Last minute travel:Denver, Colorado @ toursandtravelsonline.com

Early summer and early autumn are excellent times to visit Denver if you are an outdoor sports enthusiast. The weather is usually pleasant, there are plenty of outdoor festivals at these times, and the mountains offer great beauty in the form of wildflowers in early summer and the fantastic color of the changing aspen trees in September.

Denver is magnificent, though geographically isolated, sitting on a plateau exactly one mile above sea level and over 600 miles from the next closest major city. Concealed from the west by bold foothills and towering 14,000-foot Rocky Mountain peaks, and protected to the east by an expansive and high desert terrain, it is known for world-class skiing and biking, serene hiking and intense rock climbing.

Visitors converge from far and wide to sample the famous microbrews, stand in the presence of spectacular peaks, or to work in the booming computer and telecommunications economy. The result is a blend of culturally diverse neighborhoods, each lending an air of character and charm to the others.

Founded in 1859 as a gold mining camp, Denver is one of America's youngest cities, and one of the most exciting. This forward-looking metropolis has a population of 2.4 million. It is also the entertainment, shopping, cultural, sports and recreation capital of the Rocky Mountain West.

Denver is noted for its dozens of tree-lined boulevards, 200 city parks that cover more than 20,000 acres, and outstanding architecture ranging from Victorian to contemporary.

Downtown Denver presents a refreshing change from most large cities, in part because it doesn't feel big. Though it has many high-rise office towers, it also has century-old churches, grand hotels and stylishly modern museums. A good place to start is at the gold-domed state capitol, the most prominent structure downtown. From the capitol, which anchors Civic Center Park between the arts district to the south and the shopping and historic areas to the northwest, most of the downtown sights are within walking distance.

The view from Denver's State Capitol building showcases the Rocky Mountains that rise to the city's west. Informal free tours allow visitors to climb to the top of the capitol and take in the view, both of the bustling Denver downtown and the incredible landscape surrounding the city.

Some of the city's loveliest and most noteworthy old buildings can be found in the 16th Street area. The Brown Palace Hotel is a Gilded Age landmark and a point of special pride for Denverites. To the northwest is LoDo, (Denver's Lower Downtown District, where early 1900s brick warehouses have been renovated into classy jazz clubs, bookstores, restaurants and art galleries), The historic district ends at Union Station, Denver's Beaux Arts train station.