Make your vacation complete with a visit to Boulder attractions

There's a lot more to the Boulder area than skiing. Boulder attractions offer a myriad of things to see and do, whether you're looking to fill an hour or a day. With choices as varied as museums, theaters, and historical sites, you'll never have a dull moment during your visit to Boulder. So let us show you some of our favorite places to play.

Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse
Dushanbe, Tajikistan gave the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, an ornately decorated structure handcrafted by over 40 Tajik artisans, to Boulder to celebrate their sister city ties. The details, craftwork, and vibrant colors of the teahouse are staggering, from its hand-carved and intricately hand-painted ceilings to its vividly decorated tables and columns. In Tajikistan, teahouses serve as social gathering places where guests drink beverages and mingle. The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse offers meals in addition to tea. The teahouse also presents many educational classes and workshops that explore the different tastes and properties of teas or explain the rituals associated with the beverage. The teahouse is located at 1770 13th St.

Boulder History Museum
The Boulder History Museum exhibits artifacts of historical significance, collected from Boulder area families over the last half-century. Its collection, one of the most comprehensive local-history accumulations in the region, consists of over 20,000 items. A highlight among the museum's holdings is the Phyllis J. Plehaty costume collection, comprised of over 3,500 items of clothing from 1820 to 1990. This collection was designated an American treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The museum is located at 1206 Euclid Ave. in the historic Harbeck-Bergheim house on University Hill. Call the museum at (303) 449-3464 for information about its hours and admission fees.

Celestial Seasonings
Celestial Seasonings, headquartered in Boulder at 4600 Sleepytime Drive, is the largest specialty tea manufacturer in North America. Free, 45-minute tours of the company are offered to the public daily, providing a glimpse into the world of tea blending and production. Highlights of the tour include the fantastically aromatic Mint Room that clears the sinuses with scents of peppermint and spearmint, an art gallery displaying original paintings from tea boxes, and a tea sampling with 50 varieties to choose from. Guests also view the factory space where millions of tea bags are produced daily. The company's Tea Shop and Emporium provides Celestial teas at a discounted rate, and the Celestial Café offers 50 varieties of the company's famous beverage in addition to delicious meals. Call Celestial Seasonings at (303) 581-1202 for additional information about its tours or to make reservations for groups of eight or more people.

Colorado Music Festival
The Colorado Music Festival, one of Boulder's most popular summer events, features eight weeks of classical music performances. The 2003 lineup promises a varied repertoire of the classics and world music. Renowned musicians from around the world join the summertime festival orchestra, making it one of the finest collaborations of artists to perform in a single venue. The festival takes place in the historic Chautauqua Auditorium, located at 900 Baseline Road in Chautauqua Park. Call (303) 449-1397 to order tickets.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, a Boulder tradition since 1958, attracts approximately 50,000 people annually. The festival, the seventh theater in the world to complete the entire Shakespearean canon of 37 plays, currently showcases four productions at the University of Colorado over its seven-week summer season. Three of the productions take place in the outdoor, Greek-style Mary Rippon Theatre, named after the first women to teach at a state university in America. The other production takes place in the indoor University Theatre. "The Taming of the Shrew," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Hamlet," and "Cymbeline" make up the 2003 repertoire. Call (303) 492-0554 to purchase tickets to a performance.

Eldorado Canyon State Park
The main attraction in Eldorado Canyon State Park is its magnificent technical rock climbing. Adventurers from around the world, seeking panoramic views from lofty heights, enjoy trying to master the park's 500 different climbing routes. Those who prefer scenic beauty from less intimidating elevations enjoy the park's hiking and biking trails, and streamside picnic areas. Anglers are likely to find rainbow and brook trout nibbling at their hooks in the park's streams. This park is located eight miles south of Boulder. Call the park at (303) 494-3943 for information about its hours and fees.

Leanin' Tree Museum of Western Art
Leanin' Tree is a greeting card company noted for its Western themes. Edward P. Trumble, the chairman and founder of Leanin' Tree, amassed a large collection of Western art which he opened to the public for free self-guided tours. This museum, which contains of over 300 paintings and bronze sculptures, is one of the largest privately held collections of Western art in the United States. The museum is located at 6055 Longbow Drive. Call the museum at (800) 777-8716, ext. 299 for information about its hours.

Mapleton Hill Historic District
Mapleton Hill historic district, established in 1882, features houses with an interesting architectural mix of East Coast and West Coast styles. Notable residences include the Fonda House (1900), Lewis-Cobb House (1903), the Four-Square House (1911), and the Orchard House (1939). Historic Boulder, Inc., located at 646 Pearl St., provides guided tours of the neighborhood for large groups. Visitors can contact Historic Boulder at (303) 444-5192 for information about arranging such a tour. Otherwise, guests are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the area, enhanced with Historic Boulder's $3 map. The map provides colorful information about the homes in Mapleton Hill.

Pearl Street (Pedestrian) Mall
Pearl Street Mall, the heart and center of downtown Boulder, is a tree-lined oasis filled with shops, restaurants, brewpubs, grassy spots, and performers. This beautiful four-block stretch is a colorful place to people-watch - an easy task from the myriad of sidewalk cafes available to diners. Musicians, mimes, jugglers, and other street entertainers enliven this European-style area year-round. There are plenty of chain stores on Pearl Street, but the trendy boutiques and local shops are guaranteed to provide one-of-a-kind keepsakes from your Boulder vacation. Pearl Street Mall is located on Pearl Street, between 11th and 15th streets.

Rockies Brewing Company
The Rockies Brewing Company, which touts itself as Colorado's first microbrewery, manufactures award-winning beers such as Buffalo Gold Premium Ale and Singletrack Copper Ale. Beer connoisseurs should take advantage of the free one-hour tours of the facility, which include a beer tasting. The tours take guests through the beer-making process, from grain to frothy beverage - a view of the company's bronze beer vats and bottling area are just a few sites along the way. The tour ends at The Pub at Rockies Brewing Company, a full-service restaurant overlooking the bottling area. The tours are given Mondays through Fridays (and Saturdays from May through October) at 2 p.m. Call the brewing company at (303) 444-8448 to make an appointment to visit the facility at an alternate time. The brewing company is located at 2880 Wilderness Place.

Rocky Mountain National Park
Recreational pursuits of all sorts abound at Rocky Mountain National Park, located just 35 miles from Boulder. Hikers, bikers, rock climbers, mountaineers, and sightseers travel to this pristine area to experience some of the most splendid nature in America. Visitors must not pass up an opportunity to drive Trail Ridge Road (U.S. 34), which winds upwards to an elevation of 12,183 feet. There, panoramic vistas of the Rocky Mountains, coupled with thrilling views of animals and wildflowers, prove unforgettable. Prepare for a temperature drop between 20 and 30 degrees at the road's higher elevations. Visitors must take the time to adapt to the park's elevation, which is between 8,000 and 14,000 feet.