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Café del Mar-April 2024

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Apr 18, 2025

　　Ocean breezes swoop in off the coast and bring a relaxing freshness to this touristy outdoor lounge perching on the western ramparts of the Old Town. Dress up a notch or two and be prepared to pay COP$10,000 for a beer if you want to blend in. The view is unbeatable.

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Must-see attractions

　　Cartagena's old city is its principal attraction, particularly the inner walled town, consisting of the historical districts of El Centro and San Diego. It's one of finest examples of preserved colonial architecture in the Americas, packed with churches, monasteries, plazas, palaces and mansions with their famous overhanging balconies and shady...

Mercado Bazurto

　　For adventurous souls only, Cartagena's labyrinthine central market, 4km outside the old city walls, is both dirty and enthralling – an all-out assault on the senses. If it's marketable, it's for sale here: there are endless stalls of fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and plenty of options for grabbing...

　　Havana has it all: live salsa from horn-blowing Cubans, strong drinks, a gorgeous horseshoe-shaped bar surrounded by brilliant eccentrics, wood-paneled walls and a ceiling full of whirring fans. While it's no secret these days, it's still worth a pilgrimage. Expect sweaty crowds and the odd elbow in the ribs when...

Convento de la Popa

　　On a 150m-high hill, the highest point in Cartagena, stands this convent. The views from here are outstanding and stretch all over the city. The convent's name literally means the 'Convent of the Stern,' after the hill's similarity to a ship's back end. Founded by Augustine fathers in 1607, it...

Palacio de la Inquisición

　　The Palace of the Inquisition may today be one of the finest buildings in the city, but in the past it housed the notoriously grisly Inquisition, whose bloody task it was to stamp out heresy in colonial Cartagena. The palace is now a museum, displaying the inquisitors' instruments of torture,...

Plaza de los Coches

　　Previously known as Plaza de la Yerba, the triangular plaza just behind Puerta del Reloj was once used as a market for enslaved people. It is lined with old balconied houses with colonial arches at ground level. The arcaded walkway, known as El Portal de los Dulces, is today lined...

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas

　　The greatest fortress ever built by the Spaniards in any of their colonies, the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas still dominates an entire section of Cartagena's cityscape. It should definitely be the first fortress you visit. The original edifice was quite small. It was commissioned in 1630, and construction...

　　Getsemaní, the outer walled town, is less obviously impressive than Cartagena's old city but has some charming parts and is well worth exploring. In recent years it has been the focus of Cartagena's exploding gentrification and growing hotel industry, and boasts excellent bars, restaurants and cafes, as well as some...

　　Work on Cartagena’s cathedral began in 1575, but in 1586, while still under construction, it was partly destroyed by the cannons of Francis Drake. The structure known officially as the Basilica Santa Catalina de Alejandría wasn't completed until 1612, although the distinctive terracotta dome visible all over town was added...

Puerta del Reloj

　　Originally called the Boca del Puente, this was the main gateway to the inner walled town and was linked to Getsemaní by a drawbridge over the moat. The side arches of the gate, which are now open as walkways, were previously used as a chapel and armory. The republican-style tower,...

Convento & Iglesia de San Pedro Claver

　　Founded by Jesuits in the first half of the 17th century as Convento San Ignacio de Loyola, this convent later changed its name to honor Spanish-born monk Pedro Claver (1580–1654), who lived and died here. Called the 'Apostle of the Blacks' or the 'Slave of the Slaves,' the monk spent...

Museo del Oro Zenú

　　This museum is like a miniature version of Bogotá's world-class gold museum, the Museo del Oro. Though small, it offers a fascinating collection of the gold and pottery of the Zenú (also known as Sinú) people, who inhabited the region of the present-day departments of Bolívar, Córdoba, Sucre and northern...

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