Ways to kill time — Keep your eyes open in the concourses and in the terminal for pottery, paintings and sculptures by both local and national artists. Informational exhibits, multimedia works and murals are spread throughout the airport. Between the international and main terminals, a pedestrian bridge features a display called Spirit of the People, which describes the 6,000-year history of Colorado's settlers. The Concourse A connecting bridge offers changing art exhibits. Watch for the humorous little touches, too: the blue flywheels your carriage sets whirling as you ride by on the trains between concourses, and the gargoyles leering at you when you pick up your baggage.

Get a bite — DIA has 48 restaurants and although none of them are particularly distinctive, airport workers recommend La Cantina in the main terminal for Mexican food, It's a Wrap on Concourse B for healthy sandwiches and the Coffee Pubs in the main terminal and Concourse A for made-to-order sandwiches and lattes. Pour La France in the main terminal serves good coffee, sandwiches and salads, and Wolfgang Puck's upstairs on Concourse B has appetizers, pastas and Puck's famed designer pizzas.

Last-minute shopping — There are 60 stores at the airport, including such ubiquitous chains as The Body Shop and the Tie Rack. If the airport's artistic design has inspired you, buy gifts, crafts and jewelry made by local craftspeople from the Colorado Collection on Concourse B. The Images of Nature Gallery on Concourse B offers prints, posters, calendars and art books. And if you need a gift for a pup or kitten, you can get gourmet treats, bath oils and toys from Pawsitively Pets on the Concourse B Mezzanine.

Doing business — The airport offers laptop accessible ports in all the phone banks.

Relax while you wait — The airport offers massage therapists in rooms in the main terminal and on Concourse B. You can get a neck and back rub or a full-body stress reducer from a trained professional massage therapist from $45 to $75.

Getting downtown — Taxis to downtown take about 25 minutes and cost about $45, but if you and another passenger are going to the same place, you can split the cost. Several shuttles run between DIA and various locations in Denver at about $20 per person. The cheapest deal, if you're not too loaded with baggage, is an RTD (Regional Transportation Department) bus at between $4 and $8 (303-299-6000; www.rtd-denver.com).

Most of the major rental car services, from Advantage to Thrifty, are available at DIA. It's a good idea to make arrangements ahead of time to ensure that a car is available. Denver has a reasonable bus system, including a free and frequent shuttle along the 16th Street Mall. If you've business beyond downtown, however, it's best to rent a car.