Denver

Begin under the barrel-vaulted Great Hall — Denver's restored 1914 train station, now a buzzing lobby of bars and shops. Grab a coffee at the Terminal Bar before you set off.

A mile-long, tree-lined pedestrian promenade. The free MallRide shuttle runs end to end if your feet need a break — but the shopfronts and street performers are best on foot.

Denver's oldest and most beautiful block — restored Victorian storefronts strung with overhead lights, packed with independent restaurants and bars. Prettiest at dusk.

Home of the Rockies, on the edge of LoDo. Find the single purple row of seats in the upper deck — it marks exactly one mile above sea level. Great brewpubs cluster around Blake Street outside.

Finish where Denver started, at the meeting of Cherry Creek and the South Platte — the 1858 gold-rush campsite that became the city. Locals wade, tube and picnic here on warm days.

Start on the west steps and find the one engraved "One Mile Above Sea Level" — stand on it and you're exactly 5,280 feet up. Free tours climb to the gold-leaf dome for the best downtown view.

The Beaux-Arts heart of the city, framed by the Capitol and the City & County Building. Home to the summer food-truck lineup and the Greek amphitheater.

Unmistakable spiky titanium wing by Daniel Libeskind, with one of the country's great collections of Indigenous American art. The Golden Triangle around it is dense with galleries.

The 1889 stone home of "the Unsinkable" Margaret Brown, who survived the Titanic and rowed her lifeboat back for others. A beautifully preserved look at Victorian Denver.

Finish in the leafy, mountain-view park that anchors Capitol Hill. The neoclassical marble pavilion frames a straight-shot view of the Front Range at sunset.