Denver

Denver is about as far from the sea as an American city gets. In summer, locals swim at the sandy reservoir beaches of Cherry Creek and Chatfield state parks on the city's edge, and the mountain lakes are cold even in July. Pick Denver for the mountains, not the water. Hotel pools and the outdoor public pools are where a visitor cools off.

Beer is the main event. Denver and the Front Range brew more beer than almost anywhere in the country, and taprooms fill old warehouses in RiNo and the streets around Coors Field. The cooking to look for is Southwestern and Mexican: green chile smothered over burritos, breakfast burritos from roadside counters, and Colorado lamb and bison on restaurant menus. Rocky Mountain oysters exist mostly as a dare.

The modern restaurant scene is solid and casual, with food halls, chef-run places in Highland and LoHi and a long run of Vietnamese and Mexican cooking along Federal Boulevard. You will eat well, but serious fine dining is limited and few dishes are found only here.

Denver is a young Western city, founded in the gold rush of 1858, and its sights reflect that. Around Civic Center Park you will find the gold-domed State Capitol, the Denver Art Museum, with its angular titanium-clad wing and a strong Native American collection, and the Clyfford Still Museum, given over to a single Abstract Expressionist painter. History Colorado covers the state's story, and the Molly Brown House shows Victorian Capitol Hill.

Larimer Square and the brick warehouses of LoDo keep the old commercial city intact, and the restored Union Station is a handsome Beaux-Arts hall. It makes two or three good days, though few people travel here just for the sights.

Going out in Denver means bars and breweries, not clubs. LoDo fills with sports crowds on game nights, RiNo has taprooms and cocktail bars in converted warehouses, and East Colfax has dive bars and late, scruffy charm. Highland and South Broadway are for a relaxed neighbourhood night out. Bars close at 2am, and a small club scene covers dance music. At altitude alcohol hits harder, which locals are happy to point out. It is a sociable, easy city for an evening, but a night here rarely becomes a dawn.

The Rockies fill the western horizon, and they are why many people stay here. Within half an hour you reach the red sandstone of Red Rocks Park and the foothill trails above Golden. The Flatirons behind Boulder are about 40 minutes away. Further in, Mount Blue Sky and dozens of summits over 4,000m make serious hiking country. Rocky Mountain National Park, with alpine tundra, elk and high lakes, is about two hours away.

In winter the big ski resorts along I-70 are within roughly two hours, though weekend traffic on that road is notorious. The climate is dry and sunny in every season, and long paved bike trails follow Cherry Creek and the South Platte through the city. You will need a car, and on some days the altitude will make you work for it.

The towns around Denver are mostly small and Western in character. Boulder is a university town under the Flatirons, with a pedestrian main street, about 40 minutes away. Golden has an old brick downtown. Up the mountain corridor, Idaho Springs and Georgetown are Victorian mining towns, and Georgetown has a historic narrow-gauge railway. Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, about an hour south, pair an old spa town with the Air Force Academy.

Further out, Fort Collins to the north is a relaxed brewery and college town. Estes Park, about an hour and a half away, is the gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park, and Breckenridge, about two hours west, is a ski town built around a Victorian main street. Almost all of these need a car, and the major heritage sites of the Southwest are too far for a day.

Denver suits families well. City Park holds both the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, with its dinosaurs, planetarium and dioramas. Down by the South Platte, close to downtown, the Children's Museum, an aquarium and a long-established amusement park are grouped near each other. A butterfly house sits in the northern suburbs, and in summer the splash fountains and wide parks fill with children.

For older children, the real draw is the mountains: easy trails, scenic railways and old mining towns are all a short drive away. The city is relaxed and casual, though the distances mean you will want a car. Visitors from sea level should take the altitude and the strong sun seriously with small children.

Downtown is compact and flat. The 16th Street Mall, LoDo, Union Station and the Civic Center museums are all within walking distance, and a free shuttle bus runs the length of the mall. A commuter train links the airport to Union Station, and light rail lines run out to the suburbs.

Beyond the centre, Denver is a spread-out, car-shaped city. Neighbourhoods like RiNo, Highland and South Broadway are reachable by bus, bike or rideshare. However, the mountains, Red Rocks and most day trips really need a hired car, and public transport to the ski areas is limited.

The main shopping area is Cherry Creek, where a large upscale mall is surrounded by blocks of boutiques and galleries. Downtown, Larimer Square has a handful of independent shops in Victorian buildings, and South Broadway offers vintage clothes, records and junk shops. What Denver does particularly well is outdoor gear, with large flagship stores, and Western wear, from cowboy boots to hats. There is little luxury retail and no market worth a trip of its own.

Denver has typical American big-city prices. Downtown hotels are expensive, especially during conventions and ski season, and restaurant bills grow with tax and tipping. A hired car is part of the budget for most visits. To soften the costs, you can stay out by the light rail, eat at taquerias and breweries, and lean on the free parks, trails and mountains.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is the headline: a concert stage set between two huge sandstone monoliths in the foothills, where musicians and audiences treat a summer show as a pilgrimage. In town, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts covers several blocks, with resident theatre, touring Broadway musicals, the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall, Opera Colorado and the Colorado Ballet.

The live music circuit is strong for a city this size, from historic theatres on Colfax to small rock and jazz rooms in Five Points, which has deep jazz roots. Classical and opera are respectable and regional, not famous.

Denver has no bathing tradition. In the city, wellness means hotel spas, day spas and yoga studios. The natural hot springs start in the mountains. Idaho Springs, under an hour west, has historic mineral pools and steam caves, and the larger hot-spring resorts further into Colorado make good overnight trips. The city itself has an easygoing, outdoor-minded pace, with plenty of sun and green parks to unwind in.