Rent a car if possible for day trips to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Estes Park, or Boulder.
I love all these ideas! Thanks so much! I’m having fun planning.
Yes, carry water and chapstick. Lots of it!
Larimer Square for quaint shopping/food, Tattered Book Store for browsing/tea/coffee and scones.
We ate here for a fast easy lunch a couple weeks ago - it was DELICIOUS and reasonable. Four of us with different tastes and everyone was happy. You could also feel comfortable eating here alone. I recommend the pork belly tacos and crispy brussel sprouts (SOOOOO good!) You can do a “pick two” at lunch but it’s way better than Panera!
http://tomsurban.com/denver/ It’s in Larimer Square.
I tool the A-line train from the airport to Downtown Union Station (so easy and $9/each way). I remember reading about a train or bus(???) you could take from Union Station to Boulder perhaps?
@abasket, yes, there are regular buses to Boulder from downtown Denver.
@deb922 – the surprising thing about downtown Denver is how small it is. We’re talking maybe 15 square blocks. The surrounding areas are mostly residential areas - many of them lovely, older, with wonderful Victorians and mature trees… but still just residential areas. My major beef with Denver is it’s not more of a CITY. East coasters, used to big metropolitan areas, are often surprised by how compact the “urban” part of Denver is.
@katliamom that sounds lovely. I love a nice walk with beautiful homes. And easy to get from here to there. Perfect!
I’m not sure what I will pick to do, there are so many things to pick from. I’m pretty adventurous and doing things on my own isn’t a problem.
I already told H that we are taking the light rail to downtown from the airport. I’m big on public transportation. That’s what I love about NYC and Chicago. You can walk or take public transport everywhere
If your hotel is near the 16th Street Mall you can walk outside Union Station and walk your suitcase one block to catch the free mall bus which stops at every block down the mall - I was able to jump on this after the A-line and then get off a 1 1/2 block walk to my hotel.
@katliamom describes Denver very well. I was surprised how compact it was. We did take a walk and go down by the “older” area - where the Capitol, mint, art museum are. Again walkable if you like to walk. They also have those bikes you can rent if you’re brave enough for the streets.
Will say there were a fair amount of homeless people hanging out downtown. Nothing bothersome but just noted.
Yes, we caught the lightrail from the airport to our hotel. It’s definitely “do-able,” as long as you packed lightly. Another time, we rented a car for a day and returned it after driving in and settling at our hotel (so we didn’t have to pay overnight parking fees). That worked as well. Transportation in Denver was pretty good, especially the light rail. We stayed at a hotel further from the convention center and caught the rail in and back. The hotel rate was about 1/2 or less of lodging closer to the convention center and worked for us. We loved walking around and looking at the great old homes near National Jewish in Denver.
The Molly Brown house is close to downtown (it’s a little east of the Capitol) and a nice short tour of the Victorian houses. There are also tea at the Byers house (by the library) or the Brown Palace hotel (downtown). Tour of the Capitol itself is nice. There is a Colorado History museum by the Capitol, or the regular museum by the zoo. It has some of the best dinosaurs in the country.
The ‘A’ train (airport to downtown) has had its issues, so don’t use it if you are in a hurry. There are also buses to the airport (same $9 fare) in case you need a backup.