Fantastic Food, An Electric Tuk Tuk Tour, A Cool Hotel and More: a Short But Splendid Visit to Denver, Colorado

A lively downtown with great, old-time architecture. Terrific food. Stylish hotels. And the Rocky Mountains in your back yard.

Denver wasn’t exactly high on the list of trendy cities 30 or 40 years ago. But an influx of tech companies and people looking for more wide-open space has made it one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.

My wife and I spent a day in the city in late April prior to boarding the Rocky Mountaineer train for their “Rockies to Red Rocks” two-day trip, and we loved it. I was there 30 years to cover a Denver Nuggets-Toronto Raptors game, and was in town for a very busy travel conference four or five years ago, but it was a blur.

At least this visit involved most of a full day, and we tried to make the most of it.

We navigated our way through the rather large but sunny and bright Denver Airport and hopped on the A line train, which is a great deal. For $10.50 (half that price for seniors) you get a 37-km, 37-minute ride to downtown, with a handful of stops along the way. 

If you go all the way downtown, you’ll pass the sturdy, handsome Coors Field stadium (home to the Major League Baseball Colorado Rockies) and find yourself deposited at their small but immensely attractive Union Station. The station feels like a New York City or Paris 1930’s throwback, with large, comfortable chairs, a beautiful bar, chandeliers, white walls with arching windows and even a hotel, called The Crawford. It’s a place that makes me wish I could take the train into Denver every day, stopping at the end of the work day for a martini at the bar or a cup of coffee in one of the comfy chairs.

COLOURFUL LUNCH SPOT

After dropping off our bags at Hotel Indigo (see below for more), we set off on a short walk to Milk Market; a large, open space with a variety of funky dining spots, including Italian, Hawaiian Poke, Tacos, gelato and more. The bright lights and colours make it highly Instagram-worthy.

We settled on fish tacos from Albina (quite tasty) and a good chicken sandwich with waffle fries from a shop called “Leo’s Hot Naked.” Added bonus: Albina sells a massive chocolate brownie for just $3 (USD).

It was a chilly day in April but we enjoyed a fun, educational tour in an electric tuk tuk with Etuk Rides Denver. It was a bit cramped in back but you can fit four people fairly comfortably.

Our guide, Jordan, knows his city history well and did a great job filling us in on history, urban trends and people stories; only some of them worthy of Chamber of Commerce approval.

He pointed out a downtown building that was once owned by a prominent member of the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, and told us that a one-time mayor of the city also was a KKK member. On the other hand, the current mayor is Black, so things appear to have come a long way.

Jordan told us the city was founded in 1858 and was a sleepy western town until a spur line was built that linked it to the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad.

Still, Denver wasn’t always the cosmopolitan city it is today.

“There wasn’t a lot downtown when I was a kid,” Jordan explains. “There was mostly a lot of parking. When they were going downtown my grandparents would say, ‘We’re going to the parking lot.’”

A REVIVED DOWNTOWN

Jordan pointed out the Oxford Hotel, which dates to 1891 and is the oldest hotel in the city. Jordan said The Cruise Bar at the hotel has workers who dress in “flapper” costumes and other period clothing and serve classic cocktails. The hotel website says The Cruise Bar was born the day after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and is Denver’s longest-running bar.

There were many fires when Denver buildings were made of wood, but it was later mandated that all buildings be constructed of brick. As a result, you’ll find tons of handsome brick buildings downtown.

We cruised past the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the city’s convention center, which features a giant blue bear out front who appears to be peering into the building to see what’s up, or perhaps if donuts and muffins are being served. Jordan also points out the Opera Hall at the arts center, where he says Led Zeppelin made its first U.S. appearance in 1968.

“A reporter for the Rocky Mountain News reviewed the show and wrote ‘They’ll never make it.’”

Jordan told us the Le Meridien Denver hotel has a high rooftop bar with fine views, while the nearby Hyatt Regency has an enclosed top floor bar.

DENVER ART AND HISTORY

We passed several art galleries and the striking Denver Art Museum, as well as tons of striking, colourful murals in the RiNo (River North) district. We also skipped through the Five Points Area, where Black artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington used to come to perform.

Towards the end we passed a solid, handsome stone home that was lived in by The Unsinkable Molly Brown, an American woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic and one of the century’s most interesting lives. The home is now a museum and you can take tours.

We also passed Colfax Street, one of the longest streets in the States, and one that Hugh Hefner is alleged to have labelled as “the longest, wickedest street in the U.S.”

Our last stop was the Brown Palace Hotel, a stately property that’s now part of the Marriott Autograph Collection. The hotel rooms are laid out around a giant atrium with a massive U.S. flag. It was high tea day when we were there, and you could hear the clinking of spoons and plates as elegant servers moved among the crowd.

Jordan told us the hotel has had many a famous guest, including U.S. presidents, The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Connected to the hotel is Denver’s famous Ship Tavern, which is decorated in a nautical theme. We were told two lawyers once got into a gunfight in the bar (provide your own punchline) and that you can still see a bullet mark on the bar.

A MARVELLOUS DINNER

We later had a memorable meal at Citizen Rail, adjacent to Union Station. There’s an open kitchen and lots of black wood and black tables, which is balanced by big windows to let in some light. We enjoyed tremendous cocktails; a Brown Derby with bourbon, grapefruit and honey, as well as a fabulous “Penicillin” drink with Boulder Spirits American single malt, lemon ginger and a misting of Ardbeg Scotch. One of my top cocktails ever.

We shared a terrific salad with winter chicory, dried cherries, pancetta, apple slices and Manchego Cheese. The sweetness of the cherries and apple was a great balance against the slightly bitter chicory. We also had a tender, smoky beef short rib on the bone, which was big enough for Fred Flintstone, and a very good New York Steak with polenta and onions.

The folks at Rocky Mountaineer included a night at Hotel Indigo as part of our package. The hotel is a bright, modern affair two blocks from Union Station, with modern takes on western scenes and plenty of nice touches. We had a spacious room with a king-size bed, a nice desk, wood floors, a throw rug and lots of plugs for our devices. You’re only a couple blocks from Coors Field if you want to catch a ballgame. There are also a ton of restaurants around, including Three Saints, which is in the hotel lobby.

JUST THE FACTS

Getting There: We flew direct to Denver from Toronto with Air Canada. Unlike our subsequent trips on U.S. airlines, we had plenty of space, a bright, modern aircraft and a ton of movies and TV’s to watch.

Etuk Info: Two to-three-hour city tours start around $65 USD. They also have brewery crawls and tours that combine beer and sightseeing.