Attractions
Arts
General interest
History
Recreation and sports
Shopping
Arts
Denver has more than 30 theaters, more than 100 cinemas, and has always had a love affair with the arts. When Denver was a wild gold rush town in the 1870s, it boasted a theater with sold-out performances of MacBeth long before it had either a school or a hospital.
Founded in 1893, the Denver Art Museum has what is considered to be the finest collection of American Indian art covering all tribes, as well as 30,000 other art objects in seven curatorial departments. The museum celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1993 with newly remodeled Asian, Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial galleries and renovated African and Oceanic galleries. It is the largest art museum between Kansas City and the West Coast. Nationally recognized as a family-friendly attraction, the museum offers a variety of interactive program including the Just For Fun Family Center, Family Backpacks, the Kids Corner, and the Discovery Library. 303/640-2793
The Cherry Creek Arts Festival will take place July 4-6 in downtown Denver, within miles of the AG. It is ranked as the No. 1 fine arts and crafts exhibition in the nation and draws more than 250,000 people. Another very popular activity in the Denver area is the First Friday Art Walk, at least three of which take place within a 30-minute bus ride from the hotel. Galleries are open late and offer snacks and drinks to passersby; in addition, most other businesses along the route stay open and feaure artists as well. The Santa Fe art district is the closest to the hotel (within a 10-minute bus ride). Other nearby events include the Tennyson Art Walk (25-30 minute bus ride) and the Golden Triangle Museum District walk (free shuttle available).
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a 9,000-seat natural outdoor arena carved out of 500-foot-high red sandstone cliffs, all overlooking Denver and the plains. Seventy million years ago, the rocks were the beach of an ancient inland sea that covered eastern Colorado and Kansas. Today it's a wonderful site for hikes, picnics and concerts. With its views and geologic wonders, it's one of the world's most famous concert sites and has played host to everyone from the Beatles to symphony orchestras.
With eight theaters offering 10,800 seats, the Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second largest performing arts center in the nation (after Lincoln Center in New York) in seating capacity and the largest in the world under one roof. Located downtown, the four-square block center features Boettcher Concert Hall, the nation's first symphony hall in-the-round. We recommend you make reservations for any performance well prior to attending the AG.
For more information on Denver's upcoming theater schedule by theater name, visit The Denver Post's theater schedule page.
The 16th Street Mall includes two movie theaters with easy access from the hotel:
General interest
Denver Botanic Gardens has been a favorite Denver destination for more than 50 years and is considered to be one of the top five botanic gardens in the nation. Art and science unite in the gardens’ spectacular urban oasis, offering an unforgettable artistic garden experience for the whole family, as well as a living laboratory for education and plant conservation programs. The facility has a huge tropical conservatory filled with blooming orchids and hundreds of tropical species, a world-renowned rock alpine garden with rare flowers, an authentic Japanese garden with a beautiful teahouse, and water gardens with hundreds of colorful waterlilies and lotuses that bloom throughout the summer. Additionally, Denver Botanic Gardens makes a significant contribution to native plant conservation by working on species native to Colorado. The gardens' ultimate goal is to reverse the degradation and decline of native flora through conservation, experimentation and the dissemination of knowledge. It is just one of 506 public gardens in Denver where more than 240,000 flowers are planted each year. 720/865-3500
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is one of the premier natural history museums in the country with a diverse array of permanent exhibitions such as Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey and the North American Indian Cultures Hall. In addition, the museum provides the Denver community highly acclaimed traveling exhibitions, stunning IMAX® films, high-tech planetarium shows, intriguing educational programs and groundbreaking scientific research projects. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science was voted the top family attraction in Denver and number 17 among the 50 overall top-rated family attractions in the country in 2004 Zagat Survey U.S. Family Travel Guide. 800/925-2250
The Colorado State Capitol stands a mile above sea level with a plaque on the 13th step to mark the spot that is 5,280 feet —exactly one mile — high. The dome is covered with 200 ounces of pure gold. The rotunda offers a beautiful view of the entire Front Range, from Pikes Peak all the way north to the Wyoming border — a distance of more than 150 miles. Free tours of the beautiful rooms and appointments run on weekdays. 303/866-2604
Just two blocks south of the hotel, the U.S. Mint is where more than five billion coins are made each year; it is also the second-largest storehouse of gold bullion in the U.S. after Fort Knox. Free 20-minute tours are offered on a space-available basis on weekdays, and there is a small museum on the history of money. 303/844-3582.
