![]() |
Home - City Guide - Denver - Key Attractions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Key Attractions United States Mint Every year US Mint in Denver strikes over ten billion coins identifiable by the small D that appears below the date. The free guided tours of the Mint are one of Denver's top attractions. Visitors can see the huge noisy high-speed presses spitting out 40 million coins each day onto conveyor belts overflowing with a bright, glittering hoard to be counted, sorted and bagged. In the basement, lies the biggest collection of gold bars outside of Fort Knox. The shop is a haven for coin enthusiasts, with boxed sets of mint coins available. During the summer, queues frequently stretch round the block with waiting times of one hour. 320 West Colfax Avenue at Cherokee Street Tel: (303) 405 4761. Web site: www.usmint.gov Transport: Cultural Connection Trolley. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1445; closed two weeks every summer for the annual audit. Admission: Free. Colorado's Ocean Journey This exciting new US$93-million facility houses more than 15,000 fish, mammals and plants in two imaginative river journeys. The Colorado River flows into the same ocean as the Kampar River in Sumatra - on opposite sides of the globe. Both rivers start at 36,600m (12,000ft) above sea level and reach the Pacific Ocean through completely different ecosystems. Visitors can follow the journeys of both rivers in this enormous world-class exhibition, part aquarium, part zoo and part theme park. The Colorado River crashes through mountain waterfalls, trout streams, arid red rock canyons and flash floods on its way to the Sea of Cortez. The Kampar River winds down from the mountains of Sumatra through tropical rainforest, where parrots fly free and tigers lurk near the clear waters of a coral reef, sheltering sharks and multi-coloured tropical fish. 700 Water Street Tel: (303) 561 4450 Web site: www.oceanjourney.org Transport: Bus 10. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800. Admission: US$14.95 (concessions available). Colorado State Capitol Built in 1908, in the domed classical style, Colorado State Capitol embodies the confident civic pride of the young America at the turn of the century. The brilliant dome gleams with 24-carat gold leaf outdone only by the unique rose-colored Colorado onyx wainscoting inside. Quarried in Beulah, Colorado, the entire world supply of this onyx was used here. The highlight for the fit and healthy is the winding 93-step climb to the top of the dome, rewarded by panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. Back at ground level, a brass marker on the steps reminds visitors that they are still 'one mile above sea level'. 200 East Colfax Avenue, at Broadway Tel: (303) 866 2604 Transport: Cultural Connection Trolley. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1430. Admission: Free. Molly Brown House Museum The spacious, three-storey Molly Brown House Museum was built in 1890 and sold to the Browns in 1894 for US$30,000. Now restored to its original splendour of draped velvet, lace, polished wood and rich carved furniture, it affords not only a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of Victorian Denver's upper-middle class, but brings to life one of the most exuberant characters of the Denver gold rush. By her own account, Molly Brown was the 'unsinkable' heroine of the Titanic disaster and the house is full of mementoes of her extraordinary life. In the holiday season, the house is decked out in a recreation of one of Molly's legendary Christmas parties. 1340 Pennsylvania Web site: www.mollybrown.org Transport: Cultural Connection Trolley. Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1200-1600; closed Mon in winter. Admission: US$6.00 (concessions available). Denver Museum of Nature and Science The fourth largest museum of its kind in America, the exhibits explore earth and the creatures that live on it. Among the highlights are the world-famous handcrafted dioramas depicting animals from around the globe in realistic settings. The most memorable exhibit is the US$7-million Prehistoric Journey that takes visitors back to the era of the dinosaurs. The walk through 'envioramas' of prehistoric earth features aggressive giant dinosaurs, complete with sound effects. Other features include interactive investigations of the human body in the Hall of Life, the galaxies of the planetarium and the realistic movie adventures in the IMAX theatre. 2001 Colorado Boulevard Tel: (303) 370 6357. Web site: www.dmnh.org Transport: Cultural Connection Trolley. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700; until 1900 Tues in summer. Admission: US$7.00 (museum); US$7.00 (IMAX); US$11.00 (combination ticket); concessions available. |
|