Denver, Colorado
Denver for Grown-Ups: Things to Do for Adults
Denver is an easy grown-up city break: a jazz supper club, a Prohibition-era martini bar, two very good art museums, serious cocktail bars and the mountains half an hour away. Here's how to spend it well.
- Best base
- LoDo, near Union Station, or downtown near the Arts Complex
- Ideal stay
- 3 nights, 4 with a day in the foothills
- Book ahead
- Dazzle, Guard and Grace, Williams & Graham, Brown Palace tea, theatre tickets
- Good to know
- Denver is a mile high: drink more water and go easy on the first evening's cocktails
Some links on this page go to booking partners. If we join their affiliate programmes we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend. How we make money.
Itineraries and guides
Start with the 3-day Denver itinerary, or our Denver weekend itinerary for two days. Couples should read things to do in Denver for couples. Heading on to the desert? Scottsdale is a short flight away.
Grown-up essentials
Dazzle
Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1080 14th St
Denver's flagship jazz club, now in the city's Performing Arts Complex, with shows seven nights a week (around 70 a month), a full dinner menu and a Sunday jazz brunch.
Tip: Book a table for the early set and dine during the show.
The Cruise Room
The Oxford Hotel, 1600 17th St
An Art Deco martini bar modelled on the Queen Mary, opened in 1933 the day after Prohibition ended and billed as Denver's longest continuously operating bar. Open from 4 p.m. daily (until 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday, 10 p.m. Sunday); walk-ins only.
Williams & Graham
3160 Tejon St, LoHi
One of Denver's most celebrated cocktail bars: more than 60 classics and originals and 500-plus spirits in a warm, low-lit room. 21+, open daily 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; reservations recommended, with a two-hour window.
Denver Art Museum
100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Golden Triangle
One ticket covers the whole campus: the Hamilton and Martin buildings and The Kirkland's decorative-arts collection. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (8 p.m. on Tuesdays); closed Wednesdays.
Afternoon Tea at the Brown Palace
The Brown Palace, 321 17th St
Scones, tea sandwiches and pastries under the stained-glass ceiling of the Grand Atrium, which turns into a cocktail lounge at night. Tea is served daily until 4 p.m. (from noon on weekdays, late morning at weekends); book ahead.
Tip: The holiday season (from November 9) books up weeks ahead.
Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre
Morrison (about 30 minutes west)
Heads-up: I-70 bridge repairs near Kipling St are causing delays; allow extra time.
An amphitheatre set into giant red sandstone rocks, opened in 1941. The park is open from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset and is free to walk, with a visitor center and trails; concert tickets are sold through AXS.
Tip: On concert days the amphitheatre closes to visitors from about 2 p.m.; go in the morning.
A night out, three ways
For jazz and dinner, book Dazzle in the Performing Arts Complex. For a show, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts has eight theatres next door. For a cocktail crawl, start with a martini in the Cruise Room, then take a short ride to Death & Co in RiNo and Williams & Graham in the Highlands.
Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th St
Eight theatres under one roof, from the Buell (touring Broadway shows) to the DCPA Theatre Company's own productions. Check what's on for your dates and pair it with dinner at Dazzle next door.
Death & Co Denver
The Ramble Hotel, 1280 25th St, RiNo
The New York cocktail bar's Denver outpost, inside the Ramble Hotel. Open from 3 p.m. daily (until 11 p.m., 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday); walk-ins welcome, with limited reservations.
Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall
Denver Performing Arts Complex
The symphony plays in the round at Boettcher Concert Hall, with a 2026-27 season of classics, film scores in concert and guest artists. The hall has a major renovation funded, so check the venue for your dates.
Worth knowing
- The Denver Art Museum is closed on Wednesdays and the Clyfford Still Museum on Mondays, so plan your museum morning around both.
- Red Rocks closes to visitors from about 2 p.m. on concert days; visit in the morning, or buy concert tickets and see it at night.
- I-70 bridge repairs near Kipling Street are slowing the drive west in autumn 2026; allow extra time for Red Rocks.
- Brown Palace afternoon tea books up weeks ahead in the holiday season, which starts on November 9.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Hours change with the seasons and concert calendars, so confirm before you go.
Questions people ask
What is there to do in Denver for adults?
Jazz and dinner at Dazzle, a martini in the 1933 Cruise Room, cocktails at Williams & Graham and Death & Co, the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum, afternoon tea at the Brown Palace, a show at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and a morning at Red Rocks.
Is Denver good for a weekend away?
Yes. The center is compact, the airport train runs straight to Union Station, and you can fit in museums, a jazz club, a good steak and the foothills in two days.
How many days do you need in Denver?
Three is ideal: one for the museums and downtown, one for LoDo and RiNo, and one for Red Rocks or Boulder.