History
The Colorado History Museum offers a series of dioramas and exhibits that trace the colorful history of the Indians, explorers, gold miners, cowboys and pioneers that have called Colorado home. Exhibits include an outstanding collection of William Henry Jackson photos and a large diorama of Denver as it appeared in 1860. Call 303/866-3670 for information, or visit the Colorado Historical Society Web site.
The Molly Brown House honors "Unsinkable Molly Brown," heroine of the Titanic disaster, with mementos from her life preserved in her beautiful home on Capitol Hill. Molly was one of the most colorful characters to come from Denver's gold rush period. While sailing on the Titanic, she took command of a lifeboat and was credited with putting down a panic. Her life story was the inspiration for the hit musical and film The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Recreation and sports
With 300 days of sunshine a year, Denver is a sports capital. The city offers more than 450 miles of paved, designated bike paths, including two beautiful stretches through downtown along Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. There are more than 70 golf courses in the area and more than 143 free tennis courts.
The hotel is eight blocks from the Cherry Creek path for biking, rollerblading and walking. This path intersects with the Platte River path, and there is a park at the confluence where people kayak, picnic and visit. In the summer flat boats are available for riding down Cherry Creek. If you follow the Cherry Creek Bike Path southeast about 10 miles, you cross the mostly unpaved High Line Canal Trail, where people ride road bikes. You can get a very detailed, mile-by mile map of the 66-mile trail for $3.25 plus shipping and tax. This is a wonderful companion to this beautiful trail through Denver.
The Mile High Trail is a series of six walking tours throughout the downtown area. Copies can be obtained from the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau Information Center in the Tabor Center, located on the 16th Street Mall.
There are hundreds of miles of biking trails in the Denver area. You can get a comprehensive bike map from the water department two blocks south of the hotel (across the street from the Mint) or online for $6.
The Colorado Rockies will have a home stand at Coors Field during most of the AG. On July 4 they will play the New York Mets at 6:07 p.m., with a fireworks show following the game. This fireworks display should be visible from the upper floors of the Adams Mark.
Shopping
As the largest city in a 600-mile radius, Denver has always been the shopping capital of the Rocky Mountain West.
With more than 400,000 volumes, the Tattered Cover is the largest independent book store in America and is a "must-see" if you like books. The Tattered Cover LoDo ("lower downtown") is 14 blocks from the hotel and can be reached on the free 16th Street Shuttle; they do tours upon request. The Tattered Cover Bookstore in Cherry Creek has moved to the Historic Lowenstein Theatre on Colfax (2526 E. Colfax Avenue); take the Mall Shuttle east to Broadway station and take the #15 bus 26 blocks to Elizabeth Street.
Downtown offers a variety of shopping attractions, from the many downtown specialty shops on the 16th Street Mall to the new Denver Pavilions, an upscale outdoor mall adjacent to the hotel featuring Niketown, Hard Rock Cafe, Talbot’s, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Virgin Records, Victoria’s Secret, Barnes & Noble, Lucky Strike Bowling, Bath & Body Works and a 12-screen movie and entertainment complex.
What began as Denver's very first city block is now one of the city's most prestigious areas, where the beautiful Victorian buildings have been restored to house a collection of art galleries, clothing stores, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. Larimer Square has become the hottest restaurant neighborhood in town, thanks to an aggressive effort to bring regionally exclusive, chef-driven restaurants to the block.
All photos courtesy of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, except the garden photo,
which is courtesy of the Denver Botanic Gardens, Scott Dressel-Martin, photographer
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