I’m living and working as an au pair in Denver for a year and this is my top 10 of things you can do in Denver!

1. Union station

I think for sure Union Station has to be number one. When you are in Denver, this is something where you have to go to! This is a beautiful train station that is really different from other train stations. The outside is really beautiful, especially in the evening with the lights. Inside you have all kinds of restaurants, coffee, ice cream and pizza, the lot! In the main entrance they created a living room with chairs, big comfy seats and couches where a lot of people are working or eating their lunch.  It is a nice place to sit and meet people. 

Tip When you are arriving at the airport in Denver,  an easy way to get to downtown Denver is by train from the airport to union station.  For people under the 19 year old it is only about $3.00 dollar. When you are older than 19 year it is $10,50 dollars. The train takes 37 minutes from the airport to union station.

2. 16th mall street

The name says it already. This is the street with a lot of stores, restaurants and cafés. If you want a souvenir from Denver, you should go to one of the souvenir shops here! In this street are no cars allowed, only the free mall ride bus. This is really nice, because the name already says it, it is for free! The bus drives from Union Station to Civic Center Park, where the State Capitol is. So my advice, walk one way through the street and when you are going back, you can take the free mall ride! Also, in the evening it’s really beautiful to walk through the street, because all the trees have lights in it, so it looks really magical!

3. Tattered Covered Book Store

On the right of union station in the 16th mall street you see this bookstore. There are also two different locations in Denver, but I recommend this one. You can only find this bookstore in Denver and it is a must see! It is really beautiful old looking book store. They have a lot of nice chairs and couches were you can go sit and just read a book. You can read the whole book there, if you want and you don’t even have to buy it!

4. Civic center park + State capitol

Civic center park is a really nice park, especially in the summer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of homeless people living in this park. But you can take really nice pictures! First, you can walk to state capitol building and go stand on the one mile high step! If you look over Civic center park to the other side, you see another really nice building with the mountains behind it! That really makes a beautiful picture. Then you can walk to the other side of the park at take a really nice picture from the state capitol building!

5. Cherry creek trail

There is a river Cherry creek that flows through Denver and they made a  bike trail near the river where you can bike or walk all the way near the river through downtown without really noticing that you are in a busy city! The only sad thing is that it is not safe to come there in the evening and night because of the homeless people. But in the morning and afternoon it is a great thing to do!

6. Molly Brown House

Molly Brown is one of the survivors from the titanic. She lived in Denver before she went on the Titanic. She was born in a poor family, but her husband found gold in Leadville, a little town outside of Denver. Because of the prosperous business of her husband, her family got rich. Her parents came living in their house and Molly Brown took care of them, like the parents took care of her when she was younger. Molly loved to travel. She went to Europe for traveling and she came back  with the Titanic. Eventually she survived the crash and did a lot of good things with her money for poor people. Now her house is still the same as when she was living there and it’s really impressive to do a tour and hear about her life and what she did! She was a real power women! The tour cost $14 dollar for adults.

7. Washington park

Washington park is, is in my opinion, the best park of Denver! It is a really big park a little bit outside of downtown, but still close (by car, it is a 15 minute drive) and it has a two big lakes on each sides. There is also a fitness with a swimming pool and there is always somebody exercising! Especially in the summer everybody is relaxing in the park, playing games, volleyball, eating with friends and family. It is really nice to just take a walk through the park and see everybody.

8. Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World

This is a really nice outdoor store! It’s about 15 minute drive from union station. Inside the store, they made a waterfall and a kind of wildlife. It is so pretty! 

Tip There are also a lot of other nice stores around this store. It is a whole shopping area and you can also eat there very good!

9. I see what you mean, big blue bear

When you are walking on 16^th mall street, go on Stout street to the right, and walk one block down. You will see the big blue bear,  the icon of Denver! It is giant and nice to see, so take a picture and walk the next block back to 16^th mall street.

10. Little man ice cream + Snooze

These are two restaurants that  you can only find in Denver. On a summer day, the line of the little man ice cream is really long, but it is definitely worth it! They have a lot of flavors and they change it sometimes, so there is always something new to try! I also recommend to go eat breakfast, brunch or lunch at Snooze. It is really good place and you can only experience it in Denver!

Tip Especially in the weekend it is really busy at Snooze. To just lay in your bed and also wait in the line. Download the Snooze app. You can stand virtual in line and 15 minutes before your table is ready, they send you a text and you can come out of your bed!

You like this post? Save it on Pinterest!