36 Hours in Denver
A weekend in the Mile High City offers something for everyone: a flourishing restaurant scene, microbreweries, miles of trails for skiers and bikers alike, and a vibrant street art movement.
A tapas cart at Super Mega Bien, a restaurant serving Mexican tapas dim-sum style.CreditBenjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times
By Elaine Glusac
In
the last seven years, Denver’s population has grown by more than
100,000, a boom many new residents credit to the sunny weather,
proximity to the Rocky Mountains and density of cultural attractions.
With that growth has come not only construction cranes, but also
improved transit systems, including a convenient new light rail line
linking the airport to downtown over 23 miles away, dispensing with the
need for rental cars over weekend visits. Visitors using the train
alight at the renovated Union Station in the heart of a city filled with
new breweries, expanded museums, a burgeoning street art movement and
an explosive culinary scene producing thematic food halls and
destination meals from brunch through dinner. There’s always the chance
to walk, cycle, run or ski it off over hundreds of miles of recreational
trails. And if your flight is delayed, there’s a free ice-skating rink at Denver International Airport from Nov. 23 to Jan. 6.
Friday
1) 3 p.m. Cultural campus
The Denver Art Museum,
with its distinctively angular Daniel Libeskind-designed wing, anchors
what has turned into the city’s museum quarter now that the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
moved in two blocks away. The quirky museum (admission $10), which
doubled its exhibition capacity, preserves the original studio of Vance
Kirkland, who often painted suspended on straps above his canvases.
Before reaching it, visitors pass through the encyclopedic collection of
decorative pieces from Art Nouveau tapestries to postmodern sofas that
crowd the walls and floors, salon-style. A moving union of art and
architecture lies between the Denver Art Museum and the Kirkland in the Clyfford Still Museum
(admission $10). Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture designed
the minimalist, textured concrete building, with naturally lit galleries
to house the nearly complete collection and archives of the abstract
expressionist painter Clyfford Still.
2) 6:30 p.m. Destination dinner
Denver’s
culinary mania is evident in brunch queues and difficult-to-get dinner
reservations. Make one of those reservations well in advance for Tavernetta, a new, sophisticated Italian magnet from the group behind Frasca Food and Wine
in nearby Boulder. To get to the tables, diners walk through the
kitchen, a scenic appetizer to the chef Ian Wortham’s regional and
seasonal dishes, which recently included homemade garganelli pasta with
mushrooms and asparagus ($32) and roast quail with farro, chickpea and
prosciutto ($28). No reservation? Try Tavernetta anyway. There’s a
spacious lounge with fireside tables as well as numerous stools around
the bar.
3) 9 p.m. Nightcap madness
Despite
Denver’s plethora of breweries, beer isn’t the only drink in town. From
the hidden to the see-and-be-seen, the selection of cocktail lounges
warrants a nightcap or two. In Lower Downtown, a.k.a. LoDo, hit the rejuvenated Union Station and find the mezzanine to reach Cooper Lounge,
where sofas offer great perches for admiring the grand 1914 station. In
the polished Cherry Creek neighborhood, look for a gold doorbell in an
alley behind the Halcyon Hotel to find B&GC,
a stylish subterranean lounge with carefully crafted drinks such as the
bourbon-maple Distant Lover ($15). In the River North Art District,
known as RiNo, New York’s cult mixologists Death & Co are newly spiking the cocktail scene in a clubby room with grand chandeliers and a menu the size of a novel.
A morning view of Confluence Park on the South Platte River.CreditBenjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times
Saturday
4) 9 a.m. Bike (or ski) the creek
Backed by the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Mile High City tends to draw outdoorsy types. Cycling the Cherry Creek Bike Path,
a 40-mile path along the tributary, is one of the easiest ways to join
the athletic crowds here. It links up with the nearly 30-mile Greenway
Trail along the South Platte for more ambitious riding. Rent a Denver B-cycle
from the citywide bike share system from more than 85 stations around
town (from $9 for a 24-hour pass). Biking is a year-round sport in
Denver, which tends to be dry, but on snow days the cross-country skis
come out.
5) 11 a.m. Brunch bunch
Perhaps
because of all that early morning exercise, brunch is a popular meal.
In the LoHi, or Lower Highlands, area alone, choices include the
butchery- and seafood-centric Old Major, the fried-chicken star Low Country Kitchen and the Latin American cantina Señor Bear. An atmospheric choice, Linger
occupies the former Olinger mortuary, a vast, warehouselike space with
multiple levels offering good views of downtown. Global brunch dishes
include breakfast dosa ($16) and “hangover ramen” ($17), accompanied by
bottomless mimosas ($15).
In the River North Art District, New York’s cult mixologists Death & Co are newly spiking the cocktail scene.CreditBenjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times
6) 1 p.m. Maker mart
Denver has some nice neighborhoods for boutique shopping, including Highlands and Berkeley, but the opening of the Source Hotel
and Market Hall in RiNo next to the Source food hall has given shoppers
a place to do some concentrated browsing of wares from local artisans.
