South Platte River Denver

Maximizing One Day in Denver: Complete Itinerary

Chasing New AdventuresColorado 1 Comment

We were recently in Denver for about 36 hours, 12 of which were spent exploring the city. Over the course of those 12 hours, we walked approximately 14 miles, visited several of the city’s top attractions, and ate two good meals.

Read the other posts in this series:

– Introduction: 2 Days in Denver
– Flight Review: United First to Denver (UA2031)
– My Thoughts on Denver Public Transit
– Hotel Review: Hilton Denver City Center
– RiNo, Denver’s River North Art District
– Hotel Review: Element Denver Downtown East
– Maximising One Day in Denver: Complete Itinerary
– Visiting Denver’s Amazing Amex Centurion Lounge

In this post, I’ve laid out my Denver itinerary, in addition to where we stayed and the restaurants we ate at. For more details on our trip, you can read my Denver trip report here.

Travelling to Denver

We visited Denver in late October, which was pretty close to a perfect time to explore the city. It was slightly cold in the morning, but warmed up by the afternoon. We also caught the last of the fall foliage – although a week or two earlier would have been peak time.

  • Fall foliage denver

We flew with with United to DEN (you can read that flight review here), and then took the train to downtown. Most people suggest taking the train, which is why we did so, but I wouldn’t recommend it during COVID times.

Things to Do with One Day in Denver

We arrived in Denver late night, so we got dinner from Whole Foods (the only place open at 10pm) and went straight to our hotel. The next morning, we ate breakfast at our hotel and headed out around 10am. We finished our day exactly 12 hours later at 10pm. Here’s what we managed to accomplish:

Big Blue Bear

One of the weirdest Denver tourist attractions is the Big Blue Bear, which is simply a gigantic bear leaning over the city Convention Center. It was created by a local artist, Lawrence Argent, in 2005. As soon as I found it while browsing Google Maps, I made it the first stop on our itinerary.

While I’d read that it was 40 feet tall, it looked even larger in real life! Unfortunately it’s been subject to some graffiti and vandalism, but if you take pictures from a distance, it’s not too visible.

  • Big Blue Bear at the Convention Center
  • Big Blue Bear at the Convention Center
  • Big Blue Bear at the Convention Center

This was a fun introduction to the city and something I highly recommend seeing while you are in Denver.

The Curtis Hotel

One thing you should know about me is that whenever I travel, I love finding hotels that I’ve researched prior to our trip. I’m not sure why, but I enjoy seeing where I could’ve ended up staying if I had made a different choice.

So, that made The Curtis Hotel, a Hilton DoubleTree property, a necessary stop on our one day Denver itinerary. I found it by chance on the Hilton website and was instantly intrigued by the hotel’s style. DoubleTree hotels are usually very standard, simple, properties, but this one had a lot of character.

  • The Curtis Hotel
  • The Curtis Hotel Denver
  • The Curtis Hotel Denver
  • The Curtis Hotel Denver
  • The Curtis Hotel Denver

It had appeared strange online, but was even more interesting in person. A hotel lobby is a weird thing to put on a travel itinerary, but I urge you to check out the inside of this hotel if you’re in Denver. Stay in one of their themed rooms too, if you’re willing to take the risk of not knowing what exactly you’ll be assigned.

Larimer Square

This is more of a quick stop than a big attraction, but since it’s close to most of the other spots in this itinerary, it’s worth taking a look at. It’s not a square as the name suggests – it’s actually a section of Larimer Street filled with restaurants and shops. Because of the pandemic, part of the street has been blocked off for outdoor dining and is now pedestrian-only.

  • Larimer Square Denver

It’s a nice space and I imagine it would be very vibrant at night when the restaurants are packed with people.

16th Street Mall

16th Street Mall is Denver’s pedestrian main street lined with hundreds of restaurants and shops. When we visited on a Saturday morning in October, there was a market set up with stalls selling art, food, clothing, and more. It’s an enjoyable place to walk through, and also a good spot to pick up Denver souvenirs if you are interested in doing so.

  • 16th Street Mall
  • 16th Street Mall

Another highlight of 16th Street Mall is the 2 cows, who remain from the Denver Cow Parade in 2006. They don’t look quite like they originally did, but they are still cool to see. Personally I preferred the one created by Douglas Rose, as it was in better condition.

  • 16th St Mall Cows
  • 16th St Mall Cows
  • 16th St Mall Cows

Daniels & Fisher Clocktower

Located on 16th street is Daniels & Fisher Clocktower, built in 1910 to house a department store. The basement has now been turned into an entertainment venue, although I’m not sure what’s happened with that regarding COVID.

  • Daniels & Fisher Clocktower

We walked past it both during the day and at night. If you can, I’d recommend visiting at nighttime. As part of a project, work from artists around the world is projected onto the tower from sunset until midnight.

  • Daniels & Fisher Clocktower at night
  • Daniels & Fisher Clocktower at night

Commons & Confluence Parks

One of my favourite places we visited was Commons & Confluence parks, two adjacent parks along the South Platte River. We crossed over the Millennium Bridge (which has a cool design) to get there and it was an instant change in scenery from the downtown area.

  • Commons & Confluence Parks

As I mentioned earlier in this post we caught the last of the fall colours, which made the river views extra beautiful. One of the bridges spanning the river is a mini version of Pont des Arts, with lots of locks attached to it.

