Guides · United States
Denver tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Denver: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Denver
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Denver itinerary.
Civic Center museums: hours and admission
- The Denver Art Museum is open six days a week and is closed on Wednesdays as well as Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, running 10:00 to 17:00 with a late opening to 20:00 on Fridays. Adult general admission is $22 or $25 depending on the date, with concession rates of $19 or $22, and admission is always free for members. The museum also holds several free general admission days a year through the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.Source: Denver Art Museum — Plan Your Visit · checked Sep 2026
- The History Colorado Center is open every day from 10:00 to 17:00. It closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, closes early at 15:00 on New Year's Eve and is closed all day on New Year's Day. Admission is free for children.Source: History Colorado — History Colorado Center · checked Sep 2026
- The Molly Brown House Museum recommends buying tickets in advance because tours sell out, especially in summer, and warns that some tour times may be unavailable on the day. Denver-area residents get free admission on the first Thursday of each month from 16:00 to 19:00, with no reservations and first-come, first-served entry.Source: Molly Brown House Museum — Plan Your Visit · checked Sep 2026
City Park, the gardens and Red Rocks
- Denver Zoo is open daily from 09:00 to 16:00, with early entry from 08:00 to 09:00 between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Online timed ticket reservations are required for entry, visitors choose a timed entry window when booking, general admission tickets go on sale ten days in advance and they are non-refundable.Source: Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance — Hours and Admission · checked Sep 2026
- Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street runs seasonal hours, generally 09:00 to 19:00 in the warmer months and 09:00 to 16:00 in winter. Adult admission is $16.25 and the concession rate is $12.50; no separate admission is required for the first floor of the conservatory, and free days apply to regular garden hours only and do not cover ticketed events.Source: Denver Botanic Gardens — York Street · checked Sep 2026
- The Red Rocks visitor centre is open 07:00 to 19:00 from March to October and 08:00 to 16:00 from November to February. After 14:00 on event days, access to the visitor centre is limited to ticket holders only.Source: Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre — Visit · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Denver Union Station
- The Great Hall is free and open from about 05:00 to midnight; the Terminal Bar in the old ticket windows and the Cooper Lounge on the mezzanine are both worth a drink; the A Line to the airport runs from the platform behind, 37 minutes
Larimer Square
- Free to walk; the restaurants are among the better ones downtown and book up at weekends; the lights are on every night and the block is at its best in the hour after sunset
Denver Art Museum
- Open six days a week and closed on Wednesdays as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, 10:00 to 17:00 with a late Friday to 20:00; adult general admission is $22 or $25 depending on the day and free for members, and the museum runs several free days a year
Clyfford Still Museum
- Open Tuesday to Sunday, generally 10:00 to 17:00 with a late Friday, and closed Monday; it is a small museum and an hour is enough; combination tickets with the Denver Art Museum next door are sold
Colorado State Capitol
- Open on weekdays, roughly 07:30 to 17:00, and closed at weekends and on state holidays; free guided tours run through the day and the dome climb is 99 steps from the third floor, booked at the tour desk
Molly Brown House Museum
- Entry is by guided tour or a self-guided Explore the Museum ticket and both should be booked in advance, because the museum says they sell out in summer; free admission for Denver-area residents on the first Thursday of the month from 16:00 to 19:00, first come first served
Denver Zoo
- Open daily 09:00 to 16:00 with early entry from 08:00 between Memorial Day and Labor Day; online timed reservations are required and go on sale ten days ahead; closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
Denver Botanic Gardens
- Open daily with seasonal hours, generally 09:00 to 19:00 in summer and 09:00 to 16:00 in winter; adult admission is $16.25 and concessions $12.50, tickets are timed, and the conservatory ground floor needs no separate ticket
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- The park and amphitheatre are free to enter on non-event days; the visitor centre is open 07:00 to 19:00 from March to October and 08:00 to 16:00 from November to February, and after 14:00 on event days access is limited to ticket holders
Golden
- Free to walk; the Coors brewery tour is free and needs an online booking and photo identification; Lookout Mountain is a 10 km drive of hairpins above the town and the grave and museum sit at the top
Questions
Quick answers
How much does Denver cost per day?
A hostel bed runs $40 to $60, a mid-range hotel $180 to $280, and downtown hotels rise sharply when there is a convention. The museums are moderate: the art museum $22 to $25, the botanic gardens $16.25, the zoo and the nature and science museum around $25 each. Red Rocks costs nothing to visit on a non-event day and a concert ticket is whatever the act charges. Eating is reasonable at $15 to $20 for lunch and $50 to $70 for a good dinner, and the craft beer scene is one of the densest in America.
Does the altitude in Denver actually affect visitors?
Often, mildly. At 1,600 metres there is about 17 per cent less oxygen than at sea level, and the usual effects are a headache, tiredness, broken sleep on the first night and a much lower tolerance for alcohol. The standard advice is sensible: drink a lot of water, take the first day easy, and delay any strenuous hiking until the second. It matters more if you drive straight up into the mountains, where the passes are above 3,000 metres and altitude sickness is a real risk rather than an inconvenience.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Denver
Denver is a city of about 715,000 with a metropolitan area near three million, laid out on the high plains at exactly 1,609 metres, which is where the Mile High City comes from and why the Capitol has a step engraved to prove it. It began as a gold camp at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte in 1858, survived the bust because it made itself the supply and banking town for the whole Rocky Mountain mining region, and has grown fast enough since the 1990s to change character twice. The Front Range is the constant: the mountains start twenty kilometres west and run the length of the horizon, which shapes the weather, the light and what people do at weekends. The airport train reaches the middle of downtown in 37 minutes, and the amphitheatre cut into red sandstone half an hour west is the one thing every visitor is told to see.
