Things To Do in Aspen

The Aspen Historical Society, 620 W. Bleeker St. (tel. 970/925-3721; www.aspenhistory.org), offers a variety of guided tours of Aspen and the surrounding mining camps during the summer. One 2-hour walking tour of Aspen covers about 1 mile and begins on the grounds of the Wheeler/Stallard House Museum, explores the West End residential area, and ends in the lobby of the historic Hotel Jerome. The cost is $12 per adult. The History Coach is a motorized electric vehicle that takes six guests at a time on 2-hour tours of town. Tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday for $25 per adult, $20 seniors, and free for kids under 12. Additionally, guided tours of Ashcroft and Independence ghost towns are available daily in summer for $3 adults. Call for reservations and specific times. Self-guided tour brochures are also available.

Aspen Music

Nestled in the picturesque Roaring Fork Valley is one of the top ski resorts in Colorado, and in summer, when the snows have (mostly) melted, the schussing of skis is replaced with the glorious sound of music.

The Aspen Music Festival and School originated in 1949 and is now considered one of America's top summer music programs. Lasting 9 weeks from mid-June to late August, it offers more than 350 events, including symphonic and chamber music, opera, choral, and children's programs. Most concerts take place in the state-of-the-art, 2,050-seat Benedict Music Tent and 500-seat Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall, both at Third and Gillespie streets. The acoustics in the tent are very good, but in Harris Hall they're amazing.

During the season, ensembles-in-residence -- the American and Emerson string quartets and the American Brass Quintet -- give recitals; the Aspen Chamber Symphony and Aspen Festival Orchestra perform; and varied chamber groups are created from among the roster of professional musicians that make up the school's faculty. Plus, there are numerous open rehearsals and other programs offered. Events scheduled for 2008 included works by Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Christopher Rouse, to name a few.

On top of Aspen Mountain -- you'll have to buy a ticket and ride the gondola -- student groups perform free 1-hour concerts each Saturday at 1pm. This Music on the Mountain soars into the backdrop of the Elk Mountain range. The family events include several programs geared to youngsters under 10, such as storytelling and music at the Pitkin County Library (free; various times), plus the annual family picnic and concert of short, fun classical pieces. Certain dress rehearsals of the Aspen Chamber Symphony and Aspen Festival Orchestra are open to the public, giving visitors an inside look at how a concert is put together. And if you're a visiting musician, check out the master classes while you're in town.

Open rehearsals and master classes typically cost under $20, and most concert tickets run $20 to $70. Free programs include most of the family events, plus the popular Saturday Music on the Mountain concerts atop Aspen Mountain. Free tours of the tent and concert hall, a historic walking tour from the Hotel Jerome to the tent, and a tour of the music school campus are available. Parking is limited, but there is free bus service from many points in town, Snowmass Village, and down-valley (tel. 970/925-8484 for schedule information).

For additional information, contact Aspen Music Festival and School, 2 Music School Rd., Aspen, CO 81611 (tel. 970/925-9042 for the box office and 970/925-3254 for the office; www.aspenmusicfestival.com).

Aspen's major performing arts venue is the 1889 Wheeler Opera House, 320 E. Hyman Ave., at Mill Street (tel. 970/920-5770 box office; www.wheeleroperahouse.com). Built at the peak of the mining boom by silver baron Jerome B. Wheeler, this meticulously restored stage hosts a year-round program of music, theater, dance, film, and lectures. The building itself is worth a visit, with brass wall sconces, crystal chandeliers, gold trim and stencils on the dark-blue walls, rich wood, red carpeting, and red velvet seats. The box office is open daily from 10am to 6pm (until 5pm Sun).

Among Aspen's top nightspots, Syzygy, 520 E. Hyman Ave. (tel. 970/925-3700), ranks high with young, high-energy types who live for the "Aspen scene." Bentley's at the Wheeler, 328 E. Hyman Ave. (tel. 970/920-2240), is an elegant English-style pub, good for the older crowd. The Lobby Lounge at the St. Regis, at the base of Aspen Mountain (tel. 970/920-3300), draws scores of après-skiers; and among my favorite Aspen bars is the quietly sophisticated and historic J-Bar, in the Hotel Jerome at Main and Mill streets (tel. 970/920-1000). The rich, hip, and wasted flock to 39 degrees, in the Sky Hotel at 709 E. Durant Ave. (tel. 970/925-6760), for outer-limits specialty cocktails and the unbeatable slopeside pool, which you can use even if you're just a bar customer and not a guest. For the opposite side of the spectrum and the best burger deal in town, hit the casual, funky, and unpretentious Cooper Street Pier, 508 E. Cooper Ave. (tel. 970/925-7758). Live rock, folk, and country concerts are the hallmark of Belly Up, 405 S. Galena St. (tel. 970/544-9800; www.bellyupaspen.com). Eric's Bar, 408 E. Hyman Ave. (tel. 970/920-6707), is four bars in one, with a cigar bar, pool hall, a Mexican eatery, and the bustling main bar. The Double Dog Pub, 303 E. Hopkins (tel. 970/544-5110), is a comfortable basement pub lined with pictures of patrons' dogs, dog art, and acoustic music on Tuesday nights.