Denver sits between plains and hills, with The Rocky Mountains as a spectacular backdrop. It’s sunny - circa 300 sunshine-filled days a year, and friendly, with a lively food and drink scene, a fascinating history that began with the gold rush of the 1850s, and exciting art galleries and museums.
Denver is definitely a destination where the neighbourhoods vary quite a lot. Of the neighbourhoods we recommend to visitors, we like Lower Downtown for first time visitors and city breakers; the Lower Highlands for foodies and families; the River North Arts District for art-lovers, foodies and cool kids; and Capitol Hill for sightseers and living like a local. But there’s plenty of cross over! Helpfully, when you’re exploring Denver you can assume that the mountains will always be to your west, and the Lower highlands is the neighbourhood closest to the mountains.
Super central, and actually not too business-y, Denver’s CBD is a great neighbourhood to tay in if you want to be within walking distance of as many of Denver’s major attractions as you can. And the ones you can’t walk to you’re within an easy journey on public transport from. CBD highlights include the Denver Art Museum; the History Colorado Centre; the Contemporary Art Museum; and Confluence Park. The CBD is also where you’ll find you’ll find the Convention Centre and Performing Arts Complex, and the major sporting grounds are here too.
Denver has a lot of neighbourhood acronyms, but they’re not used by everyone - the majority of them have been created by estate agents, so folks born in Denver will have had less to do with them than newer arrivals. Most people will know where you’re talking about if you try to take a taxi to LoDo, but don’t worry, people will still know what you’re talking about if you ask for Lower Downtown, and that’s the bit just below the business district. This neighbourhood is old, first established in the 1850s with the gold rush, and some of the buildings around here are almost that old. It’s old and pretty too, and because of that a bit touristy, but helpfully so, in that there are lots of nice places to eat and drink, and nice courtyards to sit in, and shops and boutiques to peruse. And small breweries and stills - this is a great place for trying craft beers, ales and spirits. It’s usefully close to other parts to town too: you can stroll to the Lower Highlands and the River North Arts District. There’s plenty of accommodation, in a good range of styles and price points. Union Station is in Lower Downtown, so if you’re arriving by train this is an easy pick.
The Lower Highlands neighbourhood is on a hill between the highway and the mountains, and has some of the best mountain, and city, views in Denver - though almost any roof terrace will astound! As well as incredible views, this neighbourhood is known for its restaurants and cafes, with both start up food courts, and fancy restaurants doing very well here - try Little Man Ice Cream, which is an ice cream parlour in a 28ft dairy jug! The residential part of the Lower Highlands comes up on you fairly quickly, but that’s good for folk looking for aparthotels, or apartment rentals. If you walk in the opposite direction, away from the mountains, you’ll reach one of the bridges that cross into Lower Downtown. If you don’t fancy the walk there is good public transport.
Image by Jens Peter Olesen fro
While most of the abbreviated neighbourhood names in Denver were created by estate agents trying to seem cool, RiNo is one used by native Denver-ites, and the River North Arts District mouthful, was only coined recently, as Denver’s old industrial neighbourhood started gentrifying. What the name does brilliantly is lay out this neighbourhood’s wares clearly: this is an arty district, known for its eclectic offering of boutiques and cuisine, its music venues and art - from galleries to street murals. Foodies will enjoy the neighbourhood’s gourmet markets and food halls, with Denver Central Market bing the largest jewel in that particular crown. The River North Arts District is of centre and a bit cut off - by a highway on one side, and rail tracks on another, so it’s not the easiest base for explorations, but it does have great plus transport links.
Image by Johan Blok from Pixab
Capitol Hill is a graceful neighbourhood of tree-lined streets and carefully kept mansions - many of which have now been converted into hotels or apartments. This is a neighbourhood of green space and quiet afternoons, while still being super central - you can see Capitol Hill itself from many street. You may have heard/ read Denver being called The Mile High City, and it’s on the 13th step of the State Capitol building that you actually hit one mile above sea level - there’s a nice marker on the step. You can visit the Capitol building too, so you don’t have to go all that way just to see a step… Capitol Hill is home to a number of major local sights beyond the Capitol Building, including the Denver Botanical Gardens, the Molly Brown House Museum (she’s a famous Titanic survivor), and the Denver Firefighters Museum. It’s not all polished brass and marble, though, Capitol Hill is also known for its boho cafes, dive bars and vintage and second hand shopping.
The Golden Triangle neighbourhood is small in scale, but large in cultural impact - it’s packed with galleries and museums, including the Denver Art Museum and the History Colorado Centre. Less famed institutions include the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art and the Clyfford Still Museum. It’s squeezed in between Capitol Hill and Downtown, so some of the Golden Triangle’s cultural riches are claimed by its neighbours, but that means the Golden Triangle can claim some of the great places to eat and drink that you’ll find Downtown and in Capitol Hill.
Just five minutes drive from downtown Denver, Cherry Creek is a good neighbourhood for lovers of luxury: a place of high end boutiques, elegant bars and restaurants with creative flair, contemporary art galleries; and the Denver Country Club. Cherry Creek is neighbours with Capitol Hill, and has the other side of Denver’s botanical gardens, and the Four Mile Historic Park, so there’s lottos green space here too. There are also plenty of five star hotels and resorts, and spa resorts and golf resorts. Cherry Creek isn’t central, so not ideal if you want to explore the whole city. It does have its own lovely bike paths, if you only want to explore a little further afield, including one end of the Cherry Creek Trail, the other end of which is in the Lower Highlands.
City Park is Denver’s oldest park, and the neighbourhood spreads around it, mostly 19th century built until you get close to dynamic, concrete and lively Colfax Avenue. About a mile east of downtown. As well as being the oldest park in Denver it’s also one of the largest, and houses the Denver Zoo, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science - making this a classic base for families. The museum also has an IMAX. And the park has peddle boats and splash park playgrounds. During the summer there’s a regular weekend jazz slot, and the views are really special. There’s not a huge range of accommodation here, because most of the neighbourhood is park, but what there is in the one mile by two block radius is great for families.
