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48 Hours: Salt Lake City Nestled against the Wasatch Range—playground for the 2002 winter Olympians—this gold medal city has lifted itself out of Denver's shadow. Come to Salt Lake City for the first Olympic Winter Games of the 21st century and you'll find an Old West outpost coming of age. True, Utah's capital city holds dearly to its devout upbringing as headquarters for the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS to Saltlakers). But visit this city of broad, meticulously clean boulevards and tree-lined avenues and discover a personable "New West" metropolis on the rise. FAST FACTS Cultivated by Mormon pilgrims in 1847 from the arid high-desert landscape that runs from the Great Salt Lake to the western flanks of the Wasatch Range, Salt Lake City has become more than a one-religion enclave. Today the city of 181,740 (about half the population is Mormon) is a national center of biomedical research and the gateway to the majestic red-rock landscape of southern Utah. And, to Denver's chagrin, it offers same-day skiing for both East and West Coasters thanks to an international airport close to the minutes-away mountains. DON'T MISS
Revered by the LDS faithful as the Vatican is by Catholics, Temple Square ranks as Utah's premier tourist attraction. Within this one- by two-block compound in the city's heart you'll find groomed flower gardens, the six-spired Salt Lake Temple—open only to church members—and the Tabernacle, home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The choir performs Sunday mornings for the public, but you can also catch one of their rehearsals on Thursday evenings. At the nearby Family History Library, you can search for your ancestors by computer at no cost. The adobe-block-style Lion House, where Brigham Young's large family lived between 1856 and 1877, stands near the square's southeastern corner. The main floor was reserved for mothers and their children, while the second floor housed Young's childless wives. Though there are no tours of the house, you can have lunch in the original kitchen. A short walk east from Temple Square, the Cathedral of the Madeleine provides proof that Mormonism is not Utah's only religion. This Catholic church, built between 1900 and 1918, boasts a Romanesque exterior complete with gargoyles and a Gothic Revival interior with frescoes and mosaics. The new Gateway Center (a dining, retail, and theater complex), located in a former railroad yard, encompasses three city blocks downtown and, along with dozens of shops, will feature an IMAX theater and the Hansen Planetarium. Just a short TRAX light-rail ride to the city's East Bench neighborhood, at the University of Utah's campus, lies the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, where traveling shows—such as the exhibit of 2,400-year-old Greek relics opening Feb. 1—accentuate its 17,000-piece collection of paintings and sculptures. In Lehi, a 20-minute drive south of Salt Lake City, the year-old North American Museum of Ancient Life sprawls over 122,000-square-feet and displays 60 dinosaur skeletons including two of Tyrannosaurus rex and a 110-foot-long Supersaurus. WHERE THE LOCALS EAT Once ridiculed as a culinary wasteland, Salt Lake City has deliciously blossomed. Enhanced by the uncluttered, cosmopolitan lines of the Metropolitan restaurant, chef Jonathan Perno's menu of organic red beet ravioli and black truffle risotto has transformed an aging warehouse into an artsy bastion of epicurean creations. A more intimate environment awaits at Fresco Italian Café, where you can browse books thanks to a hallway linking the café with the mystery section of The King's English Bookshop. At Log Haven, a historic log mansion four miles up Millcreek Canyon on the city's southeastern edge, deep-forest views and romance are side dishes to entrées such as grilled sea bass and lemon-date-glazed poussin. Salt Lake City has a growing number of ethnic restaurants. Among them, Ichiban Sushi, set in an old church with its original stained-glass windows, has been noted by Gourmet magazine as one of the country's top sushi restaurants. SHOPPING Bolstered by the new Gateway Center, the downtown shopping scene has been revived. Ken Sanders Rare Books sells works by such 19th-century Western explorers as John Wesley Powell, and Sanders can procure a first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon for $50,000. Up the street, Anthony's Antiques stocks finds like a marble statue created in 1858 for the palace of Napoleon III. Need some skis or a snowboard? Try Evolution Ski Co., where they'll hand-make and custom-paint a pair or board for you. Trolley Square offers a mix of 80 chain and boutique shops housed within the city's restored trolley barns, while Robert Redford's commercial empire can be sampled at the Sundance Catalog Outlet in the Sugarhouse district. This growing neighborhood is also home to the Bingham Gallery (represents works by painters such as Maynard Dixon and Charles Muench) and Mountain Body, an "herbal cosmetic deli and spa" that offers fragrant balms for soothing skin chapped by Utah's dry air. NIGHTLIFE Although the NBA's Utah Jazz will be on the road throughout February to make room for the Olympics, you can catch one of their January home games in the Delta Center arena. Prefer ballet or opera? Ballet West and the Utah Opera Company call the Capitol Theatre home, while the symphony plays in nearby Abravanel Hall. Find a more raucous atmosphere at the city's microbreweries such as Squatters, where lagers and ales are brewed on site, and the Dead Goat Saloon, a "private club" that features live local and regional bands. Utah's quirky liquor laws require you to buy a membership to this and other "private clubs" for about $5, before you imbibe. LODGINGS OF NOTE No better abode exists in the heart of Salt Lake City than the Hotel Monaco. This appendage of the San Francisco-based chain calls an old bank building home. While the rooms' lime-and-white-striped wallpaper might keep you up at night, the loaner goldfish ensures you won't be lonely. With a backdrop of the Mormon Temple, the European-style Inn at Temple Square has rooms outfitted with four-poster beds and comfy robes. The Grand America Hotel, which opened in 2001, just might be the Rockies' grandest hotel. Rooms include bathrooms built with marble from Italy, leather-top desks, and cherry-wood furniture made in France. With its own butcher shop and bakery, the sumptuous hotel takes Rocky Mountain elegance to a new level. TravelWise Sightseeing, Culture, & Shopping Abravanel Hall: 123 West South Temple; +1 801 323 6800.
Restaurants, Cafés, & Bars Dead Goat Saloon: 165 South West Temple; +1 801 328 4628.
Lodging Grand America Hotel: 555 South Main St.; +1 801 258 6000; www.grandamerica.com. $225-375.
The information in this story was accurate at the time it was published, but we suggest you confirm all details before making travel plans.
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