The Denver Traveler

This is a guest post from Mary Jo Manzanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor and blogger at Flyaway Cafe

Here’s my list of a dozen enjoyable, relaxing, and fun things to do in the Mile High City: 

1. Visit the Denver Art Museum (south end of the Civic Center on 14th Avenue Parkway).  Its facade of glass tiles makes the building itself a work of art (in photo above).
2. Visit Colorado’s State Capitol building (between East 14th and East Colfax).  Go up the steps at the west entrance, and stand on the 13th step.  You’ll be one mile above sea level – enjoying the Mile High City.
3. Visit Larimer Square (1400 Larimer Street) to see Civil War-era buildings revitalized into a historical downtown shopping area, restaurant district, and entertainment center.
4. Make a mint, or at least watch the process of coins being made, at the U.S Mint (320 West Colfax).
5. Take a stroll through the Museum of Outdoor Arts in the Englewood Civic Center.  Over 100 pieces of art are on display throughout the Civic Center and the Greenwood Plaza Business Park.  Maps can be picked up at the museum’s indoor gallery on floor two of the Civic Center (1000 Englewood Parkway, Suite 2-230).
6. Go to back to college with a visit to one of several campuses, including the University of Denver (2199 South University Boulevard) and a branch of the University of Colorado Denver (downtown at Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway).
7. Commune with nature at the Denver Botanic Gardens (1005 York Street), as you discover and appreciate the flora of the Rocky Mountain State.
8. Relax in City Park in photo right), enjoying Duck Lake as well as the gardens, fountains and monuments in the park (between 17th and 23rd Avenue and York Street and Colorado Boulevard).
9. Kid around with mountain goats and other creatures at the Denver Zoo (2300 Steele Street, located in City Park.
10. Celebrate the American spirit with a visit to the home of the political activist, the“Unsinkable” Molly Brown, now the Molly Brown House Museum (1340 Pennsylvania Street).  This item is my only nod to the politics of the week.
11. (Visit some real sharks at the Downtown Aquarium (700 Water Street in Qwest Park).
12. Pretend you are in Venice, with a gondola-style boat ride on the South Platte River.  Boats leave from Larimer Street, between 14th Street and Speer Boulevard.

Please add you favorite Denver escape to the list! 

Photo credit:  Denver Art Museum; City Park

________________________________

Comments Off

This is a guest post from Mary Jo Manzanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor and blogger at Flyaway Cafe
 
About ten minutes east of downtown Denver are 23 acres of gardens and plants that will make you feel like your much further away from the concrete of the city.  The Denver Botanic Gardens (1005 York Street, Denver) contain 45 gardens and over 32,000 plants.  (I discovered the York Street gardens while on a shopping expedition; they are very near the Cherry Creek Mall.)
The gardens represent a wide range of gardening styles and plant collections, covering diverse parts of the …read more

Comments Off

When your time is up, your time is up. And it has come to pass that The Denver Traveler’s time is up. This is the last post for The Denver Traveler and it is with mixed emotions that we post it. Alicia and I have been so glad to have this time with all of you. We hope you found some topics helpful and others interesting. We did our best to bring you the best of Denver and the truth about traveling through, staying for a bit, or settling down in our town.
Denver may not be a major metropolis …read more

13 Comments

Want a place that makes you feel at home? Need a spot where they’d scream your name in greeting if they knew it? Tired of going out late to find no grill open?
Shelby’s is the place for you! Shelby’s Bar and Grill- where the locals have been gathering since 1906. Located at 18th and Glenarm, Shelby’s is the last free standing bar in Denver. The building started as a private home and even did a stint as a mortuary! Now, however, it is an unassuming and delightful treat of an establishment. Dark green booths and wooden tables, a small back …read more

1 Comment

The Denver Broncos as shot by Flickr user Jeffery Beall. They lost this game to the San Diego Chargers.
[photo-Flickr]

Comments Off

Here at The Denver Traveler we have hinted at this a few times, but it is time to get serious about it.
Altitude Sickness
It is no joke. As Denver is situated at 5,280 feet above sea level- many who visit, or have just relocated here, certainly feel the affects of this High Altitude and often get sick. The cause of Altitude Sickness is the thinner air at higher altitudes does not give you the amount of oxygen you need. When this happens it can affect your lungs and brains.
Symptoms of Altitude Sickness include:
Headaches
Lack of Appetite
Feeling Weak and Lazy
Sick to your …read more

3 Comments

Once upon a time in 1864 there was a new department store called Daniels and Fisher. In 1910 to add to its charm a Tower was erected to resemble a bell tower in Venice. Perhaps this is not what one expects to see in the middle of Downtown Denver, yet it is this weeks Must See!
As part of the Daniels and Fisher department store, the D & F tower became the tallest structure in Denver. You may have heard or have a memory of May D & F, this is because in 1957 the May Company bought Daniels and Fisher …read more

Comments Off

This awesome photo of the Denver skyline during one of our thunderstorms was snapped by Flickr user refractor.
[photo: Flickr]

3 Comments

If you haven’t heard already, today is 93.3’s Big Gig music festival out at Fiddler’s Green. What’s the Big Gig you might ask? Well, if you’ve ever been to Lollapalooza, the Warped Tour, or Ozzfest, you have a general idea of what to expect. An outdoor, all day concert featuring both big name groups and a bunch of super talented locals from right here in Colorado. On the ticket to perform is The Offspring, Paramore, the Dropkick Murphys, the Spill Canvas, Dropping Daylight, Skyfox, and Denver’s own The Flobots. Appearing on the Local’s Only stage are Life …read more

Comments Off

Rollercoaster aficionados are well versed in The Cyclone of Coney Island, New York. It is a legend among roller coasters and a landmark for the state of New York. It is perhaps the roller coaster that set the standards for all other roller coasters to live up to.
Have no fear, if you are visiting Denver from the east, or have always longed to see the Cyclone up close and personal- we have one here.
Lakeside Amusement Park is the proud home of The Cyclone roller coaster- built in the honor of the original in New York. It is tall, intimidating, and- …read more

Comments Off