A Perfect Holiday Weekend Itinerary for Denver, Colorado

When our families’ plans changed for the Thanksgiving weekend, Michael and I had to make a change to ours, too – and naturally, we decided to travel.

With just a few days’ notice before the long weekend, we had limited options for flights in our price range and at times that fit our schedule. Though we tend to avoid low-cost carriers, all reasonable flights remaining were on Frontier, Spirit, or Allegiant. Our best option departed Tampa for Denver after work on Wednesday night, to return home late Saturday night. We booked it, and right in the nick of time, too.

A search of rental car agencies showed there were no cars available for the holiday weekend (how?), meaning we were reliant on ride-share apps to get around (and now have an excuse to return to Denver so we can drive up into the mountains next time).

So, we made the most of a quiet weekend within the city limits together, reveling in the start of the holiday season.

Headed to Denver, too? I’m happy to be your guide today!

DENVER FOOD + DRINK

Late Night Grub

Cart-Driver | Multiple Locations
Appaloosa Grill | 535 16th St Mall #110, Denver, CO 80202

Finding late-night eats was a little tougher than I expected in Denver, but we managed to eat well on both of the nights we needed a later meal. Cart-Driver makes fantastic pizza (the clam pizza is probably one of my top seven pies, ever) and if you wait until after 10 p.m. to eat, you can get their Daisy pizza for only $5, an absolute steal.

Appaloosa Grill would not have been on my radar had we not known we’d be arriving at our hotel close to midnight; I searched and searched and only found a few non-chain places within a mile’s vicinity of our hotel that would be open at the time we’d need them to be. Appaloosa Grill was a few short blocks from our hotel and we were both pleasantly surprised by the quality of the late-night menu. My surprising recommendation? The chicken tenders and volcano mac & cheese. Other restaurants we considered (but did not visit) were Pete’s Kitchen and Bang Up to the Elephant.

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Trendy Spots

Death & Co. | 1280 25th St, Denver, CO 80205
Linger | 2030 W 30th Ave, Denver, CO 80211
Little Man Ice Cream | 2620 16th St, Denver, CO 80211
The 1up | Multiple Locations
Denver Milk Market | 1800 Wazee St #100, Denver, CO 80202

Several places around town offered Thanksgiving meals and buffets priced at $75 per head and up, but none of them were the kind of place we wanted to dine that badly. Death & Co. fit the bill of what we needed: good food, good drinks, good atmosphere. The NYC institution opened a new spot in Denver earlier this year, and the cocktails are stellar. The prix-fixe menu offered on Thanksgiving hit the spot too, but without the belly-busting fullness you get from a buffet or family-style meal.

Linger was one restaurant I received recommendations for again and again, and so we decided to check it out for brunch on our last morning in Denver. Linger’s menu is full of twists on international flavors, but we couldn’t pass on an order of breakfast tacos and sliders (we’re awful, but also, can you blame us?). We finished our brunch hour with dessert next door at Little Man Ice Cream and you have to do the same.

Things were just getting started at The 1up when we walked in, so it was nice to (mostly) have the run of the arcade bar. Game prices are reasonable, but the beer list was a tad underwhelming. Still, this was a fun way to kill time before dinner one evening. The Denver Milk Market is a pretty, modern food hall located right downtown, which would be the perfect option to feed a large group with diverse tastes.

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Mexican Food

Casa Bonita | 6715 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214
El Taco de Mexico | 714 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO 80204

I hesitated including Casa Bonita under the category of “food” rather than “sights” because the food is really, truly terrible. But chances are very good that you’re not there for the food, although you are required to order a meal to enter. Fans of the show South Park will recognize the restaurant from the Casa Bonita episode, which I watched for the first time in the days leading up to our visit. I can confirm that the episode’s depiction of the restaurant is alarmingly accurate, though I was not expecting Disney-esque lines formed with stanchions to get in. To save money, as we weren’t there to eat, we ordered the two cheapest options that the restaurant would allow: Two kids meals. Each. Thankfully we were seated in a reasonably okay location: far from the screaming kids but close enough to watch the cliff divers and gorilla (yes, you read that correctly). The saving grace of the experience is the sopapillas, which are about the only thing made fresh to order in the restaurant, and are unlimited – just raise the flag on your table to order more.

On the way back from Casa Bonita we stopped at El Taco de Mexico, a local favorite for authentic Mexican food. Our orders looked almost identical to the ones we received at Casa Bonita, but the quality and flavor can’t be compared.

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Denver Breweries

Our Mutual Friend | 2810 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205
Great Divide Brewing Co. | 2201 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO 80205

Wander for any length of time in Denver, and you’ll probably stumble into a brewery. Denver is home to mass-market giant Coors, but there are so many craft breweries in the city that are way more deserving of your time. We were grateful for Our Mutual Friend, which was open on Thanksgiving Day and proved an ideal place to escape from the cold. In addition to brewing their own beers, OMF hosts a lot of other breweries on tap, too.

Great Divide Brewing Co. has been around since the 90s, and chances are you’ve had one of their Yeti beers before. Even so, the tap room is a great place to relax for a bit, and try something different.

