Downtown Medellin

Location:
Centro, Medellin
Centro, Medellín, Colombia

City Walk

By Richard McColl

Medellin – as has been frequently reported in recent years – has turned the corner from the dark days of its Escobarian past and is powering forward making the city a must see destination on any traveler’s route through Colombia.

Walking Tour

In a day the visitor can cover most of what the old centre of Medellin has to offer. There is no better nor less hurried way to see this part of town than by foot.

Start the day at the Basilica Metropolitana de Medellin located at the far end of the Carrera Junin. Enjoy a tinto coffee in the park while marveling at this immense brick structure.

From here you can then walk along the Carrera Junin, browsing the shops and businesses in this downtown sector. As you reach the end cross over the road and make your way to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de La Candelaria. A colonial style construction, it stands at odds with its environment of 1970s high-rise office blocks.

Just a few blocks from here, on the other side of the Metro station can be found the attractions of the Parque Berrío with its Museums and Botero sculptures. The Museo de Antioquia is the large building towards the back of the square and holds a permanent collection of 119 pieces donated by Fernando Botero himself. Pose for photos in front of the grotesque reclining lady and then move on a further few blocks south.

The Parque San Antonio really isn’t a park at all. It more resembles an enormous parking lot in front of a shopping mall. But, of interest to the visitor are the two Botero sculptures here. The original Bird of Peace sculpture was placed here by Botero and was subsequently blown up and a dozen or so passersby tragically killed, by a suspected FARC bomb. Instead of replacing or moving the mangled sculpture, in brave defiance, Botero created an identical sculpture to the original and placed it alongside the bomb affected version.

Move down from the Parque San Antonio to the Estacion Central where historically all rail travel into Medellin would pass. Now a visitor’s centre, one can relax with a cold juice or another coffee here before moving through the large buildings that make up the Town Hall of Medellin and passing by the Plaza de Cisneros in front of the city’s library.

From here you will be able to see the Edificio Inteligente – literally the Intelligent Building – which was built with environmental features in mind. Before reaching this building pass through the Parque de los Pies Descalzos where the emphasis is on recreation. Fountains are in place so that students fresh from visiting the children’s museum here can play in the jets.

The Cerro Nutibara is easily in view now as the only geographical feature in this area of the Aburra Valley. At 80 meters in height one can gain a reasonable view of the downtown area and view a Pueblito Paisa, constructed here to show what a typical Antioquian village should resemble.

Getting There
Catch the metro to Parque Berrio and go from there.

Travel Tips: Bring your camera and some cash.

Price Description: Costs will differ if you choose to enter all the museums.

Relative price: Very cheap

Travel Skills: None

You Need to Bring: Do not bring extremely valuable items, Medellin may be safe but there are still issues in the downtown areas.

To See and Do: Jardin Botanico