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Denver
presents a refreshing change from
most big cities, in part because it doesn't feel big. Though
it has plenty of high-rise office lowers, you're likely to
be as impressed with its century-old churches, grand hotels
and stylishly modern museums. It's also a culturally diverse
city whose citizens are as interested in the latest traveling
exhibit at the Art Museum as they are in a Rockies game.
Downtown is where the new and the old rub shoulders most conspicuously.
Although there is plenty to see and do around the city as
well, we suggest starting your tour at the gold-domed state
capitol, the most prominent structure downtown. From the capitol,
which anchors Civic Center Park between the arts district
to the south and the shopping-historic areas to the northwest,
most of the downtown sights are within walking distance.
A popular pastime is browsing in the shops along the I6th
Street Mall, a tree-lined promenade that stretches for nearly
a mile. (Traffic is limited to free city buses.) Some of the
city's loveliest and most noteworthy old buildings can be
found in the area. The remarkable Brown Palace Hotel is a
sumptuous "Gilded Age" landmark and a point of special
pride for Denverites. To the northwest is LoDo, whose early
1900s brick warehouses now hold bookstores, wine bars, brewpubs
and restaurants. (Larimer Square and Writer Square are the
oldest and most interesting blocks.) The historic district
ends at Union Station, Denver's Beaux Arts train station.
The focal points of the arts district are as modern as LoDo
is old: the Denver Public Library (designed by architect Michael
Graves with multicolored stone turrets and geometric shapes)
and the Denver Art Museum (a
strikingly contemporary fortress with an exceptional collection
of North American Indian art).
Outside downtown you'll find an oasis of parks and recreation
areas. City Park is home to the Denver Zoo and the acclaimed
Museum of Natural History, with a planetarium and an IMAX
theater. The Ocean Journey aquarium recently became part of
a collection of attractions that's anchored by Six Flags Elitch
Gardens Amusement Park. |
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