A Guide to Night Life in Fort Collins, Colorado

The perfect night out in Fort Collins, Colorado is never truly a night out unless you visit Old Town Fort Collins.

Old Town Fort Collins was the original inspiration and essential template for a Disney architect to create the theme of Downtown Disney World; a part of the park cobbled in brick with a modern, clean Midwestern trim, which should give a general visual of the homey atmosphere the downtown area exudes.

Old Town is the center of nightlife in Fort Collins. In the main square, a pedestrian only zone, one can visit a multitude of exotic clothing and accessory shops such as Tula, Contemporary Women's Clothing. The Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop is a favorite gathering place for the night crawling teenagers and happy families to lap up the savory creams while observing the glittering fountains and flickering lights of the square. For the more adventurous types of night owls, the Mystiq Martini bar at Suite 152 offers a dance club, dinner, and tasty adult beverages where everyone has a consistently fabulous time. In the summertime, the dance club at Suite 152 is open for those unfortunate enough to be under the age of twenty-one and cannot get in on a regular night. For dinner, Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing along with Zydeocs, a restaurant reminiscent of a New Orleans Mardi Gras, offer a cure for the pedestrian's common hunger.

Beyond the main square, following the main strip of Old Town on College Avenue the rest of the bustling nightlife is out to play. From food to entertainment, from bookshops to hotels, from jewelers to gyms, the Old Town strip has everything a tourist or resident partier could possibly desire. Residents who have explored Old Town on multiple occasions often enjoy people watching, flirting, and loitering with good intentions on the strip.

One of the main attractions for the more musical crowd is the Aggie Theater. The Aggie often hosts free shows for the people of Fort Collins, allowing practically any type of music to grace its glorious stage. Local rock bands who are out to make it big often play for free, along with all types of music from bluegrass to heavy metal, country to techno. Moderately famous bands and groups come to play as well for an acceptable entrance fee, such as Reckless Kelly, The Fray, and Relient K. Often, the Aggie is one of the main stops involved on a night out.

Old Town Fort Collins is the center of nightlife in this pretty town. The strip and the square contain every facet of a perfect night out. The renovated, but still vintage, buildings create the most beautiful setting beneath the Colorado stars for a glorious night on the town. In a long time residents opinion, this is the plan for Fort Collins' greatest night out.

First, begin at either Old Chicago or BeauJo's pizza joints. Both offer delicious pizza pies in as many combinations as you can handle. Then, head over to the Aggie, and if you're lucky, something you will enjoy will be playing. If not, wandering around the strip, window shopping and meeting new people will keep you happy until your mouth starts watering for something sweeter. When that occurs, follow your nose to Gelazzi's, the hottest new coffee shop on the strip-the best place in town for authentic Italian coffee and gelato. Get it to go.

Here is the ultimate, best kept secret of Old Town. Take your gelato and coffee to the top of the parking building on the west side of College Avenue behind the Opera Galleria-it's huge, you can't miss it. If you're lucky, you'll get ten to fifteen minutes of star gazing and observing the night life bustling below you until the parking garage rent-a-cop comes up to ask you to stop loitering. Honestly, taking the time and adrenaline rush to get to the top is worth the little bit of trouble you might get into.

Now you know just what to do when business or pleasure finds you in Northern Colorado. The next time you're in Fort Collins, look up the next show at the Aggie, put on some comfortable walking shoes, and hit the town!