I will be visiting one of the Offspring soon. He and his wife moved to Denver a few months ago. Neither of us really know of any sights to see or things to do in the area.
Other than catching Watchmen, because I’ll be there when it opens.
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.
What are your interests? 
I’m bookish and geeky. The boy has already suggested a famous local bookstore. I’m afraid I don’t remember the name.
I have bad knees, so I can’t go hiking, but I like good scenery. That would include nice gardens or house tours.
I’ve enjoyed tours through wineries, breweries, and wastewater treatment plants. I like most museums. Not looking for somewhere to get out and meet people.
On another note, the boy has said that he can’t find good sushi in Denver. Is he just not looking hard enough?
That would be Tattered Cover. There’s the “original” one (moved from its original location in Cherry Creek) on East Colfax, near East High School. There are also two annex locations, one downtown and one in Highlands Ranch. I highly recommend either the East Colfax or the downtown stores.
The Botanic Gardens are nice, but this time of year, they probably aren’t much to look at, other than the Japanese Meditation Garden. See if they’re doing tea ceremonies in the tea house. The conservatory, though, is always in full riot.
There’s the Molly Brown house tour, but I can’t tell you much about it since I’ve never been. Check out the Denver Art Museum - not huge, but it’s got some nice things. The Museum of Contemporary Art just merged with The Lab in Belmar, so either or both of those are worth a peek.
There are some used bookstores along Broadway that are fun to hit up for random stuff.
There are lots of walking trails, like the Highline Canal trail, that aren’t “hiking” per se, and you might want to see what’s available. Here’s a link with info about walking trails and other things. I always enjoy a good long drive in the mountains for the scenery - my favorite is 285 to Fairplay, then Highway 9 through Alma and the back way into Breckenridge. There are others that I can recommend, too.
You could drive up to Ft. Collins and tour the New Belgium Brewery.
I don’t know how picky your boy is, but I’ve been able to find good sushi in several places in Denver. Namiko’s on 52nd and Wadsworth, Sushi Den on South Pearl, and Hanabi on South Wadsworth (coincidentally very near my apartment) are three of my favorites. Sushi Den is somewhat chi-chi, but the sushi is very good.
I hope some of this helps!
That would probably be the Tattered Cover. Go to the one in Cherry Creek. It is the best of the three storefronts.
The Botanical Gardens are nice… but it isn’t the right time of year for them. The Molly Brown house is an interesting tour.
You can drive to and walk around in the Red Rocks Ampitheatre, which is the single most stunning concert venue I have ever been to (The view is stunning). And that is only a short drive from Buffalo Bill’s gravesite and the Mother Cabrini shrine. Which are interesting in of themselves and offer even more spectacular views of the mountains and the city.
Also in the general area of all of this is Dinosaur Ridge where you can drive to some exposed fossils in the mountainside.
The Coors brewery in Golden is a solid entry. The tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea facility in Boulder is quite interesting. If you can the Denver Mint is absolutely a treat. The Museum of Natural History is a great example of its kind. The Zoo is also quite good. If you like that kind of thing, the Butterfly Pavilion in Broomfield is an Insect Zoo (with a focus on butterflies).
Aside from all this there are always live shows from modern rock to classic burlesque going on around town. There are multiple sporting events pro (Nuggets-Basetball, Avs-Hockey, Mammoth-Lacrosse (in fact they host the All-Star game in a bit over a week)) and college (CU, Denver, Air Force and CSU all play within an hours dirve).
Sorry can’t help you there.
I guess I don’t go there often enough… I didn’t even realize it had moved. And evidently that was nearly 3 years ago.
Heh, small world I only live about a half mile North of Hanabi.
Dude, that’s me. Do you live in my apartment?
Not that I’m aware of… I would at least hope to get a bigger break on my rent if that were true. Of course there is a regular Mongol Horde of Apartment complexes right here:
The Bentley
The Hamptons
The Heights
The Huntington
Marston Pointe
Tanglewood Oaks
The Windsor
And I’m sure I’ve missed a few.
On a vaguely related note, damn but all those sure sound pretentious.
But back to the OP. Yllaria I don’t particularly recomend any apartment tours in SW Denver. But the nearby Bear Creek Trail/Greenspace is lovely. And it has been plenty warm enough for a stroll.
I second the idea of going to Red Rocks and Buffalo Bill’s Grave (and museum, it’s an interesting slice of history).
This time of year, it’s really difficult to know what the weather might be like and whether it’s snowing or sunny may change your sightseeing plans. I think the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado History Museum (essentially a block apart from each other) are worth seeing, as is the inside of the Capitol (only a couple of blocks from the museum). And across Grant from the Capitol is Capitol Hill Books, a great (mostly used) bookstore.
The Museum of Nature and Science and the Zoo are both great, and right next to each other in City Park. I love to go to the zoo when it’s snowing, because many of the animals are out playing in the snow and there are few screaming children so everyone seems to be in a better mood. It’s nice any time of the year, though.
