Things to do in Denver when you're dead^H^H^H^Hthere

djmitchella

I'm going to be in Denver the weekend after next, arriving Friday lunchtime, leaving Monday lunchtime (flying).

What should I see/do while I'm there? I'm going to the TMBG and kd lang concerts on saturday/sunday, so weekend evenings are covered, but what should I see during the day? There's no end of websites that give me suggestions for museums and stuff, but I also really like just wandering around places I haven't been, and just looking at bits of city,[ so if there's anywhere that's particularly worth walking around/looking at, that's the sort of thing I'm after. Is there somewhere I should try and get to for food?

Also, how practical is it to walk from Englewood (the Gothic Theater in particular) back to downtown (at night)? The distance isn't an issue, I like to walk, but google maps makes it difficult to tell if the road's actually suitable for pedestrians or if I'll end up stuck needing to crosss a freeway / in sketchy parts of town / etc.

Deadfall

Do you like beer? There's a brewery on almost every corner downtown. Or if you like old timey (hipstery) cocktails I can recommend a few speakeasy style bars. One is hidden away behind an ice cream shop.

What's your food budget like? Most of the restaurants downtown proper are pretty pricey but there are some gems. I can personally recommend Euclid Hall. Hops and Pie is another personal favorite for more casual, and that's in the trendy Highlands neighborhood. Biker Jim's Hotdogs is a pretty good staple for more casual grub. He serves stuff like rattlesnake and elk dogs.

Or if you hang out at the breweries, there are about a thousand good food trucks that park there. The Marquis Theater has decent pizza and has small concerts all the time.

Depending on where your hotel is, I don't think I'd walk from the Gothic. That's a hell of a hike. Uber and Lyft are everywhere down here though, you shouldn't have trouble getting a ride.

As for sights, I'm not sure. Aside from the obvious million hiking trails. I like the zoo, but I find the Aquarium pretty underwhelming.

zepherin

djmitchella wrote: »

I'm going to be in Denver the weekend after next, arriving Friday lunchtime, leaving Monday lunchtime (flying).

What should I see/do while I'm there? I'm going to the TMBG and kd lang concerts on saturday/sunday, so weekend evenings are covered, but what should I see during the day? There's no end of websites that give me suggestions for museums and stuff, but I also really like just wandering around places I haven't been, and just looking at bits of city,[ so if there's anywhere that's particularly worth walking around/looking at, that's the sort of thing I'm after. Is there somewhere I should try and get to for food?

Also, how practical is it to walk from Englewood (the Gothic Theater in particular) back to downtown (at night)? The distance isn't an issue, I like to walk, but google maps makes it difficult to tell if the road's actually suitable for pedestrians or if I'll end up stuck needing to crosss a freeway / in sketchy parts of town / etc.

It's not sketchy really, but it is an annoying walk. Take the 0. It's a bus, it runs all the time and it goes up Broadway. It's a straight shot downtown. You just need to cross the street. Last bus runs at 2:30am in that hood.

Eat a smothered burrito while you are there, wit the green chili. I have always been fond of El Tejado, it is near the Gothic theater. Santiago's is also pretty good, and so is 4 G's. Smothered Breakfast burritos are totally awesome all over.

If the concert gets out late you can stop by illegal Pete's. That's pretty good too, and sorta specializes in the I'm drunk and the bars have all let out.

djmitchella

thanks!

zepherin

I also a forgot, 16th street mall has a free bus so if you need to go east to west and you are downtown and near 16th street hit it. Especially if your hotel/B&B is near there, and it is a good way to get to lodo, and lodo and 16th street mall have some cool places, The 1up bar (old school arcade with good beer), some really awesome restaurants (Jax, Cholan, Red square Bistro), that might be a bit spendy. In regards to the Museums and other items. Denver museum of nature and science and the zoo are right near each other and they are 17 bucks and 13 bucks for admission, and the Botanical Gardens are 12.50, but the Botanical gardens are in a different area.

The museum and zoo are quite excellent, but they aren't really near anything else so it's not like DC where they have their own metro stop and are easy to get too.

djmitchella

Made it to Denver, had a great time, made it back -- thanks for the tips! I did eat at El Tejado and Euclid Hall while I was passing them, both of which were great (also Cuba Cuba Cafe, City O City, Snooze, Honor Society, Dozens, some other places, I think)

I managed the walk back from the Gothic to the hotel; it was fine, and took about an hour and a half, and was pretty relaxed all in all. (almost exactly four episodes of Welcome To Night Vale, at any rate).

If anyone reads this in future, a couple of things I found out while there that were handy -- there's the "Mile High Culture Pass", which for $30 got me access to:

• the zoo (busy but well laid out and pretty relaxing to wander. Also, though their web site doesn't mention it, they have a kea!. I don't know if his name is Charlie, though)
• the botanical gardens (which I suspect would be better on-season, but were still a nice place to hang out, and the tropical indoors bit was still open and full of flowers and greenery)
• the denver art gallery (only half open right now, the other bits are under construction, but it's a neat building no matter what)
• the Clyfford Still gallery (great building and gallery spaces, I just wish I liked the guy's actual art more)
• the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art (which had its grand opening at the new location the day is was there, is jammed chock full of 20th century decor/crafts/furniture, and also Vance Kirkland is a pretty awesome artist that I'd never heard of before, so that was really fun)
• the History Colorado Center (which I liked, but I like that sort of thing in general)
• (and the Museum of Nature and Science, which I didn't make it into in the end because I was running low on time)

(so I got about $75's worth of entrance out of it even missing one place, which is a pretty decent deal; there's other discounts as well but I only had so much time)

Also, Denver has a bike share program, which is accessible to visitors as long as you have a credit card; I just got the 24 hour membership and kept on using my credit card as 'ID' the second/third/...times I picked up a bike, and it kept on letting me go.

(and Denver has a juggling club that meets on Sundays, which was an amazingly pleasant surprise to find as I rode through Cheesman Park)

Photos:

Denver + the mountains, from far away:

from the airport:

and the shot I saw on postcards, from the steps of the museum of nature and science:


another postcard shot, the art gallery:

hang on, that's not the one I meant. Here we go:


in other tourist default things-to-do, I saw the big blue bear:


and the capitol:

and stood one mile up:


Here's the hotel I was in;

It was mostly fine; shared bathrooms are okay with me, but the plumbing woke me up at 3am every day sounding as if someone was repairing their truck with an air wrench in the alleyway or something, it is not the most modern hotel you'll find.

The cycle path along Cherry Creek was a very pleasant ride:


and I liked the architecture at the airport and train station:




thanks again for the suggestions!

firewaterword

Now this is how you do a travel thread follow-up! Sounds like you had a great time, your photos really make me want to go back.

Casually Hardcore

I still can't believe I know people who are angry about the light rail being built. 'they're using my money to build a choo choo train!'