Things to do in Denver
Street art, proper beer, and the plates locals actually eat at.
This is Denver without the resort-town gloss: warehouse murals, a mining-era mansion, City Park on a slow afternoon, and dinners that locals defend fiercely. It suits anyone who'd rather spend $18 on a bowl of hand-made noodles than $18 on a hotel minibar water. You'll walk a lot, drink well, and leave knowing the city rather than the highlights reel.
Day 1: LoHi, RiNo, and the River
The day moves from a strong coffee in Highland through RiNo's mural corridors and an ice cream queue worth joining, then ends with some of the best Mexican food in the city and a medal-winning pint on an open patio.
- 9:30 AM
Stowaway Kitchen
Breakfast with Asian accents and strong espresso in a bright room on Walnut Street, a short walk to the murals.
Map - 10:30 AM
RiNo (River North Art District)
Stroll the RiNo murals, large-scale street art refreshed annually, breweries and galleries all walkable.
Map - 12:30 PM
Avanti Food & Beverage
Food hall in shipping containers with a rooftop facing downtown; eat lunch, then walk to Little Man for a cone.
Map - 2:30 PM
Confluence Park
Where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte; walk the river path or watch kayakers in the chute.
Map - 7:30 PM
Alma Fonda Fina
Johnny Curiel's modern Mexican cooking in a small Highland room; book weeks out and share the moles.
Map - 9:30 PM
Our Mutual Friend Brewing
Multiple GABF medals, end the night on Our Mutual Friend's patio with a proper craft beer before midnight.
Map
Day 2: Capitol Hill's Museums and Tables
A Victorian mansion tour, a genuinely singular art museum, and an acclaimed Italian dinner carry the day, with a Cherry Creek dive bar providing the unpretentious full stop.
- 10:30 AM
Molly Brown House Museum
Well-guided tour of the 1889 mining-boom mansion of Titanic survivor Molly Brown, locals swear by it.
Map - 12:30 PM
City, O' City
Vegetarian café and bar on 13th Avenue; the seitan wings and a coffee make a quick lunch.
Map - 2:30 PM
Clyfford Still Museum
Pair with the morning museum run, nearly the entire life's work of Clyfford Still in a beautifully quiet building.
Map - 7:30 PM
Restaurant Olivia
Handmade pasta in a small Washington Park room; let them steer you to two pastas to share.
Map - 9:30 PM
Duffy's Cherry Cricket
Classic Cherry Creek dive bar with a proper cocktail, the kind of unpretentious closer locals love.
Map
Day 3: City Park: Dinosaurs to Dumplings
A natural-history museum with real gems and real dinosaurs, a casual lunch steps away, an afternoon at the zoo, and a Vietnamese dinner on Colfax.
- 10:30 AM
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Gems, dinosaurs, and a planetarium right in City Park, the swearby natural-history fixture of the neighbourhood.
Map - 12:30 PM
SPICE ROOM
Indian and Himalayan kitchen near City Park: order the momos and a curry with garlic naan.
Map - 2:15 PM
Denver Zoo
Conservation-led zoo steps from lunch, walkable afternoon with the family favourite beside the museum.
Map - 7:30 PM
Sap Sua
Modern Vietnamese from the Ni siblings on Colfax; share the larger family-style plates and book ahead.
Map - 9:30 PM
Bierstadt Lagerhaus
German-style lagers in a RiNo warehouse; order the Slow Pour Pils and wait the five minutes it takes.
Map
Where to stay
Urban Cowboy Denver
A restored Victorian mansion in Uptown, a short walk to the Capitol Hill museums of day 2.
Populus
Populus sits close to Confluence Park and the Capitol Hill run, with a design that feels considered rather than corporate, at a mid-range price that matches the brief.
Make Denver your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre: weeks ahead
- Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Station: a few days ahead
- Denver Performing Arts Complex: a few days ahead
- Comedy Works Downtown: a few days ahead
- Oakwell Beer Spa: a few days ahead
- Arrowhead Golf Club: a few days ahead
Skip these
- 16th Street as a destination in itself: ride it and walk it, but the sights are at its ends and a block off it.
- Casa Bonita for the food, or without a reservation: it is theatre that serves dinner.
- The Downtown Aquarium, Elitch Gardens and the US Mint tour as adult headline sights: fillers, not pillars.
The full Denver travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around