Colorado - Day 8: Denver

On Saturday, August 29, 2026, I visited Meow Wolf, had lunch at Chef Zorba’s, explored the Denver Botanic Gardens, met up with a friend at 54thirty Rooftop, had dinner at Uncle in the Highland neighborhood, and ended the night with a nightcap at Avanti Food & Beverage.

Relaxing at the hotel pool

I had tickets to Meow Wolf for an 11:00am entrance time. I was awake by 8:00am, though. Since I had some time to spare, I treated myself to a relaxing morning at the pool. Having a pool was also one of the reasons I chose to stay at the Sonesta Denver Downtown. I figured that after all the hiking I had done during the trip, spending some time relaxing by the pool before what I knew would be a busy sightseeing day would be a great way to treat myself.

The pool at the Sonesta Denver Downtown is located on the 6th floor. There were about 10 lounge chairs lining both sides of the pool, along with several high-top tables, and towels were available for guests. I spent about an hour lying out by the pool and enjoying a slow morning. It was a wonderful way to start the day!

Once I’d had my fill of the pool, I went back to my room to get ready and then walked over to Jamba on 16th Street for a smoothie for breakfast. From there, I called an Uber to take me to Meow Wolf.

I had briefly considered walking since I don’t mind a long walk, and Meow Wolf was only about 1.4 miles away. After looking more closely at the route, however, I decided an Uber would be the better option. Portions of the walk passed beneath busy highway overpasses and through areas that didn’t look particularly enjoyable for walking, so I decided to save my steps for the rest of the day.

Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station is a massive immersive art experience made up of more than 70 rooms and installations spread across four surreal worlds. Rather than following a traditional museum layout, visitors are encouraged to wander, explore, interact with the art, discover hidden passageways, and, if they want, follow an overarching science-fiction storyline using clues and the optional QPASS system.

I purchased a General Admission Exhibition Ticket around 9:00am that morning for the 11:00am ticketed entrance. I arrived at Meow Wolf around 10:50am and stayed until about 1:00pm. I spent about two hours exploring the different worlds, wandering through the rooms, taking photos, and treating myself to a drink along the way.

I decided to experience Meow Wolf without a map or any particular route in mind. I simply wandered wherever something caught my attention, which ended up being a lot of fun. I made my way through all four worlds and explored most of the larger rooms and installations. I decided not to do the optional QPASS system. I was much more interested in wandering through the spaces, looking at the artwork, and taking photos.

Because of that, I’m sure I missed some hidden portals, secret rooms, and deeper interactive elements along the way, but I was completely fine with that. I had a blast exploring at my own pace and really enjoyed everything I saw!

Chef Zorba’s

The Denver Botanic Gardens was next on my list, but first, I needed to find somewhere for lunch. I had read that Chef Zorba’s was a great neighborhood spot, and the menu looked like exactly what I was in the mood for. Once I had my fill at Meow Wolf, I called an Uber to take me there.

Chef Zorba’s is a casual, family-owned neighborhood diner that has been serving Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood since 1979. The menu mixes Greek specialties such as gyros and spanakopita with classic diner favorites, including breakfast served all day. It is also just a few blocks from the Denver Botanic Gardens, which made it a convenient stop before my next destination.

The restaurant also has a small outdoor patio. While it was quite warm that day, I love eating outside whenever I can, so I was happy to get a table on the patio. For lunch, I ordered the gyro pita sandwich, chicken lemon rice soup, and a soda. It hit the spot perfectly.

I left Chef Zorba’s around 2:00pm and walked over to the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Denver Botanic Gardens

The Denver Botanic Gardens has two locations. York Street, the main urban location in Denver’s Cheesman Park neighborhood, features a rich collection of gardens along with art and science exhibits. Chatfield Farms, located at the foothills southwest of Denver, spans roughly 700 acres of working farm, native prairie, and natural landscapes.

I visited the York Street location, a 24-acre botanical garden featuring more than 50 curated gardens and collections, including water gardens, internationally inspired gardens, native and adapted plants, and the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory.

