Family house

The Botero Square is a source of pride, it is full of its huge sculptures and the best thing is that it is a free attraction in the city center where you can get there by Metro. The charming Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture is located in the square and the emblematic Coltejer Tower that looks out over it.

Along the Plaza Botero is the Museum of Antioquia, the most important and significant museum in Medellín. Inside you will find a large collection of Botero's most famous paintings along with several of his sculptures.

The Botanical Garden. It is a small green refuge in a big city where you can walk around the small lake and look for birds or iguanas, go to the small butterfly house or just walk under the imposing roof of the orchid exhibition. It is 100% free!

The Explora Park is an interactive science museum, focusing on fun and interactivity, so they have practical activities that demonstrate everything from physics to neuroscience, to communication and perception itself. They also have a considerable aquarium and a terrarium with some of the strange creatures that inhabit this tropical country. The collection of poisonous golden frogs is quite good, the most poisonous frogs in the world and those that come from Colombia.

The Planetarium of Medellin, here you are not only reading about the gravitational attraction between the planets or the Coriolis effect, but seeing how it works in an interactive way. The highlight of course is the theater located under the great dome. The movies will take you on a journey immersed in space.

​

El Pueblito Paisa is a simulation of the town like the one in the countryside, but located in the heart of Medellin on the top of Cerro Nutibara. The town itself is picturesque and somewhat interesting. It is a great place to buy souvenirs for friends and family.

​

There is a new gastronomic destination in the city known as Mercado del Río. It is a huge winery in the sector known as Ciudad del Río that has become a food court of medium gastronomic level, with many options of restaurants with national and international flavors, bars and cafes. And a second level where you can sit comfortably in puffs to drink something and watch a giant screen event.

​

The Museum of Modern Art of Medellín (or The MAMM) houses an impressive collection of modern art, including the work of the remarkable Antioquia artist Débora Arango and a frequent rotation of temporary exhibitions. The terraces on the upper floors of the museum are incredible. The museum also frequently offers other activities such as outdoor movie nights and free events at its facilities.

​

Ride on Metro Cable The famous Medellin Metro Cable ... It was built as an integral part of the metro system in order to provide public transportation to the poorest communities that live along the city's high neighborhoods. It is one of the most innovative and progressive urban projects (many cities in Latin America have used Medellin as a model) and has inadvertently become an important tourist attraction.

​

Parque Arví, is a large nature reserve that is located on the high slopes of Medellín.Here you will find wide hiking trails and activities such as horseback riding or you will find picnic areas or streams for walking. It is an incredible way to link nature with access to the city through public transport. Another of the innovations of Medellín.

​

​

Eat fritters No travel experience abroad is complete without trying some of the local cuisine. The fritters are fried bread balls with cheese mixed in the dough that are absolutely delicious.

​

Dance salsa. Medellin is also a great place to take salsa lessons if you want to learn, instead of just watching.

​

The El Castillo Museum, is located at the top of the hill above the Town ... yes, there is a castle in Medellin, oddly enough. It was once the home of an  rich businessman, but now it has been converted into a museum or park for visitors to enjoy. The interior of the castle itself is quite interesting: a look at the past (and the socioeconomic state). 

Beautiful gardens and the panoramic view of the city. El Castillo is a great place to go on a date, or bring a picnic lunch and just hang out watching some exhibition.

​

Parque Lleras is located in the center of El Poblado, the most exclusive and elegant neighborhood of the city and is the heart of the nightlife here in Medellín. There are clubs on top of the clubs and the whole scene is quite wild. Even if the nightlife is not your thing, it is still a place where you should check it out at least once during your visit to Medellin.

​

If there is a dish that you should eat at least once, it is the Paisa Tray. It is a huge plate of food, with lots of meat (sorry, vegetarians!) And is the emblematic of the region. On your plate you will find sausage, ground meat, blood sausage, pork rinds, fried egg, beans, rice, avocado, arepa and plantain.

​

The Pies descalzos Park, is a cool urban space where water sources abound that are placed next to platforms with sand (where you are supposed to walk barefoot, hence the name) and green areas with imposing bamboo. The space is incredibly popular with families, as children use it as a water park on warm afternoons.

​

The water museum focuses on the importance of water and conservation and also talks about how Medellín gets its water and where it comes from. There are a number of exhibits that show the different ecological zones of Colombia (from the moor to the Amazon) that provide a great perspective for future trips within Colombia.

​

Explore Envigado is the little neighbor in the south of Medellín. They used to be totally separate cities within the valley, but over time they have been joining at the same rate with the increase in population. Envigado gives a small sample of the typical Antioquia town, with the central square where the old people spend their time sipping red and feeding the birds under the great white church.

​

Meet the Otraparte House Museum, located in Envigado near Jardines, is the former home of an important Colombian writer and philosopher known as Fernando González.While the museum itself may be of limited interest to foreign visitors, idyllic gardens are another great refuge. 

The museum's cafe is one of the best in Envigado. They also organize many cultural events ranging from movie nights to conferences about art, music and more. It is a very nice and quiet space and is totally free.

​

Get to know the Park of Lights Also known as Plaza Cisneros, it is another of the innovative public spaces in Medellín. It is located directly in front of the administrative center of government of Alpujarra and was once an area infested with crime and dangerous city, rampant with drug use and prostitution as soon as night fell. 

The government decided to literally turn on the lights by installing many artistic light towers that illuminate and change color throughout the night. While it is true that the effect is best enjoyed at night, it is still a pleasant place to walk during the day.

​

Attend a football match at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium. Attending a scandalous game at the stadium is an unforgettable experience, as fans give everything they have for 90 minutes while players run from one side of the field to the other. There are two teams in Medellín, Atlético Nacional or DIM (known simply as Medellín). The teams are rivals, so they are fans of one or the other.

​

Eat empanadas. They are delicious fried bags of meat with potatoes or rice that you can see in almost every corner. Preferred empanadas are those of Envigado.

​

Visit the Metropolitan Cathedral At the heart of the city center is the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is supposedly the largest baked brick church in the world. While the exterior of the church is not opulent, it is an imposing church and is located on the edge of another beautiful urban square. Directly south of the Cathedral, I recommend taking a walk along the famous Junín Street, a pedestrian shopping area that has become so emblematic of Medellín that “juninear” is a local verb that means going to see the showcases of Junín's stores.

​

Get lost in El Hueco  is a busy street store and sales sector, located in the center of the city, just south of Plaza Botero. Here you will find a series of stables that have been taken by a ton of vendors selling all kinds of products such as clothes, shoes, hats and all kinds of things.

​

Walk the Golden Mile and the Santafé Shopping Center. The Golden Mile is the most exclusive strip of premises and buildings in Medellín, where you can find bars, cafes and restaurants, with excellent options for eating and drinking. In this sector you will find such famous places as Hard Rock Café, Starbucks, Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme and other local businesses. 

Santafé is a huge complex with hundreds of stores and is among the most impressive shopping centers I have seen in my life. Incredibly, the central courtyard actually has a retractable roof for those sunny or rainy days in the City of Eternal Spring.

​

Visit a nearby town. Santa Fe de Antioquia is located to the west, through one of the longest tunnels in South America and features beautiful colonial architecture and cobbled streets. However, it is much hotter than Medellin, so keep that in mind. Guatapé is located in the opposite direction, up in the slightly colder mountains, east of Medellín. Here you will find the imposing rock monolith known as La Piedra del Peñol, which you can climb up the approximately 800 stairs to the top. There is also a huge lagoon and there is much to do there.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​