Denver sits at exactly one mile above sea level, and the Rocky Mountains begin where the suburbs end. The best of the city is in the neighbourhoods — RiNo's converted warehouses, Cheesman Park's Saturday mornings, the independent bookshops and design studios of Capitol Hill. Not a city that tries to impress. One that rewards the slow walk.
Mountain light and neighbourhood culture.
The Denver Art Museum's Frederic C. Hamilton Building by Daniel Libeskind — titanium panels faceted at oblique angles, catching mountain light differently at every hour — is one of the most architecturally resolved deconstructivist buildings in North America. RiNo (River North Art District) has the city's best warehouse-to-gallery conversions. The older Capitol Hill neighbourhood holds Victorian houses alongside modernist infill. Denver's Union Station is a well-restored 1914 Beaux-Arts terminal.
Slower than you expect for an American city of its size. The altitude makes you take things a little easier on the first day, which turns out to be the right pace.
Autumn is best: warm days, cool nights, and the mountains turning. The 300+ days of sunshine is not an exaggeration, but the dry air takes adjustment.
RiNo (River North): Warehouses converted to galleries, studios, and small restaurants. The best of Denver's creative scene is concentrated here.
Capitol Hill: Independent bookshops, vintage record stores, and the Molly Brown House. The neighbourhood that resisted gentrification most successfully.
Cheesman Park: Residential neighbourhood around a large Beaux-Arts park. Saturday mornings here are worth arranging a visit around.