Fodor's Expert Review Colorado Renaissance Festival

The small town of Larkspur is home to just a couple hundred residents, but it knows how to throw a heck of a party—and a medieval one at that. On weekends in summer, the Colorado Renaissance Festival annually hosts throngs of families, chain-mail-clad fantasy enthusiasts, and fun-lovers of every other kind. Within about 350 wooded acres there are performers who deliver everything from juggling stunts and fire-eating to hypnotism and comedy. The big event happens three times a day, when knights square off in the arena for a theatrical joust. There are also more than 200 artisans selling their wares, as well as games, rides, and myriad food and drink booths.