Santa Marta has a growing number of museums, thanks in part to the Universidad del Magdalena. Whether your interests are history or art, you’ll have some place to escape the heat.
• Museo de Oro Tairona: Collections of Tayrona artifacts and explications of their society (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Temporary location: Banco de la RepĂşblica, Calle 14 1C-37, Parque SimĂłn BolĂvar. Entry: Free).
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Museo de Arte: Three galleries of regional and national artists, with special exhibits (Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-noon, 3-7 p.m., Sunday and holidays 3-7 p.m. Carrera 2 16-44, Tel.: 5-438-2048, E-mail: centro.cultural@unimagdalena.edu.co, Web:
extension.unimagdalena.edu.co/extension/museos/muarte/Paginas/principal.aspx. Entry: Foreigners $2.75; Colombians: $2.25 adults, $1.15 children).
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Museo Etnográfico de la Universidad del Magdalena (MEUM): A people’s history of Santa Marta and the Sierra Nevada, from the founding of the city to the effects of armed conflicts on the indigenous nations of the mountains (Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Carrera 1, corner of Calle 22. Tel.: 5-431-7513, E-mail: museoetnografico@gmail.com, URL:
extension.unimagdalena.edu.co/extension/museos/muetnografico/Paginas/principal.aspx. Entry: Foreigners $2.75; Colombian $2.25 adults, $1.50 children and students).
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Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino: The death place of the Great Libertador, SimĂłn BolĂvar (daily 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Entry: $6 adults, $5 students and third-agers, $4.50 children 6-12 years, free children under 6 years).
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Museo Bolivariano de Arte Contemporáneo: Special exhibits of modern Colombian and Latin American art (same hours as Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino. Entry is included in that of the Quinta).
Location:
Santa Marta, Colombia
Museum Types:
Historical museum, Archaeology, Anthropology, ethnography, Botanical garden, Science, art, cultural centers, Art museum
Relative price: Budget
Travel Skills: None
Free events and exhibits at the cultural centers; the museums in El Rodadero; a visit to Gabriel GarcĂa Márquez’ hometown Aracataca; a stroll through Bananatown; Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona’s El Pueblito and Playa Brava’s ruins; trek to Ciudad Perdida.
Currencies accepted
Colombian Peso
Here are other activities
in and around Santa Marta that may be of interest:
Museums of El Rodadero,
Acuario y Museo del Mar del Rodadero,
Museo de Oro Tairona and
Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino.