Denver for non-skiers.
 

Hello there.we are both 60 and going to be in Denver for the first time for business. Wednesday to Saturday we decided to stay and get aquatinted with Denver.
We aren’t athletic but we want to have a good time and explore.
I would appreciate restaurants recommendations and city tours and whatnot. Anything we can do without walking. We can rent a car or anything. We aren’t limited financially so it’s a good thing.

My friend who is living there told me that if we aren’t skiing - there is really nothing to do and I refuse to believe it. Please prove me right.

thanks

Perhaps explain what "without walking" means in detail and what month you are going, next week? Can you not walk for even a few hundred yards? Can you for example stroll through a botanical garden?

I was there in April and not very far away is the Rocky Mtn Arsenal wildlife reserve which has a herd of buffalo/bison. There is a driving route through where the bison enclosure is, but also some flat walking around various ponds outside the enclosures.

I stayed near the airport in advance of a birding tour and did not go to downtown Denver. I visited several nearby sites such as the Red Rocks Park and Ampitheater. We did walk, however.

Frequent poster Melnq8 did a report a few years ago on downtown Denver. I understand the downtown situation has deteriorated (homeless, etc.) Hopefully a few who actually live nearby will chime in.
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...taway-1699213/

We are leaving Tuesday 9/26. Staying in Downtown because of the big food show we part of. If I want to find the report you mentioned.

I see the weather is going to be 85 to 50 all week so I am gathering clothes now.

We also interested in restaurants a lot. It’s part of the business. We going to have car.
I can walk but I need to stop every few min and sit down so I rather to have sightseeing bus tour or such. We just came back from San Diego and we had done quite plenty. Like bycivle rides and boat ride by my bf and boat ride by amphibia boat/bus so I was looking for this kind of activities. Thanks for chiming in

There is light rail service from the Denver airport to Union Station transportation hub in downtown Denver. Coors Field is only two blocks from Union Station. The last Colorado Rockies home game of the season is next Sunday 10/1. There are a few tours available that use e-bikes or scooters. Renting a car in downtown Denver is a little cheaper than renting at the airport.
The westbound Amtrak California Zephyr leaves Union Station a little after 8AM every morning.

tours on e-bikes and scooters? That’s interesting! Thanks. Will google.

Cheap car rental at Denver Airport, check Fox Rent a Car. It does require an airport shuttle. Does not require walking blocks from the train station, sounds like that's not an option for you anyways. Taking the train isn't always the answer to every question. Is Denver like other central business districts where overnight parking is very expensive? If so I probably would not rent a car at all.

There are good walking tours of Denver. I would call them strolling tours but you’ll have to assess.
https://historicdenver.org/tours-events/walking-tours/

The Kirkland Museum is really interesting if that rinds your bell.
https://www.kirklandmuseum.org

I would not bother having with a car for the few days you are there.

Not a foodie so can’t help you with that, but it’s been in the news that five Colorado restaurants just got a Michelin star.

We enjoyed the tour of the Denver Mint, but it's a little tricky to get on a tour. No advance tickets, , only same day, but there are multiple tours during the day (Mon.-Thurs.). And you're not allowed to bring anything with you, so you need to figure that out before you arrive for your tour.

https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-to...he-denver-mint

The Rockies are playing the Dodgers (double-header on 9/26, night games 9/27, 9/28) and then the Twins (night games 9/29, 9/30). Great baseball stadium!

The Denver Art Museum is wonderful. Has a particularly wonderful Native American area. The restaurant there is very good. The Botanical Gardens are equally great as is the Museum of Natural History. Your friend hasn't "looked around".
The train station mentioned, Union Square has excellent restaurants.
My kids live in Denver and I'll ask their faves.
BUT one not to be missed is Barolo Grill--Italian to the point you think you are there.
The Highlands area (IN Denver--not the subdivision) has some interesting restaurants AND the most wonderful cheese shop I've ever visitied--St. Killian's
Here is a link to restaurants and you will want to have an ice cream at Little Man just to say you've done it.
https://denver.eater.com/maps/best-r...ants-bars-lohi

Oh, you might want to have a wild culinary dinner--truly "wild" in the sense of wild game meats--at The Fort in Morrison, just outside Denver. Reservations a must. It is also in the Red Rocks Amphitheater area and its spectacular rockscape.

https://www.thefort.com/

Thanks a lot. It’s a wealth of info.

thank you. How would I know it without you?

One of my favorite restaurants in the US is in Denver - Rioja on Larimer Square. Do make a reservation.

I second Rocky Mtn Arsenal wildlife reserve.

And finally my favorite spice shop==Savory Spice. It is downtown near the REI store.
I don't know if the Denver Aquarium is still open but.....
Pearl Street is a fun shopping venture--and we ate at a wonderful Indian restaurant there. But a darling shop there is
Five Green Boxes. Eclectic and fun

Fox Rental is known for its dishonest policies. We got scammed by them in L.A., and there are lots of other stories like ours.

CostcoTravel.com has the best car rental rates we've found, and is easy to use.

There is plenty to do in Denver if you don't ski. Great restaurants, too. We enjoy walking through Larimer Square. There are plenty of benches there, to take a break.
https://www.larimersquare.com

Second Rioja. It’s very good!

Third vote for Rioja.

I've never rented from Fox in Los Angeles but have had good experiences both in Denver and in Austin. What was your "scam"? Did they try to upsell you? You don't have to agree to pay extra. In Denver they didn't have the small car I reserved and I got upgraded for free. I always pay with my Amex card so I can use their insurance which is by the rental period, not per day.

I've not found Costco to be any better than Priceline if Fox isn't an option. Anyways I don't think the OP really needs a rental car.

Thanks for the posts
 

Guys! We ended up finishing the business’s and moved to Brown Palace and I am thrilled! Absolutely beside myself! So much history.
this piece of the city is what is so close to my heart.
We checked in and went to La Lomma across the street: I agree - this is a great restaurant except I don’t like Mexican food and it was not my cup of tea though it’s me. It’s not the restaurant’s fault.

Tomorrow we are driving to Rocky Mountains and will stay as long as we can. Planning to come back by dinner and have a meal at Palace Arms which looks amazing! I want to start with manicure at SPA but we will see.

today we also walked in the free club luncheon/dinner and it was spectacular. Felt like home. Waiter was like an old friend and the cake was HUGE!

If I start from the beginning - we stayed at Hilton Hardens and it was kind of funny to have the room for $384 with scratched up worned out table and nothing to justify the price but it is next to Convention Venter so we needed that.
We went to TSK for dinner and while ambiance was amazing - the food was…hard to describe!
for the price was charged!!! Ribeye steak was tough and cheap. My crab cake was cold. Sent back. Came back ok…on outside. Sent back! Sides ($19) spinach and mushrooms - A LOT! but nothing Special. My BF Chilean Sea bass was…awful! We didn’t understand what was THAT! But we shared everything between 3 of us and it was so small and fell apart in strange sauce…bad!
Each meal was about $50 - $80 and nothing to show for! I hate unjustified pricing for food they can’t make!!!
We ended the day at hotel’s bar which was fun!
BTW the Hilton Gardens has $20 breakfast - you can load the tray and eat it all day! They don’t care. Eat in or take to the room - there are paper bags to carry food to the room. Most generous place for breakfast I’ve seen ever…

So tomorrow we renting car and driving up to the mountains. BF wanted to stay in the lodge but I wanted to be back to Brown Palace - my heart belongs there…

Thanks to all of you. Our next travel is Vermont.
Then Long Island. Then Italy. And maybe CA in between. It’s all dictated by my BF work.
Now he wants to see The Mint and I told him figure out how to have nothing with us (according to your post above) - we will see. Thanks