My favorite place to take out-of-town guests in Boulder is the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory, followed by the Pearl Street Mall and to lunch at the Dushanbe Tea House (in a temple built in Tajikistan, shipped over, and reassembled).
There are lots of microbreweries in the area, though because I’m not a beer person I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. The one winery I know of is about a 1.5 hour drive from Denver west of Loveland on Highway 34 (Trail Ridge winery).
Oops, I didn’t realize I was logged in as him!
Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge are awesome, and I consider BB’s grave and MC’s shrine to be cheesy but fun touristy sites.
Only if you like crappy beer. 
Celestial Seasonings is a good one, and I totally forgot about the Butterfly Pavilion! Good call
Another great recommendation.
I’ll only say that one of those is mine.
Just a few more… The new Public library building, the Railroad Museum in Golden, Flagstaff mountain in Boulder and the Peak to Peak highway to Estes Park and return by way of the Big Thompson canyon, and Riverside Pioneer Cemetery
Best sushi I’ve ever eaten is a small-ish place about 20 minutes south of Denver in Littleton (where I grew up). It’s called Sushi Basho on south Santa Fe where it intersects with Bowles. Order the U.S. Dream Roll and praise my name with every bite.
Hanging Lake national park is IMO one of the most beautiful hikes in the state, if you don’t mind the walk. It’s about 2 miles up a rather steep incline but it’s absolutely breathtaking.
And add another vote for Red Rocks.
Wish I could be there. I miss home.
Have fun! 
Only thing I’ll add is that if you’re going to be up by Buffalo Bill’s grave, Coors, or Red Rocks there is good sushi at Sushi Uokura in Golden. While I was living there it was always one of the highest rated places in Denver but is a bit hard to find.\
ETA: Just to add another museum to your list there is a pretty cool geology museum up at CSM
If you’re going to drive in search of breweries, go to Left Hand Brewery in Longmont. Probably the best beer around, and they do a good tour as well. Make sure you go to the Brewery itself on Boston Ave, not the brewpub with the same name on the main drag. They’re not associated. And for all I know, the brewpub isn’t even there any more.
As far as scenic drives, Peak to Peak Highway is hard to beat.
Oh, and if you don’t want to leave Denver, but want to try a bunch of beer, check out the Falling Rock. They have some huge number of beers on tap.
Free activities in Colorado:
http://www.free-attractions.com/state_attractions.asp?State=Colorado
No one has yet mentioned the tour of NCAR in Boulder. Just seeing the building (Frank Lloyd Wright!) is worth a side trip if you’re already in Boulder. The tour is fascinating imo.
Don’t miss the Butterfly Pavillion! It’s a mile or two west of I25 on 104th.
I. M. Pei was the architect, just for the record. Very nice building and setting.
If you don’t do hiking, at least take in the view from the Denver Museum of Natural History, where Pres. Obama just signed the stimulus bill. The view from that building is spectacular.
A good day trip would be to head out to Red Rocks Ampitheatre (I’d skip Buffalo Bill and Mother Cabrini, but the Dinosaur tracks are cool), then head north on C-470 to Golden and Coors. The tour is fun. Then head north on U.S. 93 to Boulder. Drive up to NCAR (watch out for the wildlife) and take or skip the tour. Back on 93 (becomes Broadway in Boulder) and drive through the CU campus to the Pearl Street Mall. It is a nice pedestrian mall with a lot of nice shops and restaurants, including Jax, whose executive chef just won Top Chef last night. Hapa is a nice sushi restaurant on the mall, too. Take the Longmont diagonal northeast to the Celestial Seasonings plant. This tour is worth it. Watch out for the mint room! A couple more miles and you can finish your tour at the Left Hand Brewery mentioned above.
Point of clarification: it’s called the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, not the Natural History Museum.
Oops. Nice T-Rex in the lobby there, too.
Best sushi in Denver: Sushi Den.
There are other good places of course, but I mostly find that they are hit and miss. Sushi Den is always reliable, they fly their fish in from different markets 2-3 times/week. I have eaten sushi in very good restaraunts in New York, San Francisco, and Japan and in my experience Sushi Den is as good as anything out there and is better than most.
You might want to try Domo also, not sushi exactly but “Japanese country cooking” (there is some sushi but is more like tapas).
I noticed that they were named the 5th best Japanese restaurant in the US in 2001 by Zagats…
Regarding Hapa (suggested by Lamar), I agree they are good but it is pretty Americanized (lots of sauces, tempura battered rolls, that kind of thing, check out their menu here). There is also a Hapa locations in Cherry Creek and Greenwood village (Denver). For good authentic sushi in Boulder, Sushi Tora is excellent (just barely second in Colorado, IMHO, after Sushi Den). I have heard good things about Zanmai (also in boulder), but I have not tried it yet.
Regarding the sightseeing, not much to add.