Denver is a beautiful, clean, and cosmopolitan city, nestled on the eastern edge of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. A lovely place to visit, Denver combines spectacular natural scenery with the food, culture, and nightlife you'd expect from a major city. At over 5,000 feet, the Denver area can be chilly in the winter months. That's good news for winter sports enthusiasts, as Colorado is one of the top ski destinations in the United States.

Denver, CO is an equally appealing destination in the spring and summer, when the Rockies are alive with animals and vegetation. The Rockies are the perfect backdrop for every imaginable outdoor sport, including hiking, biking, horseback riding, rock climbing, rappelling, and more. On a summer night, you can enjoy the warm weather at a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field or during a casual stroll through the lovely Commons Park.

Denver's downtown district boasts nice restaurants, luxury boutiques, and a multitude of cafes and microbreweries. You can also get some serious shopping done at the massive 16th Street Mall. For kids, the Denver Zoo and Downtown Aquarium are two great places to spend the day, when they aren't on the slopes or on the trail.

Here are a few additional suggestions of things to do in Denver:

• Denver Museum of Nature and Science: This fascinating natural history museum, featuring everything from dinosaur bones to Egyptian crypts, is the largest in the country.
• Denver Art Museum: Enjoy a collection of Native American and Western art at this modern fine art museum.
• Children's Museum of Denver: Take the whole family to this interactive kid-friendly museum, which includes a creative crafts workshop with recycled materials.
• Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum: Located on the former Lowry Air Force Base, Wings Over the Rockies contains some wonderful antique aircrafts and numerous educational exhibits.
• Byers-Evans House Museum: Once owned by the publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, this old home has been redecorated with perfect 1920s-style furnishings.
• Colorado History Museum: Run by the Colorado Historical Society, this museum's exhibits are dedicated to regional history, from the pre-colonial era to the Wild West.

There are lovely vacation rentals throughout Denver and its vast residential neighborhoods. As many skiers already know, a cabin or condo rental can be one of the nicest and most affordable ways to visit a winter resort. For the full urban experience, look for an apartment rental in Denver's cool downtown district, which keeps you close to both nature and nightlife.