Hmmmm… Boulder for a week.
Plan at least one afternoon and evening, preferably a Friday or Saturday, hanging out at the Pearl St. Pedestrian Mall. Lots of neat little shops, great restaurants, fun street performers. Hell, I still do this at least once a month and I’ve lived here for 11 years.
Bikes will be great. Get on the Boulder Bike Path (your B&B can give you directions - basically it’s about 2 blocks south of the Pearl St. Mall, along the creek) and ride west until the path ends or until you can’t breath anymore (it heads up into the mountains). Then turn around and coast all the way to east Boulder. It follows the creek for 5-6 miles, and it’s a great way to see the town. If you want to get even more adventurous, stop at a local bike shop - University Bikes on 9th and Pearl is a good one - and get some local bike path maps. There’s some very nice trails in and around Boulder.
Restaurants and bars on the Mall worth going to:
Go to the West End Tavern on 9th and Pearl and have a drink and/or a meal on the roof top bar. There’s an absolutely incredible view of the mountains from up there, and the drinks are good, too. Food is bar food - burgers, burritos, etc. Good bar food, but bar food nevertheless. People who know what they’re talking about say the West End makes the best Gin & Tonics in town.
Right next door to the West End is Jax Fish house. If you get there early (4-ish) and get one of the seats in the window or outside, it’s a great place to have a drink and watch the people go by. They have really yummy flavored vodka martinis - mine favorite is the melon martini. Really good fish here as well.
Bacaro, right across the street, has decent semi-upscale Italian food. They have a good happy hour with cheap appetizers. If you’re in the mood for more low-brow red-sauce-and-linguine type Italian, walk east for a block or two to Pasta Jay’s. Great atmosphere, and good Mom-n-Pop style Italian.
If Sushi’s your bag, check out Japango. It’s mid-Mall, on the south side, right next to the L’occitane store. On Tuesday night they have all you can eat sushi for $26.95. Best sushi in town, IMO.
Where else? The hotdog vendor who sets up in front of the court house makes awesome chicago style hotdogs. Falafel Man, also across from the court house, has good take-out middle eastern food.
OH yeah - don’t forget Salvaggio’s. They now have an outlet in a little building right in front of the courthouse on the mall. Really incredible sub sandwiches. Like to die for. If you want a quick take out lunch, this is the place to go.
If you want really high end food, the place to go is the Flagstaff House. It’s up Flagstaff Mountain, and has an awesome view of the city. It’ll run you $200-$400 for a meal for two though. If you want to check out the view without spending the bucks, go up there around 9 or 10 on a weeknight and have dessert and coffee or a drink. Same view, smaller price. Plus you’ll be impressed with the plate of 25 different little thingies to put in your coffee (chocolate chips, whipped cream, colored sugar… etc. etc.)
Another area to hang out in is the Hill - the University area. Cheaper food, but of mysterious quality. Bands play at the Fox Theater here, usually for cheap.
Other activities: Spend one day doing a drive in the mountains. You can get a map for this at whatever B&B you’re staying at - everyone will know what I’m talking about here. What I’d suggest is getting up early one day and driving from Boulder to Nederland via Boulder Canyon (hwy 93, I think). Stop and check out Boulder Falls, about halfway up. Stop in Nederland for breakfast, and to check out a pretty neat mountain town. Continue past Nederland and get on the Peak to Peak highway (aka hwy 72, and then 7). Head north, stopping at the frequent turnouts and gasping at the lovely views. If you need a place to stop for a drink or lunch, check out the Millsite Inn, right along the Peak to Peak highway by the town of Ward.
If you want to take a small side trip, head up to Brainerd Lake. The turnoff is right before the Millsite & the town of Ward. Nice hiking trails, good views, pretty lakes.
When you’re done, continue on the Peak to Peak to Estes Park. Estes is also a pretty little town, and boasts the Stanley Hotel, the hotel Steven King was thinking of when he wrote the Shining. It’s also right by Rocky Mountain National Park. If you’re flexible, you might want to spend the night in Estes Park and get up the next morning and check out the National Park. If not, spend some time in Estes, and come back another day to see the national park - it’s too much to do in one day to do the big drive AND see the park.
Estes is a very pretty town, but also very touristy. Depending on what you like to do, you may or may not want to spend a lot of time there. Lots of Fudge Shoppes and Salt Water Taffy Shoppes and such. It’s a good place to get a T-shirt. Also good place to see Elk. Lots and lots of Elk.
Head back down to Boulder via Hwy 36. More elk, more views, etc. etc.
What other “don’t miss” stuff? If you’re into beer, take a drive to Longmont, home of the Lefthand brewery located on Boston St. Get a tour of the brewery on Saturdays, and try their lovely, wonderful beers. Tell 'em I sent you (but email me first to get my name cuz ‘Athena’ won’t mean a thing).
Eldorado Springs is a nice place to go check out, too. 2 miles south of Boulder.
That’s all I can think of right now…