18 Places in Colorado to Discover Local Culture–From Past to Present

When the sights outside your window can be anything from mountain ranges to environmental art installations, changing your viewpoint isn’t hard. Visitors to Colorado can find the pulse of the state in its nature, but also in its art and history. It can be in the notes of a symphony echoing across the walls of a water-tank-turned-performance space. It can be discovering the state’s rich Black history by walking in the steps of a formerly-enslaved man. The beauty of a place isn’t just in its visuals (but it’d be hard to ignore these visuals), but also in its history and culture, in the things it chooses to preserve and share. 

Like any place else on earth, Colorado culture isn’t just one thing. It’s made up of people, each adding to it until it becomes something beautiful (like the crafted wonders like ancient Pueblo dwellings), or sometimes a little out of the ordinary (the exotic steakhouse where taxidermied animals serve as dinner companions). All of these spots offer a chance to immerse yourself in that mix of history and beauty, of adventure and weirdness.