Union Station

Start under the big red neon sign that reads TRAVEL BY TRAIN. Denver Union Station opened on this site in 1881, burned down in 1894, and the central section you see was finished in 1914. A 2012 renovation turned the historic station house into the centerpiece of the LoDo district, with the 112-room Crawford Hotel upstairs and a long Great Hall full of leather benches, restaurants, and a shuffleboard table running down the middle. It is genuinely worth stepping inside even if you are not catching a train. The building is free and open daily from 6 AM to midnight, though individual venues keep their own hours. Grab a coffee at the Terminal Bar and sit in the Great Hall for ten minutes to watch the place work as both a transit hub and a living room. The light rail and the A Line from the airport both arrive here, which makes this the obvious place to begin and end.











