Anything to do in Denver?
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Colorado in March. We'll be spending a few days in Breckenridge and a few days in Boulder. We can't decide whether to spend a day in Denver or not. We've been getting mixed reviews from people who have spent time there on whether it's worth it. Any comments or suggestions?

Denver is a great town with lots to do. Good shopping. Good restaurants. Denver Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum are wonderful. New aquarium. Zoo. Botanical Garden. Butterfly pavilion. What do you want to do? You may get caught up on Boulder in less than a couple of days unless you have business/friends/etc. there.

Gretchen- Thanks for your reply. I have an aunt in Boulder, so we'll spend some time with her while we're there. We're also planning on staying at a B&B and exploring the town while we're there.<BR><BR>My husband and I live in Washington, DC, so our lives are usually filled with museums and art galleries. We haven't spent much time in the west, so we'd really like to do something different-- eat regional food, take in the culture, see some interesting sights (natural or otherwise). We'll have a car, so if you have any other suggestions of things not to miss in Colorado, I'd love your input!

As someone who has lived in both DC and Colorado, you will not find any world class cultural institutions in Colorado so I would stick with more natural scenery. The Denver Art Musuem and the Natural History Museum pale in comparison to the museums on the East Coast. Denver is nothing special. The shopping, the restaurants, etc. tend to be chains without much character. It is one of those sprawling cities like Dallas (i.e. a small downtown area with lots of suburban areas). If I were you, I would go to Rocky Mountain National Park, which is not too far from the Denver/Boulder area instead. It will be a little cold in March, but you can still see tons of wildlife by just driving around and the views are great.

Denver has an aquarium? Does anyone else think that's kind of srange? That would be kind of like Boston having a museum dedicated to bison, prarie dogs, etc.<BR><BR>I don't mean to pick on Denver (I actually love Colorado), but an aquarium in a land-locked city seems so out of context.

Amy, If you're going to to be making your way between Denver and Boulder, you'll want to stop about halfway in between in Westminster for the good shopping. The TJ Maxx on West 88th always seems to have a good selection at good value prices. CR

I doubt if there will be any shows there in March, but the Red Rocks Amphitheater is awesome! Not only is it a unique setting, but the view of Denver is wonderful. We thought it was well worth taking a few minutes to stop by and see it.

My thoughts:<BR><BR>Unless you are into western art, there's not much within the city of Denver that you can't get better on the east coast.<BR><BR>So I second the recommendation of getting to the mountains nearby. There's lots of wonderful mountain drives and hikes near either Denver or Boulder. March CAN have terrible weather in the Rockies, so watch the weather carefully!<BR><BR>If you can't decide where to go, just drive into Rocky Mountain Nat Park for a day. It'll probably be better than anything in Denver itself.

I agree with Dawn, and I live in Denver as well. Denver has anything that the average medium-sized city has, so enjoy Boulder, but don't bother spending time in Denver. There are not a lot of sites of historic interest, though you could visit the Molly Brown (of Titanic fame) house.<BR><BR>The Fort, a restaurant in the foothills west of Denver, has nice views of the city and the plains, and an unusual selection of different kinds of animal meats. It's a recreation of Bent's Fort, the original of which was located south of here (and was destroyed). In Denver, there's the Denver Buffalo Company, which is not an outstanding restaurant, but will give you many opportunities to try buffalo, if you've never had that.<BR> <BR>In March, there won't be much open at Rocky Mountain National Park; the pass definitely won't be open. <BR><BR>The dinosaur park, in the foothills by Morrison (can't remember the exact name or location) is interesting, and there probably won't be snow there. This is an area where dinosaur footprints are evident in the rocks & hillsides.<BR><BR>Garden of the Gods, down by Colorado Springs, is supposed to be interesting, but you may not want to make the drive.<BR><BR>Boulder is pretty and the mountains are great, so enjoy your stay!

Well, gee, all you Denverites that are so unhappy. I don't live in Denver but do enjoy it. The museums there do have excellent American Indian exhibits that I don't think I have seen in Washington--unless the long proposed/planned Museum of the American Indian has finally opened at the Smithsonian. The Fort has an interesting menu--much more than buffalo. Can we only have aquariums(a) at the coast. Really now-- how provincial. After all, the Tennessee Aquarium is in Chatanooga. Ocean Journey is quite new and interesting. There is a very good Japanese restaurant called Domo--country Japanese menu that is very different from the usual. Agree that Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park is beautiful but the Trail Ridge Road will still be closed. I do have to admit that competing with Washington (I have also lived there) is difficult but I think many places are interesting in their own right. Not everything needs to be compared.

Even though the pass is closed in Rocky Mountain National Park during the winter, tons of other roads are open. I was there in December two years ago and we were able to drive almost everywhere that we wanted to go. We saw lots of elk, deer and other cute critters. Another great part of going during the winter is that most people think the park is closed so it is really just you and the animals.<BR><BR>I also second the Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs) idea. You could go to the park and then have lunch in Manitou Springs, which is a cute village outside Colorado Springs.<BR><BR>

Just wanted to clarify-- I'm definitely not trying to compare Denver to DC. I was just answering Gretchen's question about what we'd like to do while we're in Colorado. I'm so excited about seeing something different-- huge tall mountains, powdery white snow (we usually get ice and rain in DC), different food (buffalo sounds great!) and a neat, granola college town. So please, Denverites, don't be offended! Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm getting excited about our trip already!

