver buildings from the city’s early days.
- Combine with 16th Street Mall, just a few blocks away.
- Park Meadows Mall (south of Denver)
- Colorado’s “retail resort.” 150+ stores plus a new street park. Don’t be fooled by their bland website – it’s the mall to see in Denver!
- South Broadway Antique Row (south Denver)
- “18 blocks of antique dealers, restaurants, galleries, and much, much, more.”
- Combine with The Violet Showcase.
- More Shopping …
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Museums & History
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Arts, Music, Theatre, & Opera
- Cherry Creek Arts Festival
- Grand outdoor visual and performing arts festival. Media: ceramics, digital art, drawing, fiber, glass, graphics and printmaking, jewelry, metalworks, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture and wood. Entertainment: stage and street performers. And more food variety than you can imagine.
- July 4, 5, 6 – all day.
- Plant lovers note: a Smith and Hawkin store is within the festival area.
- Denver Art Museum
- Boulder Dinner Theatre
- Central City Opera House (west of Denver)
- West Side Story, matinees July 2, 4, 6
- Susannah, by Carlisle Floyd, matinee July 5
- A lovely restored opera house in the gold mining mountain town of Central City. About 1 hour west of downtown Denver, via interstate 70 and an easy mountain highway. Tickets available February 1.
- Denver Symphony Orchestra
- Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
- No concerts listed yet for late June or early July.
- Denver Center for the Performing Arts
- World class shows.
- June shows. No July shows listed yet on their site.
- Heritage Square
- Shopping, amusements, and dinner theater.
- Heritage Square Music Hall
- A rollicking good time will be had by all. Be sure to practice hissing at villains! In the foothills near Golden, Colorado.
- Pepsi Center
- Check their site later in the spring for concerts and sports.
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Sports
- Coors Field
- Home of Colorado Rockies baseball.
- The Rockies’ June and July schedule.
- Home games June 30 through July 6.
- Pepsi Center
- Check their site later in the spring for concerts and sports.
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Other Interesting Local Spots
- Denver Public Library
- Known for its Western History Collection, Genealogy Section, and African American Research Library.
- Elitch Gardens
- A classic amusement park, with thrills for everyone, and a cooling water park. Close to downtown.
- NCAR ( National Center for Atmospheric Research)
- Buffalo Overlook
- Denver’s very own buffalo herd.
- Absolutely gorgeous view of the Continental Divide.
- A caveat: The herd’s grazing area extends under I-70, and they may be hiding there from the hot sun. No guarantees – you may have to buy the postcard!
- Celestial Seasonings ( Boulder)
- Denver Mint
- Denver Zoo
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Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau
A Compendium of Denver Information
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Restaurants
- Fresh Fish Company (southeast)
- A wide selection of fresh fish flown in daily.
- The Fort (west of Denver)
- A uniquely western restaurant! Eat in a real fort in the foothills west of Denver, next to Red Rocks State Park. Try buffalo, elk, quail, Colorado beef, and many more selections.
- Casa Bonita (northwest Denver)
- Perhaps Denver’s most unusual restaurant. After selecting and receiving your Mexican food (or chicken), you are led to your table in an amazing Mexican world, complete with strolling mariachi bands, flame jugglers, Mexican architecture, and cliff divers! A cautionary note: it can be quite noisy with the excited little folks running around.
- Downtown Broker
- A very elegant (and expensive) restaurant, in the old Denver National Bank building. Sit in the bank vault!
- The Brown Palace Hotel (downtown)
- Several grand (and expensive) restaurants in this luxury 115-year-old hotel.
- Buckhorn Exchange (downtown)
- Denver’s oldest restaurant (1893), serving game and steaks in a rustic atmosphere. Eat where President Theodore Roosevelt dined, founded by a member of Buffalo Bill’s scouts.
- Simm’s Landing (west of town)
- ChopHouse and Brewery (downtown)
- “Casual Elegance of the 1940’s”
- The Grizzly Rose (north Denver)
- A western nightclub, with dancing. Learn line dancing, two-step, and cowboy cha-cha! Check their site later for performers and dance nights this summer.
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Activities and Attractions Outside Denver
- West of Denver
- Golden (day trip, foothills, slight altitude)
- North and Northwest of Denver
- Boulder (foothills, short or full day trip, slight altitude)
- South of Denver
- The Mountains
- Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park (full day trip, or more)
- Estes Park: Very nice drive to Estes, tourist town, trails, altitude, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
- Rocky Mountain National Park: Drive (or take a bus) over the Continental Divide (narrow but open roads, slow driving, stunning views, high altitude). See elk (at dusk) and other wildlife (notably critters asking for peanuts!), go hiking in alpine meadows, see late wildflowers.
- Evergreen (day trip, some altitude)
- Central City & Blackhawk (day trip):
- Gambling, old mining towns.
- Georgetown (day trip, altitude)
- Victorian mining town in the mountains.
- Along the way: Buffalo Herd Overlook.
- East side of the Continental Divide. Continue over the Divide to Keystone Resort, or through the tunnel to the heart of the Rockies.
- Along the way: Idaho Springs.
- Idaho Springs (day trip, altitude)