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Denver Coffee Shops

Choice Market | Multiple Locations
Novo Coffee | Multiple Locations
Method Coffee Roasters | 2011 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211

We were worried about the availability of coffee on Thanksgiving and for good reason (even Starbucks was closed). Thankfully, Choice Market was open, serving great coffee along with hyper-local foods in its convenience store setting. Even better, they were supporting the community by running a pay-what-you-can Thanksgiving meal.

Novo Coffee offered a surprising wealth of options, and were we not headed out for the day we would have picked up a pound of their very good beans to bring home. Method Collective is also a great place to grab a cup; if we lived locally, I could see myself popping in with my laptop to write.

DENVER SIGHTSEEING + SHOPPING

Art in Denver

Denver Art Museum | 100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204

We could have spent all day in the Denver Art Museum, exploring its spectacular permanent collection and temporary exhibitions – along with what felt like everyone else in Denver. A sleepy start to the day put us there later than we would have liked, but thankfully we managed to pick up the last two entries to the Dior exhibit for several hours. That, combined with the Rembrandt exhibit which brought us right back to Amsterdam, and the interactive art activities was well worth the price of admission.

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Hotels-as-Destinations

The Source Hotel | 3330 Brighton Blvd, Denver, CO 80216
Union Station | 1701 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202

The Source Hotel is a prime example of the new trend of hotels-as-destinations. It combines a food hall and retail space into one, inviting guests and non-guests to lounge as long as they’d like. Some spaces were closed during our visit, but we enjoyed the Nordic-inspired Hygge Life Pop-up and a beer at Crooked Stave.

Even more accurately, Union Station is both a hotel and a destination, as it’s the downtown train station. Most places were still closed on Black Friday, but the Tattered Cover Book Store was open to sell its carefully curated selection of reads.

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Denver Green Spaces

Commons Park | 2101 15th St, Denver, CO 80202
City Park | 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205

Denver quietly reflects its natural surroundings throughout the city; a look at a map shows a host of green spaces ready for both play and relaxation. Commons Park is located right downtown, so it’s really easy to get to. City Park is quite large and offers wonderful views of the Rockies without stepping foot out of the city limits (also – it offers more geese than I’ve ever seen in my life). Even if you plan on staying in the urban jungle for the whole duration of your visit, be sure to spend a little time in nature, too.

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS IN DENVER

Denver Holiday Markets

Christkindl Market | 101 West 14th Avenue, Denver, CO 80204
Union Station Holiday Market | 1701 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202

The Christkindl Market offered a little slice of Germany in downtown Denver. Pick up a cup of mulled wine (or a German beer) and stroll through the market stands. We purchased a small, handmade ornament for our tree – a lovely memento to cherish for years to come. We also considered visiting the Union Station Holiday Market while attending the tree lighting ceremony, but its $5 admission and long lines changed our minds. Perhaps you’ll have better luck!

WHERE TO STAY IN DENVER

Grand Hyatt Denver

Grand Hyatt Denver | 1750 Welton St, Denver, CO 80202

Although hotel prices are typically high in cities around the holidays, rates at downtown Denver hotels over Thanksgiving weekend were very reasonable. We got the best bang for our buck at the Grand Hyatt Denver, located downtown nearly equidistant to the Capitol and LoDo areas. With a AAA card, our rate came to about $130 per night after taxes and included a daily breakfast buffet for two (regularly priced at $20 each).

Our room was fairly standard for a hotel room, but the breakfast each morning was such a treat: tons of fresh fruit, bread, pastries, cheeses, made-to-order omelets, waffles, bread puddings (my favorite!), assorted meats and egg dishes. The hotel also boasts an indoor pool, fitness center, and rooftop track (which we didn’t use – whoops). The location was great for walking, there are lots of restaurants and convenience stores nearby, and we felt pretty safe in the evenings as well.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: DENVER

Denver has a lot to offer, even for the short-stay guest without a car. Truthfully, if you are planning to stay downtown as we did, a car might end up becoming a burden, anyway. We switched between Uber and Lyft depending on which offered a cheaper fare at the time, but Denver seems to have an acceptable public transit system. It’s possible to take the light rail from the airport to Union Station, but it would have put us a mile from our hotel, so we decided to save time by taking a car to and from the airport. There is a free MallRide ~~and a free MetroRide route~~ available, should you be heading where the bus is heading. Downtown Denver is very walkable, if you have the ability and the weather is great. You can get the most out of each mile you walk by grouping your itinerary by neighborhoods.

When booking a hotel in Denver (or anywhere, but particularly in Denver), always check the list of taxes and fees added to your nightly rate. We noticed that many of the hotels in the LoDo area near Union Station had tons of additional fees added to the advertised rate, bumping the total cost up another $100 over the standard nightly taxes.

We didn’t expect the air and altitude to affect us as much as theu did, but I’m very glad we turned down the chance to complete a Turkey Trot. We’re so used to living in a humid climate near sea level that the dry air left us feeling constantly thirsty and the altitude impacted our ability to walk long distances at a time and to climb more than a flight or two of stairs before taking a break. Take extra precautions to stay hydrated and to avoid having an empty stomach. I expect the feelings would ease over the course of a longer stay, but we didn’t have that luxury – instead, we headed home to Florida with a desire to return to Denver one day.

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When is your favorite time of year to visit a new place?