The hotel’s second story serves as a retail market hall, home to shops
and kiosks from Winter Session, a Denver-based leather goods maker; Vinyl Me, Please, a local record dealer; and the sunglasses and ski goggles brand Native Eyewear, based in nearby Longmont. You’ll find them alongside carefully curated out-of-towners, including the street-art-focused Station 16 Gallery from Montreal and the design goods shop Poketo from Los Angeles.
7) 4 p.m. Craft beer crawl
The home of the sprawling Great American Beer Festival each fall, Denver has long been a champion of the microbrewing revolution. While the Denver Beer Trail has over 100 entries on its map, several are clustered in RiNo making a progressive tour a pedestrian affair. At Our Mutual Friend,
a friendly taproom, state flags on the menu indicate Colorado-grown
barley and hops, including Colorado Pale Ale and Dad’s Brown Ale (pints
$6). Down the street, the industrial Ratio Beerworks,
which sometimes serves a refreshing Handwritten wit ($6), rolls up
garage-style doors on its popular patio. Nearby, the beloved Ft. Collins
brewery O’Dell Brewing Co., opened a cozy two-story taproom in view of a mural depicting hops covering the side of its historic brick building.
There’s
a warm, slightly retro vibe to Nocturne jazz club, where an
artist-in-residence arrangement books musicians for multi-week runs.CreditBenjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times
8) 6:30 p.m. Hip-Hop kitchen
The RiNo district also teems with culinary intrigue, from the new Super Mega Bien serving Mexican tapas dim-sum style to the contemporary wood-fired grill Acorn. Because reservations are hard to come by, hit Hop Alley
early. The chef Tommy Lee, who also runs Uncle, a ramen-specialist in
LoHi, serves regional Chinese fare with a focus on fine ingredients and
the use of a wood grill in a former soy sauce factory where hip-hop
commonly rings out across the lively dining room. Most of the vegetable,
protein, noodle and rice dishes seem designed to share, including
savory kung pao cauliflower ($15), grilled octopus with spicy gochujang
sauce ($27) and garlic shrimp noodles ($23). Several of the cocktails
come in large-format shareable sizes too.
9) 9 p.m. Catch the late set
There’s a warm, slightly retro vibe to Nocturne
jazz club where an intriguing artist-in-residence arrangement books
musicians for multi-week runs, encouraging them to explore the music of a
jazz legend, concentrate on a genre or produce their own original
compositions. Brick walls and high ceilings with exposed ductwork don’t
interfere with the sound quality coming from the raised stage that is
the focal point of the music venue, which also acts as a supper club
serving a full menu. Reservations include a cover fee (varies) and the
bar is as careful with its cocktails as the musicians are with their
playlists.
Eyes Open, a boutique at the Source Hotel and Market Hall.CreditBenjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times
Sunday
10) 10 a.m. Street art stroll
To
the casual pedestrian, Denver doesn’t appear rich in street art. Trust
Erin Spradlin and James Carlson to show you the significant treasures on
the walls and in the alleys of the River North Art District on their Denver Graffiti Tour.
Inspired by a mural tour they took in Bogotá, Colombia, the pair
launched their tour this spring (it runs year-round). The two-hour
itinerary introduces memorable works by Gamma and Jeremy Burns. The
guides distinguish street art or murals from more haphazard graffiti in
their thoughtful discourse that covers artwork mining topics from
political to comic. The tour ends in a hidden alley covered in a murals
and popular with selfie shooters.
11) 12:30 p.m. Musical fare
Food halls seem to be popping up everywhere, including the new Denver Milk Market in LoDo, and in new iterations, such as the micro-distillery-centric Booz Hall in RiNo. The beauty of the collection of food stalls at the new Zeppelin Station
is management’s effort to fill the vast shed-like development on a
light rail line with ethnic foods not easily found elsewhere. The local
favorite Vinh Xuong Bakery opened a stall in Zeppelin serving its
signature banh mi sandwich served with housemade chili sauce ($8.75).
There’s Indian street food at Namkeen, fried chicken at Injoi Korean
Kitchen and smoked meats at Au Feu. Finish with a scoop of velvety
chocolate from Gelato Boy ($4.45) while listening to live music on
Sundays and, on select Sundays, watching the Denver Broncos on a big
screen.
Denver was on our list of 52 places to go this year.
Lodging
An urban resort in the upscale Cherry Creek district, the 154-room Halcyon Hotel
features a rooftop pool and bar, the subterranean cocktail lounge
B&GC and a “gear garage” with loaner outdoor equipment. Rooms from
$325; 245 Columbine Street, halcyonhotelcherrycreek.com.
The new Ramble Hotel
in RiNo looks like a warehouse rehab with a handsome red brick exterior
and double-height lobby. The new building houses Death & Co Denver
cocktail lounge in the lobby, filled with tufted sofas and chandeliers.
In addition to its 50 cozy rooms, the Ramble houses a theater, the
Mexican restaurant Super Mega Bien and a coffee bar. Rooms from $249;
1280 25th Street, theramblehotel.com.
Rent a loft downtown or an apartment in the Highlands, to name two central areas with ample inventory on HomeAway.com.
Lofts in LoDo, walking distance to Union Station and other attractions,
start at $87. A one-bedroom apartment in LoHi, or Lower Highlands, a
mile from downtown, costs $111.
36 Hours in Denver
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