This week on I Want to Work In (#iwtwi), we are featuring the top five places to live, work, eat, play, study, and meet people in Denver, Colorado. This list will help you familiarize yourself with the city being featured in case you are interested in living and working there in the future! It will also give you an idea of Denver before the FORUM conference on January 6th – 8th.
Top 5 Places To:
LIVE
- Cap Hill – Cap Hill encompasses what I have always thought Denver would feel like. It is a place that you want to walk in and I love looking at all of the beautiful historical homes.
- Highlands – Another neighborhood with a distinct Denver feeling. You can easily walk downtown and find plenty of charming homes and great bars/restaurants.
- Rino – Trendy area with breweries, street art, night life and restaurants.
- Cherry Creek – Denver’s upscale shopping hub.
- Boulder – We have all heard of Boulder, but it really is nice to get out of the Denver grid and envelop yourself in the open park space and mountains.
WORK
EAT
- La Grande Mexicana – Coming from southern NM, I believe that this restaurant has the best chimichanga I have ever eaten.
- Fontana on 6th – Delicious sushi at a good price – I always get Salmon sashimi and the summer roll.
- Gaetanos – An amazing mobster themed Italian restaurant. Be careful if you get a limoncello shot… they put everclear in them!
- Star Kitchen – Do you love dim sum? This place is as authentic as it can get for this part of the world and the bbq bao is like a delicate cloud in your mouth.
- Leven Deli Co. – Located next to the Denver Art Museum, this a charming Jewish deli. They have a wide variety of charcuterie items, wines, coffee drinks, and breads. On a cold day after work, I love to go in and get a cup of chowder and a glass of red wine.
PLAY
- Red Rocks – You can hike, participate in yoga classes, see your favorite bands, and catch a drive-in movie all in the same place!
- Mount Falcon Hiking Trail – The Mount Falcon trail is located just outside of the city. The hike is not strenuous at all and it offers spectacular views of the Rockies and downtown Denver. You can also find the ruins of a historical stone castle on the trail!
- Clyfford Still Museum – This may be a controversial opinion, but I find this museum to be far more architecturally interesting than the Denver Art Museum.
- Star Bar – Star Bar is located downtown and it is absolutely divey. At the same time, it kind of feels like a home base bar. Don’t miss karaoke on Wednesdays!
- Larimer Square – Larimer Square may be the cutest business district in Denver. It is steeped in old western architectural charm. It is without doubt an Instagram worthy street.
STUDY
- Union Station – This iconic building is set up with a spectacular lobby filled with comfortable couches and large tables. You can also find bars and restaurants in the terminal. You might find yourself looking up in awe of how beautiful the room is so don’t come here to study too hard!
- Method Collective LOHI – Cute and quiet coffee shop with a trendy modern feel. If you get bored of coffee, Lady Jane (great bar) is next door (;
- Colorado Cherry Company – Have you ever studied in a pie shop? Now you can and should. You can get a sweet or savory slice of pie and a cup of coffee.
- Denver Cat Company – Feeling stressed? The kitties at the Denver Cat Company will relieve your stress and help you focus when you need to study… or they will just distract you more!
- The Link – This gorgeously renovated lobby in downtown Denver is the perfect place to study. You can find a coffee/cocktail bar and plenty of comfortable seating.
MEET PEOPLE
- Stir Cooking School – Take an evening cooking class and get to know other people while you eat and drink great things!
- El Five – Penthouse bar with a full view of downtown.
- Coors Field Stadium – Catch a Rockies game! If you get bored of the game feel free to wander to the bars and restaurants located in the ball park.
- Lost Lake – Small bar and live music venue.
- The 1 Up — Awesome arcade bar near downtown.
FUN FACTS
- Molly Brown, who survived the Titanic, lived in Denver and you can tour her estate in Capitol Hill.
- Larimer Square is Denver’s original main street. It was slated to be torn down, but Dana Crawford, a legendary Denver conservationist and planner, saved it!
- Denver’s state capitol sits at 5280’ – coining it the Mile High City.
- Denver averages about 5’ of snow a year.
- Cheesman Park, a popular city park, was once a graveyard. Some people say they have seen ghosts on their night walks!
STUDENT BIO:
- Hi! My name is Martin Joyce. I completed my BAA in 2019 at the University of New Mexico and my M.ARCH in May 2021 at the University of Colorado Denver. I have lived in Denver for 2 years and I am currently working as an associate at a high end residential firm in Denver.
