10 Things To Do In Denver During Your Trip

Denver is a constantly growing and fast paced city. It’s not the “cow-town” it once was. From Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Museums and Night life, you name it. Are you making a visit? Planning on what to do? See if these 10 things to in Denver during your trip are worth checking out.

1.) Sporting Events

Catch a game. Denver has 6 professional sports teams. Chances are there is some event going on, and unless were talking football, prices are pretty affordable. Denver Broncos (football), Colorado Rockies (Baseball), Denver Nuggets (Basketball), Colorado Avalanche (Hockey), Colorado Rapids (Soccer) and the Colorado Mammoth (Lacrosse). Surely there is a sport that interests you and Denver has it.

2.) Arts and Entertainment

If going to you sporting event is not your cup of tea, another thing to do in Denver is go to the Theater. The Theater scene is thriving in Denver with a diverse mix of small home grown theaters to catching a touring production or the Symphony at the Denver Center for Performing arts. The DCPA is the second largest theater complex of its kind (next to the Lincoln Center in New York City). With a total of 8 stages Denver can offer National Touring productions, The Symphony, Comedy shows and various straight plays. The Colorado Ballet and Opera Colorado are also strong contenders, especially around the holidays.

3.) Walking Tours

Denver became a city during the gold rush period. As any city with history will offer you, one thing you can do in Denver is a walking tour. The tours can range from Historical highlights, Downtown to uptown, Capital hill tours, ghost tours even to the Molly Brown house. That’s right, the unsinkable Molly Brown lived a majority of her life in Denver and you can chose a walking tour to find out more about it.

4.) 16th Street Mall

16th street mall is the center point of downtown Denver. From shopping, restaurants, bowling, movie theaters, street vendors and live chess games, 16th street is one thing in Denver that the whole family can enjoy. When the sun is out yo can take a gorgeous to stroll down and enjoy the street arts and live entertainment. Yet, when the weather is cold as the holidays get closer, the trees are decorated with lights, the German market fills up a few blocks as well as the winter ice skating rink right below the iconic clock tower.

5.) Union Station

Union station has become a big part of Lower Downtown. It used to be a washed up old train station, but since the light rail has took off in the Denver Metro Area, it is easy to access, acting as a center hub for suburbs to get downtown by train, as well as the airport. It offers restaurants, bars, activities, shopping and fountains in the summer time for kids to play in. Things to do at Union Station: You can catch breakfast there at Snooze, which is always packed, grab dinner at one of the gourmet restaurants, or stop by for some ice cream after a ball game, as Union Station is just a few blocks from Coors field.

6.) Music and Night Life

The variety of night life just add to the things you can do in Denver on your trip. Jazz at jacks, Nocturne, and Dazzle all offer a variety of Jazz shows for your entertainment. If you are looking for a more “hopping” scene you can check out Club Vinyl, The Church night club (which is located in an old church), The Clock Tower Cabaret or even the Grizzly Rose- which keeps Colorado to it’s country roots as one of the best Country Western Night Clubs in the U.S.

7.) Denver Zoo

Located right behind city park, the 100+ year old Denver Zoo is just one thing in Denver to do on your trip. It is the most popular paid attraction in the Denver area. A very affordable and family friendly option, the Denver Zoo is loved by locals as it continues to grow. If you are making that trip out for the holidays, Be sure to check out “Boo at the Zoo” for Halloween and the “Denver Zoo” lights as they immerse the whole Zoo with decorated lights for a magical experience.

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8.) Museums

One of things about Denver is that they are rich in History. There are plenty of Museums to explore in the Metro area. In recent years, the Denver Art museum has grown by a extra building as well as going through remodeling. It sits in Capital hill across from the State Capital. Surrounding it are the Clifford Still Museum, The Kirkland Museum as well as the Colorado History Museum all with in blocks of each other. The Natural History museum lies behind the Zoo and the Children’s Museum is on the west side of downtown. Always something to see as touring exhibits are always coming through.

9.) Elitch Gardens Amusement Park

Better known to visitors as six flags, Elitch Gardens is Denver’s largest amusement park. The original Elitch Gardens was in the historic Highlands neighborhood but was moved closer to downtown in the 1990’s. The reason for this was to expand the park. Prices can be kind of high, after all it is a six flags. But it is a great escape for the whole family and the addition of the water park makes the price a little bit worth it.

10.) Brewery Tours

Denver is a Beer City, therefore Brew tours are the things to do. There are over 100 brew pubs in the Denver Metro area alone. Coors Brewery is located in Golden, just 20 mins west of Denver. It feels like every corner you stop at has a brewery on it (they are more popular than Starbucks). If you are a beer fan, Denver is a great place to check out the generous selection of local beer brewed in town and State wide. Check out the Colorado Beer Tour App as that might help you decide which brewery you want to try first and keep track so you can try a new one next time you visit.

Denver’s population is growing fast which means this city is absolutely thriving. And it is obvious why. Sporting events, night life, entertainment ad over 100 breweries just in the city means this town will definitely leave you with things to do in Denver.