I live in Denver about an hour north of Colorado Springs, but I have spent plenty of time down there and you pretty much cover and I would say that visiting the US Air Force Academy. If you are there in the fall, try to attend an Air Force football game the pageantry and aircraft flyovers are not to be missed.

If I would have known you were coming and assuming you had time …. I would have taken you on an amazing micro-brewery tour – we have a ton of them along the front range!

James

Blue Star… modern setting, great bar, awesome ambiance. Restaurant is on the pricey side, but the bar menu is just as excellent, and more affordable. The staff is very friendly. Sits right next to Bristol Brewing Co, which makes Laughing Lab.

Paravicini’s… the most excellent italian cuisine in the Springs. You can watch the action in the kitchen from your table, and the owner mingles with the patrons. And, the menu is affordable.

Now a not so vibrant view of Swiss Chalet in Woodland Park…

The food was very good, and the restaurant is very quaint, but the wait staff seemed quite pre-occupied to give us the time of day besides taking our order, bringing our food, and taking our money. From the moment we walked in we didn’t feel very welcome. We had a reservation but had to wait because everyone before us was late?
We were directed to sit at the bar while we waited for our table. The person who came to make our drinks never greeted us, and she served my Bailey’s on ice half full. Once we were seated, we had to wait several minutes for the easel menu to be brought to us, and another several minutes for someone to take our order… long enough for us to contemplate leaving. The person who took our order didn’t even ask us if we wanted anything to drink, and that was the last time we saw her until she came by to take our plates. My husband had to ask for the check. We had several servers come by our table but with the exception of the lady who brought our food [she was very nice, and attentive] no one else could even make eye contact, let alone ask if everything was ok or if we needed anything. The owner walked around helping the staff, but you never saw him going from table to table talking to the patrons… which is what you normally see in a restaurant that charges $25 and up per entree.

Paul

Chris Pirillo wrote a thorough guide for visitors to Colorado Springs. Do's, dont's, and tips that a lot of travel guides miss. Who else would tell you where the Best Buy is in case of a "digital emergency"?
 
 

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Blogger Chris Pirillo gives us some travel tips for Colorado Springs. His lists contains mostly tourist attractions and restaurants but is interesting none the less….

The bases are all still closed and you can’t get tours unless you are sponsored by someone who has access. Even then, the wait time is usually months. If you know anyone who has access to NORAD and have time to schedule your trip around it, it’s totally worth it.

Also, when you’re in town, don’t miss the local “non tourist” parks — especially Ute Valley Park and Palmer Park. They’re not your typical parks because they are essentially hundreds of acres of trails in the middle of the city. Ute Valley is off of Constitution and Vindicator and Palmer Park is off of Academy between Platte and Austin Bluffs. Any locals will be able to point you to these parks.

For eating, you can’t come to town without trying the best Mexican ever: Salsa Brava. There are now two locations — one off Rockrimmon and Vindicator; the other is near Chapel Hills and Briargate.