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- Downtown Tour
- Denver’s “Wild West” History
- Touring Metro Denver
Denver presents its official face to the world at the Civic Center, a three-block-long park that runs from Bannock Street to Broadway south of Colfax Avenue and north of 14th Avenue. To the east, lawns, gardens, and a Greek amphitheater form a serene backdrop for the State Capitol. Southeast of the Civic Center on Broadway is the vibrant Colorado History Museum. Walk west one block on 13th Avenue to reach the Denver Public Library's Central Library, and cross over Acoma Plaza (or take the underground walkway) to the Denver Art Museum. The Byers-Evans House Museum, a snapshot of Denver's Victorian beginnings, is just south of here on Bannock Street.
Head back to 14th Avenue and turn left to reach the U.S. Mint, the source of all those coins stamped with a D. From the mint, continue north on Cherokee Street to Tremont Place and the Denver Firefighters Museum. A block away on 14th Street is the Trianon Museum and Art Gallery.
Continue on Tremont Place to the Denver Pavilions, an open-air shopping and entertainment complex. Farther up the street is the 1892 Brown Palace hotel. Walk or catch a free shuttle up the pedestrian-only 16th Street Mall. As you head north you'll see the Daniels and Fisher Tower. Just past it is the festive Tabor Center mall. Across 16th Street from Tabor Center is Writer Square, whose shops line the entrance to classy Larimer Square. LoDo, the hip arts district, is northwest of Larimer Square.
Timing
Downtown is remarkably compact and can be toured on foot in an hour or less, but a car is recommended for exploring outside of downtown proper. The Denver Art Museum merits at least two to three hours and the Colorado History Museum can be covered in an hour or two. Once you've done the museum rounds, save some time for browsing and people-watching along the 16th Street Mall and Larimer Square. LoDo is a 30-block-square area that takes a few hours to meander through.
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