Denver, Colorado is a great place for a second home!

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is located in the South Platte River Valley on the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is located immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver is nicknamed The Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (5,280 feet or approximately 1,609 meters) above sea level.

The City and County of Denver has defined 79 official neighborhoods that the city and community groups use for planning and administration. These "neighborhoods" should not be confused with cities or suburbs, which are separate entities within the metro area. These neighborhoods' character vary significantly from each other and include everything from large skyscrapers to turn of the twentieth century houses to modern, suburban style developments. Generally, the neighborhoods closest to the city center are denser, older and contain more brick building material. Many neighborhoods away from the city center were developed after World War II, and are built with more modern materials and style. Some of the neighborhoods even further from the city center, or recently redeveloped parcels anywhere in the city have either very suburban characteristics or are new urbanist developments that attempt to recreate the feel of older neighborhoods. Most neighborhoods contain parks or other feature that is the focal point for the neighborhood.

Well-known neighborhoods include the historic and trendy LoDo (short for "Lower Downtown"), part of the city's Union Station neighborhood; Capitol Hill, Highland, Washington Park; Uptown, part of the North Capitol Hill neighborhood; Curtis Park, part of the Five Points neighborhood; Alamo Placita, the northern part of the Speer neighborhood; Park Hill, a successful example of intentional racial integration; and Golden Triangle, in the Civic Center.

See also: List of Denver neighborhoods

When Denver was founded in 1858, the city was little more than a dusty collection of buildings on a long, grassy plain with a few contorted cottonwood and willow trees on riverbanks. As of 2006, Denver has over 200 parks, from small mini-parks all over the city to the giant 314 acre (1.3 km²) City Park to the 40,000 acre (160 km²) Denver Mountain Parks. Denver also has 28 recreation centers providing places and programming for resident's recreation and relaxation.

In addition to the parks within Denver itself, the city acquired land for mountain parks starting in the 1910s. Over the years, Denver has acquired, built and maintained around 40,000 acres (160 km²) of mountain parks, the most famous being Red Rocks Park, which is known just as much for its scenery as its musical history revolving around the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Denver also owns Winter Park Resort ski area in Grand County, 60 miles (100 km) west of Denver, which the city partners with Intrawest Resort Company, to operate the ski resort. Denver continues to grow its park system with the development of many new parks along the Platte River through the city and in the Stapleton neighborhood redevelopment. All of these parks are important gathering places for residents and allow what was once a dry plain to be lush, active, and green.

The Denver skyline from City Park during a free summer jazz concert.

In addition to the great outdoor aspects of living in Denver, other activities include many nationally recognized museums, including a new wing for the Denver Art Museum by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the second largest Performing arts center in the nation after Lincoln Center in New York City and bustling neighborhoods filled with art galleries, restaurants, bars and clubs. That is part of the reason why Denver was recently recognized for the third year in a row as the best city for singles. Denver continues to gain cultural importance. The city was selected as the future home for a museum dedicated to abstract expressionist painter Clyfford Still. Denver's neighborhoods also continue their influx of diverse people and businesses while the city's cultural institutions grow and prosper.