A Day in Downtown Boulder

To begin your day in downtown Boulder, you wake up in one of the beautiful downtown Boulder hotels. Whether it is at one of the lovely downtown bed and breakfasts, such as the Bradley, or at one of the breathtaking larger hotels downtown, such as the Victorian styled Hotel Boulderado or the exquisite St. Julien Hotel, your day will have started on the right foot. As you step out of your hotel, you can take in a deep breath of fresh, clean, crisp air as you gaze at the stunning Flatiron Mountains against the bright blue sky.

A short walk from the hotels is the unique and always entertaining Pearl Street Mall. Big, bright tulips fill the square gardens that line this unparalleled pedestrian mall. You can stroll along the brick-covered Pearl Street Mall, browsing around the large selection of shops downtown Boulder has to offer. The great selection of art galleries, jewelry stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, and much more should keep you happily busy for hours!

You can have a wonderful lunch right on the bricks of the Pearl Street Mall on one of the patios of downtown Boulder’s restaurants. Antica Roma offers charming indoor seating and outdoor patio seating to accompany its delicious Italian cuisine. The Boulder Café, famous for its fondue, has a large patio seating area as well. You’ll never want to leave the delightful patios of these restaurants along the Pearl Street Mall!

After lunch, you and your children can be awed and entertained by one of the many street performers on the Pearl Street Mall. You can watch a man fit his entire body into a box, watch jugglers juggle fire torches, get balloon animals made… the entertainment never ends! To keep cool while watching the street performers, you may want to stop at one of downtown Boulder’s dessert shops to pick up some ice cream!  Or take in a tour of Boulder with Banjo Billy's Bus Tours from an old school bus tricked out to look like a traveling hillbilly shack.

If your kids need to cool down on a hot summer day, they can play in the fountains on the bricks near 14^th Street. Water spouts pop up right from the ground in this very popular children’s playing area. If your kids want to find more play areas, there are big animal statues they can climb on near the east end of the Pearl Street Mall. Additionally, there are big rocks to climb on in another very popular children’s area located between 13^th Street and Broadway.

You’ll have amazing dinner choices from the extensive list of downtown Boulder’s restaurants. You can begin with a drink on the charming patio of The Corner Bar, located in the Hotel Boulderado. Delectable tapas can be found at the Mediterranean (“The Med”), located on Walnut, just one short block away from Pearl Street. These tapas can be enjoyed in the Med’s beautifully colorful courtyard patio. The Boulder Chophouse, which also has a great outdoor area, is right across the street. On Pearl Street, you can enjoy the wonderful food of Bácaro in their rooftop dining area, which overlooks west Pearl Street.

After dinner, you can dance the night away at Bands on the Bricks live musical entertainment! Bands on the Bricks is every Wednesday night during the summer months from 7-9pm, on the Pearl Street Mall between 13^th and 14^th Streets, and features everything from funk to Motown to the Beatles, and more!

If you are in the mood for a drink after dinner, downtown Boulder has several bars ideal for summertime fun. The Rio Grande Mexican restaurant and bar, famous for its margaritas, has great outdoor patio seating. If you prefer to sit above the city, The Lazy Dog, the West End Tavern, and The Foundry all have wonderful rooftop bars.