A mile above sea level, Colorado’s state capital rises from the Western plains, its looming office buildings, titanium-pointed art museum, and downtown baseball stadium conspiring to form the skyline of a major metropolis. Just 71 miles west along a vertigo-inducing highway, of course, is quite the contrast: the wildflowers, waterfalls, and soaring craggy peaks of the Rocky Mountains. But don’t think of Denver as just the city you fly into to go skiing or biking. Yes, there’s easy access to an incredible natural playground, but Denverites also get the cultural amenities of a big city: a wide range of galleries and restaurants, world-class music and sports venues, a revitalized, highly walkable Lower Downtown (LoDo). On the gastronomic front, Denver’s hallmarks include brewpubs housed in turn-of-the-century warehouses and unexpected takes on local culinary staples (buffalo brat, anyone?). In this EYW snapshot, we give you a few places to start.