 | If you have only thirty-six hours to spend in Aspen, you can have a great time and scope out the place for future visits. Here are my recommendations. By the way, we visited in the summer, so things might be different for a winter trip. |
 | Stay at Mountain Chalet Inn. If I were a professional hotel reviewer (is that a thing?), I would give this hotel only three and a half stars. It was built in the 1950s, has not had updates or renovations, and the rooms are a bit small. However, I am not a professional hotel reviewer, and I loved it! It has everything I care about (authentic local charm, relaxed elegance, delicious breakfast, books, coffee and cookies in the lobby, and great location) so I’m giving it five stars. Yes, that’s a totally subjective decision, but I’d rather have local color than cookie-cutter sterility any day. You can walk to everything in town, and public transportation is free, so you can get anywhere you want to go during your stay there. We walked or took the bus to everything in this post! |
The pool is heated, and the hot tub is the biggest I’ve ever seen. Our room had two queen beds, a fridge, and microwave. It faced the pool.
Bonus story: After we checked in to Mountain Chalet, my husband recognized it as the scene from a chapter of his past. When he was a Juilliard student in the 80s, he spent one summer at the Aspen Music Festival. He stayed in the dorms, but had friends in the Mountain Chalet. One afternoon, as they hung out on the balcony, a lovely young woman wearing only her underwear appeared in the pool area. She jumped into the water, swam a few laps, and leisurely exited the pool. The view was remarkable. Thanks for the memories, ma’am!
Bonus story: After we checked in to Mountain Chalet, my husband recognized it as the scene from a chapter of his past. When he was a Juilliard student in the 80s, he spent one summer at the Aspen Music Festival. He stayed in the dorms, but had friends in the Mountain Chalet. One afternoon, as they hung out on the balcony, a lovely young woman wearing only her underwear appeared in the pool area. She jumped into the water, swam a few laps, and leisurely exited the pool. The view was remarkable. Thanks for the memories, ma’am!
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Food is expensive in Aspen, so here are a couple of tips for you.
Don’t eat Chinese food. It’s expensive, not authentic, not yummy. Instead, go to Justice Snows and get the $10 hamburger (it’s not on the menu, just ask for it). The beet salad is also excellent. The night we ate there, they had a poetry reading in the parlor and a live band in the bar. The trumpet player stood on the restaurant steps after the crowds thinned out, and played us home.
Go to City Market and stock up on sandwich supplies, rotisserie chicken, snacks. Picnics taste great in the mountain air!
Don’t eat Chinese food. It’s expensive, not authentic, not yummy. Instead, go to Justice Snows and get the $10 hamburger (it’s not on the menu, just ask for it). The beet salad is also excellent. The night we ate there, they had a poetry reading in the parlor and a live band in the bar. The trumpet player stood on the restaurant steps after the crowds thinned out, and played us home.
Go to City Market and stock up on sandwich supplies, rotisserie chicken, snacks. Picnics taste great in the mountain air!
 | Go to Maroon Bells. Take the city bus to Highlands, then buy a ticket up the mountain. I know you’ve seen a lot of beautiful mountain scenery, but Maroon Bells is truly breathtaking. |
 You can hike up the mountain. |  You can have a picnic on a rock by the lake. |
 You can sit by the lake and read Harry Potter on your phone. |  You can paint a picture. This is local artist Tammie Lane, who was working on a painting for an upcoming show. We talked about housing in Aspen (regular and affordable), traveling, making a living as an artist, and the beauty of the mountains. |
Do whatever makes you happy! It’s just a beautiful place to be. As you ride the bus back down the mountain, tired and happy, your bus driver may sing you an Irish folk song in his easy tenor voice. Ours did.
 | In the summer, the Aspen Music Festival is going on. Go to a concert! The hotel will give you a concert schedule, and you can walk or take the free shuttle. Dress is casual, and the music will be excellent. Here is the Aspen Festival Orchestra warming up before the concert. We heard the Bartok Piano Concerto and Dvorak’s New World Symphony. I got chills near the end of the first movement, but I’m a sucker for a good recapitulation. |
Visit Explorers Bookstore. I bought Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird.
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 | Ride a bike. Many Aspen streets have bike lanes, some streets are blocked off for bikes and pedestrians, and there are many trails that branch off the city streets. If you have sea-level lungs like I do, take it easy! |
Aspen is a beautiful town with good food, beautiful scenery, music in the summer, and skiing in the winter. I could spend a week there, but if you only have thirty-six hours, you’ll still have a lovely time!
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