I purchased my ticket online around 9:00am that morning for a 1:30pm entrance time at the York Street location. I didn’t arrive until around 2:00pm, though. Luckily, I was still able to enter even though I was about 30 minutes later than my scheduled time.

I spent about two hours wandering around the grounds and taking photos. There was a lot to see, but my favorite area was Shofu-en, the Garden of Pine and Wind. The traditional Japanese stroll garden was designed by landscape architect Koichi Kawana and draws inspiration from Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Having visited Japan the previous fall, I especially loved walking through Shofu-en. The landscaping, carefully placed rocks, water, and sculpted trees reminded me of some of the traditional gardens I had visited throughout Japan and made me feel a little nostalgic for my trip.

The Denver Botanic Gardens was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Once I was finished exploring, I made my way toward 54thirty Rooftop, stopping at my hotel along the way. I used a combination of walking and the #10 bus to get there.

54thirty Rooftop

My friend Julie has been living in Denver since we graduated from college. Before leaving for my trip, I reached out to see if she would be around that weekend because I thought it would be lovely to catch up. She suggested meeting for cocktails at 54thirty Rooftop. Amazingly enough, I had already been planning to try to fit it into my Denver itinerary. It felt like kismet!

Located on the 20th floor of Le Méridien Denver Downtown, 54thirty is Denver’s highest open-air rooftop bar, with panoramic views of downtown and the surrounding mountains. The bar gets its name from its elevation of 5,430 feet and serves handcrafted cocktails and globally inspired bites. Seating is first-come, first-served, and because the rooftop is open-air, it operates weather permitting.

I met up with Julie and her husband around 5:30pm. All of the seats were taken when we arrived, but luckily, we only had to wait a few minutes before a table for three opened up. We had a couple of delicious cocktails, enjoyed the views, and took some beautiful photos from the rooftop.

It had been about 20 years since Julie and I had seen each other, so it was especially wonderful to catch up in such a beautiful setting!

Around 6:30pm, Julie and her husband headed to a comedy show, while I stayed behind to finish my cocktail and decide where to get dinner. By 6:45pm, I had decided on Uncle and headed out.

Uncle

Uncle, a small, no-brow ramen shop in Denver, has two locations: the original restaurant in Highlands and a second location in West Wash Park.

Before leaving for Colorado, I had searched online for both top neighborhoods to explore in Denver and good places for solo dining. Uncle looked like it would fit the bill perfectly. Its original location was in Lower Highland, a neighborhood I hadn’t visited yet and had read would be fun to explore, and the restaurant’s counter seating looked especially welcoming for someone dining alone.

While I was at 54thirty Rooftop finishing the rest of my cocktail, I checked online for reservations and saw that a reservation for one was available at 7:15pm. Since it would only take about 20 minutes to get there by public transit, I knew I had plenty of time to finish my drink and make the reservation. I booked it and took the #44 bus to the restaurant.

It really was such an awesome spot! Since I was dining alone, they seated me at the counter. For my drink, I ordered Kiku-Masamune sake, and for dinner, I had the Duck Ramen. The food was delicious, and the entire experience was exactly what I had been looking for: a lively neighborhood restaurant where I could comfortably enjoy a great meal on my own.

Avanti Food & Beverage

Just an eight-minute walk from Uncle was Avanti Food & Beverage, a multi-level food hall and bar in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood. Open since 2015, Avanti is built around a collection of individual food concepts housed in repurposed shipping containers, along with multiple bars and outdoor patios overlooking the Denver skyline.

I had actually considered getting dinner there, since the different food stalls offered plenty of options. Ultimately, though, I decided that Uncle was more my speed for dinner and that Avanti would be a great place to stop for a nightcap, especially since it was only a short walk away.

When I arrived around 8:30pm, I headed upstairs and ordered a cocktail from the bar. Much of the outdoor seating was already taken, but I was able to find a spot overlooking the city. While I was there, I ended up talking with another guest about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and hiking 14ers.

It was the perfect way to cap off my last full day in Denver!