Why Denver?

Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Denver is one of America's most beautiful cities. And one of the most fun. Blessed with 300 days of sunshine a year, Denver is a lively city with a great love of the outdoors. Here you'll find the nation's largest city park system, 90 golf courses and an incredible 650 miles of paved bike trails. But Denver is also a cultural and sophisticated city. DOWNTOWN DENVER Denver has the tenth largest downtown in the U.S. - a bustling area centered around a mile-long pedestrian promenade that is lined with outdoor cafes and flower baskets. Down every street there are mountain views. The mountain panorama visible from Denver is 120 miles long and includes nearly 200 named peaks. Downtown Denver is home to three new sports stadiums, 300 restaurants, a restored historic district filled with 90 bars and brew pubs, a collection of museums, a variety of galleries and shopping, the second largest performing arts center in the nation, three college campuses and even a unique downtown amusement park, Six Flags Elitch Gardens. RECREATION AND SPORTS With 300 days of sunshine a year, Denver is a sports capital. The city offers over 450 miles (720 km) of paved, designated bike paths, including two beautiful stretches through downtown along Cherry Creek and along the South Platte River. There are over 70 golf courses in the area, and more than 143 free tennis courts. Within an hour and a half drive from Denver, there are opportunities for skiing, river running, hiking, fishing, camping, horseback riding, sailing or mountain biking.Half of Colorado is public land open to all forms of recreation with two national parks, six national monuments, 11 national forests, three national recreation areas and 30 state parks. In June 1997, The Sporting News declared, "The Best Sports City in 1997 is Denver, where the sun shines 310 days a year and the sports possibilities are cloudless year-round.... Denver comes together as a unique setting for sports of all kinds. Denver is one of only a few cities to offer seven professional sports teams: NFL Denver Broncos; Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies; NHL Colorado Avalanche; NBA Denver Nuggets; Arena Football's Colorado Crush; Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids; National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth. In addition, Denver has horse racing, dog racing, a Grand Prix and one of the world's largest rodeos - the National Western Other spectator sports include the world's largest rodeo held each year at the National Western Stock Show in January and pari-mutuel dog and horse racing. MUESUMS & CULTURE Denver has one of the highest educated populations in America and a great love of the arts. The Denver Art Museum is in the process of doubling with a new wing designed by Daniel Libeskind. 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. The Denver Center Theater Company which won a Tony Award in 1998 for best regional theatre acting company; the Temple Buell Theater, a new 2,800-seat Broadway theater that opened in 1991 with Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical, "Phantom of the Opera" and hosts other top road attractions such as "The Full Monty," "Lion King" "Mama Mia" and "Sunset Boulevard," as well as the world's first voice research laboratory. The center is entered under a block-long glass arch and is noted for its unusual and striking architecture. Denver has an amazing collection of museums devoted to the wonders of Planet Earth. The Denver Zoo is the fourth most popular zoo in the nation and is undergoing a $130 million improvement program. The Downtown Aquarium has been acquired by Landry and will undergo major improvements, while the Denver Museum of Nature & Science just added a space museum and the world's most advanced digital planetarium SHOPPING As the largest city in a 600-mile (966 km) radius, Denver has always been the shopping capital of the Rocky Mountain West. The city features the largest sporting goods store in the world (Gart Brothers Sports Castle) and the largest independent book store in America with over 400,000 volumes (the Tattered Cover). The 16th Street Mall is a mile-long pedestrian promenade through the heart of downtown Denver, lined with shops, department stores and outdoor cafes. Free buses leave either end as often as every 90 seconds, making this the best spot for "people watching" in the city. In summer, the Mall is decorated with 25,000 flowers including 8,400 impatiens, 6,528 petunias, 648 snapdragons and 370 geraniums. Cherry Creek North is an eclectic mix of galleries, restaurants, shops, clothing designers and cafes, all on pleasant tree-lined streets directly adjacent to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Cherry Creek Shopping Center is the largest in the Rocky Mountain region with 140 upscale stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor and Foley's. Beautiful restaurants, architecture and events make this a premiere shopping experience. Larimer Square is a restored section of Denver's oldest street where the beautiful Victorian buildings have been restored to house a collection of art galleries, clothing stores, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. Park Meadows is one of Denver's newest additions to the shopping scene. Featuring a Nordstrom, Dillard's, Foleys and Joslins the shopping center was created to resemble a ski lodge, complete with a huge center court fireplace. Denver Pavilions opened in November 1998 and features Maggiano's Little Italy, Virgin Records Megastore and Barnes & Noble Superstore. ENTERTAINMENT Denver brews more beer than any other city with 80 different beers brewed here. LoDo is Denver's hip downtown historic district where restored Victorian buildings now house more than 90 sports bars, brew pubs, jazz clubs and restaurants. Denver has a growing music scene and some of the best concert venues on earth, including the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater, a 9,000-seat arena carved out of gigantic red rock boulders. HISTORY Denver was born during the great "Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush" of 1859 when some flakes of placer gold were found where the South Platte River meets Cherry Creek. In its first few years, the city survived a flood, two major fires, several Indian attacks and even raised an army that defeated an invading force of Confederates from Texas during the Civil War. With the discovery of more gold in the mountains, Denver became a boomtown. Saloons, gambling halls and wagon trains lined the mud-filled streets, and every outlaw, lawman and desperado in the West made a visit to the Mile High City. The turn-of-the-century brought respectability and the wealth of the mountains was poured into parks, fountains, statues, tree-lined streets and elaborate mansions. Denver became the most elegant city in a thousand mile radius -- the "Queen City of the Plains." The building boom in recent years has seen Denver more than double in population since 1960. In 1983 alone, as much office space was added to the city as already existed. CLIMATE Nothing about Denver is more misunderstood than the city's climate. Located just east of a high mountain barrier and a long distance from any moisture source, Denver has a mild, dry and arid climate. The city receives only 8-15 inches (20.3 - 38 cm) of precipitation a year (about the same as Los Angeles), and records 300 days of sunshine a year -- more annual hours of sun than San Diego or Miami Beach. Winters are mild with an average daily high of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, 7 degrees Celsius in February, warmer than New York, Boston, Chicago or St. Louis. Snow does fall, but it usually melts in a short time. Golf courses remain open all year and have been played on as many as 30 days in January. Chinook winds (a wind blowing down from a mountain that gains heat as it loses elevation) can bring 60 degree F (16 degrees C) weather to Denver at any time throughout the winter. In summer, dry relative humidity makes Denver feel cool and comfortable, offering natural air conditioning. Fall is a particularly delightful time to visit the city and make day excursions to the mountains to view the colorful changing of the aspens, an event that takes place from mid-September until mid-October. back to top

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