Denver Audio Tours

Denver sits at exactly 5,280 feet above sea level -- one mile -- and the city is not shy about this fact. The state capitol building has a marker on the 13th step on its west side confirming the altitude, and the Colorado sun is noticeably stronger up here, which catches visitors who forget sunscreen on an October afternoon. The Rocky Mountains are visible 60 kilometres to the west, and on clear days the Front Range fills the entire western horizon with snow-capped peaks. This proximity to mountains explains a lot about Denver's character: the gear shops, the trail runners at 6am, the ease with which conversation turns to ski conditions.

Lower Downtown (LoDo) has been the city's anchor for a revitalisation that started with Coors Field baseball stadium opening in 1995 and has continued in every direction.

Union Station, restored in 2014, is the kind of train hall that makes you wish you'd arrived by rail -- high ceilings, good restaurants, a cocktail bar in the great hall. Larimer Square is the oldest block in Denver, a Victorian commercial street that now holds some of the city's better restaurants. The city's craft beer scene is extensive and serious: Colorado is one of the top states for brewery count and the tap rooms along South Broadway and in RiNo (River North Art District) are genuinely good.