Denver sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains at exactly one mile above sea level, a fact marked by a step on the west side of the State Capitol building. The city has reinvented itself over the past two decades from a quiet cowtown into a genuinely interesting place to spend time, with a strong food scene, good museums, and easy access to the mountains.
The downtown core is anchored by LoDo (Lower Downtown), a warehouse district turned restaurant and bar neighborhood centered on Larimer Square. Union Station has been beautifully restored into a food hall and gathering space. The Denver Art Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, is worth visiting for the building alone, and the collection of Western American and Native American art is one of the best anywhere. Nearby, the Clyfford Still Museum houses the entire estate of the Abstract Expressionist painter in a quietly powerful building.
Denver's food scene has come into its own. The RiNo (River North) arts district is packed with breweries, taquerias, and inventive restaurants — Hop Alley does excellent modern Chinese, and Ratio Beerworks is a good local brewery. For something more traditional, Buckhorn Exchange has been serving game meat since 1893. The city has more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in the country, and the craft beer culture is deeply embedded. The Highlands across the Platte and historic Capitol Hill east of downtown round out the most walkable neighborhoods; Five Points, once "the Harlem of the West", is the city's Black historic centre.
The mountains are right there. You can be skiing at Loveland Pass in 90 minutes, hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park in two hours, or soaking in hot springs at Idaho Springs in 45 minutes. The world's most beautiful concert venue, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, is fifteen miles west. Denver itself has an excellent park system — City Park, with views of the mountains over the lake, is a fine place to spend an afternoon, and Cheesman Park next to the Denver Botanic Gardens is the prettiest green space in the central neighborhoods.