DIA
If you are arriving in Denver by air, you'll land at one of the world's finest airports - Denver International Airport (DIA), which is located 24 miles northeast of downtown, and you'll be able to travel anywhere in the metro-Denver area on the city 's excellent RTD bus system, or by rental cars, taxis and shuttles. Denver is also serviced by the Rio Grande Railroad, operating out of the downtown Union Station, which first opened in 1881. The station anchors 17th Street, which is a center for business and finance and along which are located some of Denver's elegant old hotels, including the Oxford Hotel, the Barth and the Brown Palace.

Sunny Skies
With its sunny year around weather, Denver draws thousands of visitors throughout the seasons. From November through the March spring snows, downhill and cross-country skiers and snowboarders flock through Denver on the way to Colorado's many world-class ski resorts. In the summer months, hikers, bikers, climbers and fishing enthusiasts meet the great Colorado outdoors and the many amenities its national forests, wilderness areas and rivers have to offer.

Progressive Business Attitude
Home to major computer, telecommunications, high technology, aerospace and biotech firms and service providers, Denver is a progressive business center. It offers companies an attractive business environment with comparatively low taxes and a highly educated, tech-savvy workforce. Add to that equation, Denver's strategic central location, a high quality of life environment, and an excellent higher educational system that includes the University of Colorado and the University of Denver, and it becomes easy to understand why companies want to relocate to or expand in Colorado. Although the state's recent recession hit the its technology job market hard, current economic factors, according the governor's office, indicate that the state is now in a recovery phase.

Culture and Sports
Denver offers a great variety of cultural events at its Performing Arts Complex and major sports events at its several noted sports arenas. The city's professional sports teams include: the Denver Broncos football team, the Colorado Rockies baseball team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, and the Colorado Avalanche Ice Hockey team. And Colorado's fitness-focused population stimulates events like Boulder's annual Bolder-Boulder Memorial Day 10K Race, which attracts top runners from around the world.

Events
Notable Denver events include: the annual National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in January, which is the largest show of its kind in the country. International festivals held in the city include Cinco de Mayo, celebrated May 5th and the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, held at Sukura Square in June. The first weekend in June also brings the Capitol Hill People's Fair to Civic Center Park for a big arts and crafts show. The first weekend in July ushers in the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, one of the largest arts and crafts shows in the country. August brings the thrills of Grand Prix racing to downtown Denver. Each Labor Day, A Taste of Colorado is held at the Civic Center Park to present the city's best restaurant offerings. Summertime brings the University of Colorado's Shakespeare Festival to the Boulder campus.

Points of Interest
Points of interest in Denver include: the Black American Western Museum & Heritage Center, Museo de las Americas, which preserves and interprets the art, history, and culture of Latinos in the Americas, the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Gates Planetarium, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Zoo and the United States Mint. Nearby Red Rocks Park Amphitheater hosts a variety of world-class performers. Amusements parks include: Lakeside Amusement Park, Six Flags Elitch Gardens and Water World. And, don't miss the famous Molly Brown House Museum.

Dining and Entertainment
And of course Denver offers a wide variety of dining establishments and music venues. If you are downtown, check out Larimer Square, with its renovated turn-of-the-century buildings, stylish shops, restaurants and brewpubs. After a Colorado Rockies game, there are many hot spots in Lower Downtown Denver, known as LoDo.

There are always events and activities happening in the big city of Denver ... but one of the nicest things about Denver is its small town friendliness.