Does anyone else feel that Boulder is not the "granola college town" that some may think it is? We visited several years ago and were shocked at all of the dilapidated, rundown housing surrounding the campus. It looked more like a ghetto than a college town. And downtown Boulder! Yick! It was a haven for young panhandlers and drug addicts. Has the city cleaned this up at all?

Nobody mentioned Figure Skating hall of fame in Colorado Springs which is so close to Denver! :((

Boulder is no longer a granola college town because the granola's can no longer afford the real estate - the college area has been invaded by single families and that has become some of the priciest parts of Boulder. And yes, Boulder HAS cleaned up the panhandlers - I agree, it had gotten out of hand.<BR>I have freinds who relate Boulder to some sort of Disney Land because things are so neat, clean and picturesque.

If you are from DC, skip the day in Denver. Not an awful place - just a typical small feeling city with not much going on. The one thing that is worth it is the well preserved neighborhoods of craftsmen bungalows, and other 1920s suburban architecture. Otherwise, I'd stick to Boulder and the gorgeous natural scenery. BOulder, which has been gapified - it's not run own - is more interesting than Denver.<BR><BR>If you do want to look at the houses, look at Capitol Hill, Congress Park, and Wash Park. 7th in Congress park is a particularly attractive street.<BR><BR>Net net, Denver has surprisingly little to offer for a city its size. Its best compared to Tysons corner.<BR>

I have lived in Colorado since 1989.Personally I (as long as friends that live in Boulder) would rather go to Denver. In Boulder I would say the only attraction are street performers and shopping on Pearl Street and there are many hippies. My suggestions are that you don't miss the mountains, Breckenridge is one of my favorite towns and is very close to other resort towns. If you go to Denver, I would say have tea at the Brown Palace hotel(built a long time ago and it's not a chain).Maybe go see Molly Browns house in Capitol Hill area,has many historical homes in that area. Check out the tigers and sharks at Ocean Journey. I wouldnt make the trip to Colo Springs for Garden of the Gods because Red Rocks is virtually the same thing and Morrison is right down the road (for a small town).I think The Fort is pretty close to Morrison and I have heard it is very good but somewhat expensive(has a very interesting menu).<BR><BR>Also in Downtown Denver, Panzano is an Italian restraunt that was recently featured on Food Network for Best Italian Food. I would also suggest going to Estes Park, which is somewhat close to Boulder.Rocky Mountain Park is there as well and the Stanley hotel is there(the hotel that The Shinning was based of off).<BR><BR>If it is still running in March, you could take the ski train from Denver to Winter Park.Its less than two hour trip and gives an excellent view of the mountains. I would assume it will still be ski season so they would run, once ski season is over they stop breifly and resume for summer mountain biking. Hope you have a good time.

My friends enjoy a trip to the Coors Brewery for an interesting little tour and free beer at the end.

I may have missed some comments but I live in Denver and love it. Lots to do downtown, great resturants, shopping, art galleries. Sure I love Boulder too, why not spend time in both. Try the Hotel Monaco or Hotel Teatro.(sp?) More modest accomodations is the LoDo Inn. Great bikes path all through town. I have to say that I have travelled and lived many places and Denver is the best!!! If you make it my favorite resturant is Vesta Dipping Grill

We took a two week trip and ended our last night in Denver at the Brown Palace. It was lovely and we had an unexpected treat at the bar downstairs. We left the kids in the room with Nintendo and went downstairs to see the lobby. The bar was pretty crowded and when we walked in we had the best entertainment from local singers. We had fun!!!! It was a wonderful way to end our trip. I would definitely stay there again.<BR>

This is a fun one to read, especially for me, after having lived in Denver, Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and now DC (among other places).<BR><BR>Will you be skiing in Breckenridge? If so, use the extra time after Boulder to do a snowmobile tour in the Rocky Mountain National Park -- or near Evergreen...or in Winter Park. There's no better way to appreciate the beauty of the forest.<BR><BR>As much as I love Colorado, I would never really recommend Denver to visit. I tell my friends that it's just like Kansas City or St. Louis or Cleveland, etc. except that it happens to be located sorta close to the mountains. (At least an hour...)<BR><BR>Garden of the Gods in the Springs is beautiful, but moreso in the summer. Actually, I'd skip Manitou also.<BR><BR>Sorry to be negative...just my thoughts.

I LOVE Denver, although in your case one day might suffice since you'll be visiting Colorado for the scenery. If you are into antiquing or digging in "junk shops" for treasures, you should not miss the strip of shops on Broadway. I live in NYC and find collectibles shopping in Denver that would cost triple here.<BR><BR>If that's not your thing, there is some good dining in Denver as well. <BR><BR>Lastly, I have to agree with the previous poster about a Coors brewery tour, it's great fun!<BR><BR>Marlena