Denver is a major regional center of culture and trade, and just a pretty colorful city. It’s easily recognizable by its clear geometric grid of streets, the towering skyscrapers of the business center, as well as the peaks of the nearby Rocky Mountains standing all over the horizon.
Due to its versatility, Denver is a widely-known destination offering an enormous selection of sights and activities. We’ve carefully prepared a set of the most worthy spots of Denver, which show a true character of the city. So, are you ready to enjoy them all only in 24 hours?
Denver Zoo
Denver Zoo should be definitely included into the list of must-visit Denver’s spots. It will be very interesting to spend several hours there, because it offers over 3500 animals of about 650 species. On the huge 80-acre territory you can find giraffes, gorillas, birds of prey and other representatives of the exotic animal world. By the way, peacocks walk freely along the paths of the zoo. In addition to rich animal world, Denver Zoo is beautifully decorated: among beautiful trees and plants you can see a lot of original sculptures made from recycled rubbish. For visitors with children there are specially equipped playgrounds in the zoo.
Address: 2300 Steele St, Denver
Operating Hours: Monday-Sunday 10am-4pm
Admission: adults $13, kids 3-11 $9
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
This is the fourth largest museum in the world among the Museums of Nature, and the largest museum in the United States. The museum amazes with an abundance of exhibits, as well as beautiful decoration of dioramas – there are more than 80 of them! You can photograph as much as you want without extra payment. The glasses in the dioramas are very clean, so it may seem that the photos were made in natural conditions, but not in a museum. On the first floor there is an extensive mineralogical collection of precious stones, gold and silver nuggets mined in Colorado.
On the second floor you’ll find a huge exhibition of dinosaur skeletons in full size.
A few more small halls of the museum are devoted to the research of the mummies of ancient Egypt.
However, the most delightful halls are those that show the wild nature of North America, from the Pacific coast and islands, to the Atlantic one, from Alaska, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Address: 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver
Operating Hours: Monday-Sunday 9am-5pm
Admission: adults $17, kids 3-18 $12
Downtown Aquarium
As any big city, Denver features diverse water entertainments. Downtown Aquarium is among them. It’s placed in Denver’s city center and, of course, has no access to the sea. This is the largest aquarium between Chicago and San Francisco.
Its enormous collection includes over 500 species of marine inhabitants. In huge aquariums, you can see exotic fish, watch jellyfish and stingrays, as well as other amazing sea creatures. Also, there is a large pool with sharks, as well as many beautiful areas for those who want to take spectacular photos. By the way, interesting excursions are held for the visitors of the aquarium.
Address: 700 Water St, Denver
Operating Hours: Sunday-Thursday 10am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-9.30pm
Admission: adults $20.50, kids 3-11 $14.50
Mount Evans
Mount Evans is located relatively not far from Denver at the altitude of 4348 meters above sea level. The view opening from Evans is just fantastic: you can see amazingly green wild forests, deep blue lakes, as well as snow-capped mountain ranges. It’s quite easy to reach it by car by a special panoramic road – Mount Evans Scenic Byway. This road is paid – $10/car. Be careful, because the road is closed in winter. Of course, it may seem strange that you can get to the mountain by car, but it’s very convenient in case you have a proper vehicle. By the way, you can use Denver car rental to choose a suitable transport. Mount Evans is also a great destination for the fans of hiking.
Address: Mt Evans Rd, Evergreen
Operating Hours: open 24 hours
Admission: $10/car
Denver Botanical Garden
Denver Botanical Garden was opened in 1951. Nowadays, it includes 23 acres of impeccably maintained grounds with an educational center.
The gardens also expanded to three other sites, including 750 acres of greenhouses in the suburb of Littleton, an alpine trail to Mount Evans to the west of Gold in the Rocky Mountains, where natural wildflowers grow and the Centennial Garden, originally dedicated to the Century of Colorado.
During the year the Botanical Garden features a continuous flowering. There are so many different sites that you can see the representatives of the flora from all corners of the globe.
If you are a naturalist, or just want to relax among lush greenery, then this is the right place for you.
Address: 1007 York St, Denver
Operating Hours: Monday-Sunday 9am-5pm
Admission: adults $12.50, kids 3-11 $9
So, that was a special set of activities for your 24 hours in Denver. Check them out to have a nice weekend in the major city of Colorado.