Denver a beautiful city? (live, beaches, trains)

[Willy702]

I cant say its top 10, but its certainly better looking than a lot of larger cities. I think the lack of water keeps its beauty down as almost every city on the most beautiful list has water prominently factoring in.

[JBPisgah]

Originally Posted by Mach50

The view from the Nature and Science museum over the city to the mountains is beautiful no matter what time of the year.

I always see these same - completely unrepresentative - photos of Denver. I voted so-so. There are quite a few green, hilly, leafy, architecturally awesome cities. Denver has great quality of life, but for me it's too cement-y and to be beautiful. I say something like "very pleasant" is more accurate.

[zenkonami]

Beautiful city. I even like the tan color of winter, particular when covered in snow.

The look of some of our houses have something to be desired, though.

[Marat]

Beauty is so subjective. What one finds beautiful, another may not. I think Denver is beautiful. One of the things I find most appealing is the contrast. Mountains to the west, plains to the east, some parts have lots of trees, others not many. The strong differences in season also show contrast between the dead browns of winter and lively greens of spring and summer. I find all the variety beautiful but realize not everyone will.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by Mach50

The view from the Nature and Science museum over the city to the mountains is beautiful no matter what time of the year.


I think the parks and historic neighborhoods in Denver are very nice looking.



The most beautiful city in the US is San Francisco...hands down.

I agree. You can't compare Denver to San Francisco or to Seattle. Denver just doesn't have the hills, water, bridges, etc. to compete. But Denver could probably tie with a handful other cities for #3. That view from city park to Downtown and the mountains is awesome.

[vegaspilgrim]

IMHO, Denver as a whole is NOT a beautiful city. It ranges from downright ugly in parts (and at certain times of the year) to just ok, tolerable but kinda bland. And that goes for the suburbs too. One of the few areas that I would consider "beautiful," is the so-called "Lo Hi" (I hate that name) part of the Highlands neighborhood with its hilly views of downtown and nice mix of historic and modern architecture.

[ShastatoBaker]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

IMHO, Denver as a whole is NOT a beautiful city. It ranges from downright ugly in parts (and at certain times of the year) to just ok, tolerable but kinda bland. And that goes for the suburbs too. One of the few areas that I would consider "beautiful," is the so-called "Lo Hi" (I hate that name) part of the Highlands neighborhood with its hilly views of downtown and nice mix of historic and modern architecture.

Yes, but it's so close to spectacularly pretty areas... like Georgetown or Idaho Springs (and, of course, near to many others further into the mountains). And I think that's what gives Denver such a clear leg up over some very obvious losers like Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, OK City, etc. Denver may be bland, but it experiences four real seasons, gets lots of sunshine, has fairly nice mountain views (in places), and is convenient to some of the prettiest places in the United States.

Take a Houston as a comparative example -- what does it have? Well... a very active ship channel, if you're into watching big ships sail by (I am, most are not)...

No mountains...

No hills...

Hot (and frequently humid) weather...

Even its ocean is pretty poor, since the outflow of the Mississippi sends most of the silt towards Houston, turning the water on the beaches an eternal brown.

But that's probably a step up over Dallas, which has all over the above flaws and NO beach. Or San Antonio which, outside of the city center, more resembles a South American slum than any competing U.S. city.

So, yeah, maybe Denver itself isn't the most spectacularly beautiful city in its own right. But its location makes it a hub or starting point for numerous potential day trip adventures in the Rockies, which few cities can claim.

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by JBPisgah

I always see these same - completely unrepresentative - photos of Denver. I voted so-so. There are quite a few green, hilly, leafy, architecturally awesome cities. Denver has great quality of life, but for me it's too cement-y and to be beautiful. I say something like "very pleasant" is more accurate.

Completely unrepresentative? Those are pictures of Denver with the mountain backdrop..I'd say that is exactly what people think of about Denver.

I don't get why "green" cities = beautiful...to me unique beauty can come in many different colors. But I like desert cities...Joshua Tree, CA is a dry beaut to me.

[CO_Transplant]

Denver is ugly as hell. Brown, brown, brown everywhere! It's not the type of brown that is enjoyable, such as in a desert. It is the type of brown that just gives off a feeling of lifelessness, decay, and quite frankly, death. The "city" is green only for a short time each year (May-October), so the majority of time dormant lawns and trees dominate the landscape. The buildings, especially in the suburbs, are unbelievably hideous (plain and ordinary). When it snows here enough to cover the ground, the place looks much better. However, that snow just melts off in a day or two, once again revealing the depressing prairie that Denver is situtated on! Denver is honestly the ugliest city I have ever been to. There is nothing endearing about its natural or manmade landscape. In fact, I had to recently take a trip to Albuquerque to get some flavor back in my life! There, they have nice regional architecture (pueblo and stucco buildings). This city is just terrible! Maybe you'll like it though.

[ShastatoBaker]

Originally Posted by CO_Transplant

Denver is ugly as hell. Brown, brown, brown everywhere! It's not the type of brown that is enjoyable, such as in a desert. It is the type of brown that just gives off a feeling of lifelessness, decay, and quite frankly, death. The "city" is green only for a short time each year (May-October), so the majority of time dormant lawns and trees dominate the landscape. The buildings, especially in the suburbs, are unbelievably hideous (plain and ordinary). When it snows here enough to cover the ground, the place looks much better. However, that snow just melts off in a day or two, once again revealing the depressing prairie that Denver is situtated on! Denver is honestly the ugliest city I have ever been to. There is nothing endearing about its natural or manmade landscape. In fact, I had to recently take a trip to Albuquerque to get some flavor back in my life! There, they have nice regional architecture (pueblo and stucco buildings). This city is just terrible! Maybe you'll like it though.

Dude... everywhere that experiences seasons gets brown in the winter. The only reason Denver seems more brown is because there's a lot more grass and a lot fewer trees. And, FYI, grass tends to get brown pretty much every place that experiences frost. Circle of life, blah blah, it's green again the following spring.

My impression of Denver has never been brown, but rather of it being a city built on the steppes. But that's not even accurate because there are plenty of natural woodland areas around (have you ever been to the Black Forest to the south?).

Denver doesn't have water. Okay, we get it. Neither do a lot of great cities. That's going to bother some people... others, not really. But to label Denver as looking more dead than a desert is just utter silliness.