Downtown Denver is handily mapped by districts which track its evolution from a gold rush campsite to a growing city laden with cultural experiences. For a concentration of galleries and museums, head to The Golden Triangle Creative and River North Arts (RINO) districts. Lower Downtown (LODO) has an abundance of restaurants and bars in historic buildings and the 16th Street Mall, paved in granite in a diamondback rattlesnake pattern, is worth a promenade. The Five Points Historic District was once known as the Harlem of the West, with the likes of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong playing in its clubs. The district hosts an annual Jazz Festival in May and is home to the Black American West Museum. Track the changing fortunes of a city in Larimer Square, Denver’s first city block. It fell on hard times in the 1900s and its historic buildings were under threat of demolition by the late 1950s. Local citizens, however, saved the day and it went on to become the city’s first designated historic district.

A 30-minute train ride from Denver international airport takes you to Union Station, a Grand beaux Arts and Renaissance Revival-Style building of carved granite and terracotta. The station is a LODO attraction and home to the Crawford hotel and a Large hall with leather sofas, shuffleboards, bars and restaurants. The Winter Park ski resort, beloved by locals, is a two-hour drive from Union Station aboard the Winter Park Express. See unionstationindenver.com; winterparkresort.com

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There are no orders so join the queue then hoe in a Breakfast of sweet potato pancakes or corn beef hash at the snooze at Union Station, created in 2006 by brothers John and Adam Schlegel. The atmosphere is friendly and infectious, and in addition to great coffee, the morning drink menu includes restaurants such as AM Manhattan (Breckenridge Bourbon, espresso, Irish cream, steamed milk and cherries) or Brewmosa (Belgian wheat beer and fresh orange juice). View snoozeeatery.com

Power, politics, gender and race on display during a graffiti tour of the streets of RINO. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes bleak and mostly colorful, it’s an enlightening two hours in which Erin Spradlin gives context to murals that are by local and international artists. Tiny sanitary workers by Belgian artist Jaune are a tribute to the often forgotten utility workers and the pink tinted face of a child, rumored to be the work of local artist Yannis Bellis and represent the suffering of Syrian children. The yarns are members of the local society Ladies Fancywork hang from the roof. View denvergraffititour.com

Denverans love sports and the city is home to seven professional teams – the Colorado Rockies for baseball, the Denver nuggets for basketball and the Denver Broncos for beginners – as well as six sports stadiums. Coors Field, 30 acres of land in LODO, gives fans at first base and the right field of view of the Rockies. Prepare for some big hits; the thin air in Denver, which is at about 1,609 meters, means the ball will travel 9 percent farther than sea level. View mlb.com

Let an enthusiastic volunteer guide you through the comprehensive Denver Art Museum (DAM) which houses more than 70,000 works of art across categories including American Indian, western American, photography, textile and Spanish Colonial. The American Indian collection has works from nearly every tribe across the United States and Canada. Creativity is encouraged with hands-on spaces including The Incubation Effect, a larger-than-life insect nursery made from sewn inflatable sculptures. The North Building is one of only two buildings in North America designed by Italian architect Gio Ponti. The Frederic C. Hamilton Building by architect Daniel Libeskind is said to have been inspired by the craggy cliffs of the Rockies. A short walk from the DAM, the works of Clyfford Still, an innovator in Abstract Expressionism, are on display at the eponymous museum, which contains one of the most comprehensive single-artist collections in the world.

See denverartmuseum.org; clyffordstillmuseum.org

A few steps past the bronze sculpture of a Scottish Angus cow and calf on the lawns of DAM, the delightful staff serve hearty sandwiches made with freshly baked neigh at the newcomer Leven Deli Co. Settle into a wooden cabin for pastrami Ruben and Smashed Chickpeas sandwiches served with cauliflower pickles and fennel, with coleslaw mint on the side. Described as one part Jewish Restaurant, one part Mediterranean Delhi, with the mantra ” Everyone is welcome. No one goes hungry, ” plus a list of wine and beer, it’s the perfect place to spend the day. View eatleven.com

International works from Bauhaus to art Deco periods sit alongside paintings from the American West and make for an atmospheric experience at the Kirkland Museum of fine and decorative arts. The “salon style” display of 4,400 works from a collection of more than 30,000 items also includes the work of the Museum’s namesake, prominent Colorado artist Vance Kirkland. To see the 1920s Peacock chair designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and the Rocky mountain Sunset by Henry Elkins from 1871 is time travel at its best. See kirklandmuseum.org

Chef Taha Tran’s early years were spent helping out at his grandmother’s noodle shop in Saigon. These days, he serves contemporary Asian cuisine from the open kitchen at his popular Ace Eat Serve restaurant. Back up your wontons and Bao with a game of ping pong in the next room. In a heroic nod to inclusivity, the restaurant has a separate food menu for Diners with nuts, seafood and lactose allergies. See aceeatserve.com

While the temptation can be great for skiers and outdoor enthusiasts to skip the city and head straight for the hills, breaking the journey with a few days in Denver will help you acclimate to the higher elevations outside the city.

I want a FACT

About 680,000 in Denver; about 3 million in the Denver Metropolitan area.

Denver is the capital of Colorado in the Western United States and sat on the high rolling plains. More than 200 mountain peaks can be seen from the city.

Denver is exactly a mile (1,609 meters) above sea level. Humidity is low and its residents enjoy more than 300 Sunny days a year.

The evolution from 1800s frontier town to boom town is reflected in the city’s restored and diverse architecture, from the Brown Palace Hotel in red granite to the Colorado state Capitol Building with its 24-carat gold dome. The LODO district has one of the largest concentrations of Victorian and early 20th century buildings in the United States.

Within walking distance of the Denver Museum of art, the Art hotel has its own collection of original works by 20th and 21st century artists, including Deborah Butterfield’s bronze snag-like sculpture. Rooms from $US249 (about $365) per night. See thearthotel.com

traveller.com.au/denver

denver.org

Jane Reddy was a guest of Visit Denver (denver.org).