A walking tour of Denver

updated 12:27 p.m. ET June 12, 2006

Start: Denver Information Center, Civic Center Park.

Finish: State Capitol, Civic Center Park.

Time: 2 to 8 hours, depending on how much time you spend shopping, eating, and sightseeing.

Best Times: Any Tuesday through Friday in late spring.

Worst Times: Monday and holidays, when the museums are closed.

Start your tour of the downtown area at Civic Center Park, on West Colfax Avenue at 14th Street.

1. Civic Center Park
This 2-square-block oasis features a Greek amphitheater, fountains, statues, flower gardens, and 30 different species of trees, 2 of which (it is said) were originally planted by Abraham Lincoln at his Illinois home.

Overlooking the park on its east side is the State Capitol. On its south side is the:

2. Colorado History Museum
The staircase-like building houses exhibits that make the state's colorful history come to life.

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Also on the south side of the park are the Denver Public Library and the:

3. Denver Art Museum
Designed by Gio Ponti of Milan, Italy, the art museum is a 28-sided, 10-story structure that resembles a medieval fortress with a skin of more than a million tiny glass tiles. Inside are more than 35,000 works of art, including renowned Western and American Indian collections.

On the west side of Civic Center Park is the:

4. City and County Building
During the Christmas season, a rainbow of colored lights decorates it in spectacular fashion.

A block farther west is the:

5. U.S. Mint
Modeled in Italian Renaissance style, the building resembles the Palazzo Riccardi in Florence. More than 60,000 cubic feet of granite and 1,000 tons of steel went into its construction in 1904.

Cross over Colfax and go diagonally northwest up Court Place. Two blocks ahead is the:

6. Denver Pavilions
The city's newest retail hot spot sits at the south end of the 16th Street Mall, featuring a Hard Rock Cafe, a 15-screen movie theater, and a Barnes & Noble Superstore.

Three blocks up the 16th Street Mall, head southwest 2 blocks on California Street past the Colorado Convention Center and turn right on 14th Street. Walk 2 blocks to the:

7. Denver Center for the Performing Arts
The complex covers 4 square blocks between 14th Street and Cherry Creek, Champa Street and Arapahoe Street. The entrance is under a block-long, 80-foot-high glass archway. The center includes seven theaters, a symphony hall in the round, a voice research laboratory, and a smoking solar fountain. Free tours are offered.

Two more blocks up 14th past the arts center is:

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