Denver,Colorado.Credit:Getty Images
PENNY PINCH
No matter your station in life,this former Wild West mining town will take you in and treat you like gold. After breakfast at American-style diner Sam's No. 3 (samsno3.com;$11),explore 16th Street Mall using the MallRide bus (16thstreetmalldenver.com;free). Uncover the truth about Titanic's"unsinkable Molly Brown"(mollybrown.org;$9),then find comfort food in Steuben's Food Truck (steubens.com;$17). Beer is king in Denver so tour Wynkoop Brewery and do try the bull testicle-flavoured Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout (wynkoop.com;free). Roll on for happy hour at repurposed mortuary Linger (lingerdenver.com;$6) and after you've sampled the"street food"dinner menu,you'll never want to leave ($17). The city's longest running hostel,Denver International,is centrally located and only moderately dodgy (denverinternationalhostel.com;$22).
TOTAL $82
EASY DOES IT
If you're in Denver on a summery Saturday then rise early,drive to Red Rocks amphitheatre and"downward dog your tail off"with more than 1000 others at Yoga on the Rocks (avis.com;from $63/day,redrocksonline.com;$11). On any other day of the week,hit snooze before heading to Beast + Bottle in a city that really knows how to do brunch (beastandbottle.com;$27). Spend the rest of the day roaming art galleries and museums on your Mile High Culture Pass (denver.org;$42),then drive over to American bistro Table 6 for its innovative meat-rich menu (table6denver.com;$49). Have a nightcap at Prohibition-style speakeasy Williams and Graham,concealed behind a bookshop facade (williamsandgraham.com;$14). Hit the hay at Capitol Hill Mansion B&B,which is run by a charming Texan cowboy (capitolhillmansion.com;$226).
TOTAL $432
SPLASH OUT
It's hard to blow the food budget in Denver,but you can try by over-ordering on sides at Edge (edgerestaurantdenver.com;$40). Walk your elk sausages off on the way to Rockmount for genuine cowgirl and cowboy clothing (rockmount.com;$200 for shirt,belt and hat). Have a post-spree lunch at nearby Rioja (riojadenver.com;$44),but save room for afternoon tea when you check into the city's oldest functioning hotel,Brown Palace (brownpalace.com;$57). Spend the rest of the afternoon meeting chefs and licking plates at Denver's top restaurants on a Culinary Connectors tour (culinaryconnectors.com;$113). From front row seats,enjoy a Colorado Ballet performance at Ellie Caulkins Opera House (coloradoballet.org;$176). Before retiring to your royal suite (brownpalace.com;$647),puff on a cigar in the hotel's Churchill Lounge . . . because you still can.
TOTAL:$1277