  • South Platte River Denver
  • South Platte River Denver
  • Highlands Bridge Denver

Apparently these parks are popular with dog walkers, as I saw more people with dogs than I did without. Seriously, every dog in Denver must have been at the park – there were so many.

  • Dog Walkers at Commons Park
  • Dog Walkers at Commons Park

River North Art District (RiNo)

I wrote a longer, more detailed post on the River North Art District and you can read that here – if you do only one thing in Denver, this should be it. It’s a section of downtown filled with hidden alleyways, murals, and sculptures from local artists. It’s such a vibrant and colourful area and I love discovering places like this. Here is some of my favourite artwork – additional pictures are in my aforementioned post:

  • River North Art District
  • Denver RiNo Murals
  • Denver RiNo Murals
  • Denver RiNo Murals

Colorado State Capitol

I’m not someone who’s into touring government buildings, but I did enjoy seeing the exterior of the State Capitol. The surrounding greenery was a nice backdrop and there are great views overlooking Civic Center Park and the Rockies in the distance. The 15th step leading up to the Capitol is engraved with the phrase “One Mile Above Sea Level”, marking the elevation.

  • Colorado State Capitol
  • Colorado State Capitol
  • One mile above sea level steps

In addition to the Capitol building, Civic Center Park is home to a Greek amphitheatre and several memorials, including one commemorating the Armenian Genocide. Nearby is the Denver Art Museum and Public Library, two other places to check out if you have more than a day in Denver.

  • Civic Center Park

Denver City Council

Continuing on with the theme of government buildings, the City Council is another interesting stop in Denver. I suggest visiting at night – we went around 9:30pm and the glowing red was a surprise to see. A good photo opportunity, too.

  • Denver City Council

Get Ice Cream at Gelato Boy

My dad and I were debating where to get dessert after dinner: Kilwins or Gelato Boy. Thankfully, he accepted my argument that Gelato Boy would be better – while I can’t be sure it was, I do know that it was delicious.

We shared a tasting flight with strawberry, lavender poppy, limoncello, pumpkin cheesecake, gooey butter cake, and chocolate fudge brownie. They all had a great flavour, my favourite being the lavender poppy.

  • Gelato Boy Tasting Flight

Walk!

Honestly, one of the best things to do in any city is to just walk around. We did this whole itinerary on foot, totaling nearly 14 miles. It’s a lot of walking, but I discovered so much more than I would have if we’d Ubered everywhere. I’m a huge proponent of walking everywhere.

  • Mile high city mural

Where to Eat in Denver

Denver wasn’t a city that I expected to have a great food scene, but I was wrong. When doing research on where to eat, I came up with a list about 20 restaurants long. Of course, I couldn’t eat everywhere, so I had to pick and choose.

For lunch, we ate at Melita’s Greek Cafe in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood, simply because it was convenient. This place surprised me so much – the food was way better than expected, and it was quick and easy. It’s a great place to stop for lunch if you’re nearby.

  • Melita's Greek Cafe Falafel Wrap

We had originally planned to eat dinner at Work & Class, a Latin American restaurant in RiNo. They don’t take reservations (according to their website, it’s unnecessary), but when we showed up at 7:30pm, they told us it would be an hourlong wait. It was also super packed indoors, so we opted to go elsewhere.

We ended up at Marco’s Coal Fired – pizza, very atypical for me. I’m happy to report that our meal was fantastic and I would definitely return the next time I’m in Denver. We ordered their garlic cheese bread plus a custom pizza, and both were delicious. And this is coming from someone who dislikes pizza.

  • Marco's Coal Fired Custom Pizza
  • Marco's Coal Fired Garlic Bread
  • Marco's Coal Fired Outdoor Dining

Other restaurants on my list included Rioja, Tavernetta, El Five, and The Pig & The Sprout. I need to return to Denver just so I can try out more restaurants.

Where to Stay in Denver

We stayed at two different hotels in Denver, for fun and for blog purposes. Our first night we spent at the Hilton Denver City Center, which had a location in the center of downtown. We had a 2 queen room on the top floor, and breakfast was included thanks to elite status. If I wasn’t focused on trying out as many hotels as possible for the sake of this blog, I’d return here on my next visit to Denver. This is a perfect hotel if you’re trying to maximise a short amount of time in the city.

  • Hilton Denver 2 Queen Room

Our second night was at the Element Denver Downtown East, which sadly I can’t recommend. The service was poor and despite the hotel being only two years old, our room had several issues. The breakfast wasn’t great either.

  • Element Denver 7th Floor Patio

Final Thoughts

We had a good weekend in Denver, and I feel like I succeeded in maximising the short amount of time we had. If you’re planning a similar trip, hopefully this itinerary helped you. Let me know if there’s anywhere I missed/should visit next time I’m in Denver in the comments!

Read the other posts in this series:

– Introduction: 2 Days in Denver
– Flight Review: United First to Denver (UA2031)
– My Thoughts on Denver Public Transit
– Hotel Review: Hilton Denver City Center
– RiNo, Denver’s River North Art District
– Hotel Review: Element Denver Downtown East
– Maximising One Day in Denver: Complete Itinerary
– Visiting Denver’s Amazing Amex Centurion Lounge

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