Must Do's in Medellin

My first international trip since Covid hit was to Colombia this past April. After several changes in my itinerary, specifically regarding where to visit, I finally settled on Medellin as the first leg of my trip. The city once know as the birth place of Pablo Escobar, has now become a bustling international city. The original plan was to spend 3 full days in the city, however, due to weekend quarantine, I had to cut my trip short. But even with only roughly 48 hours and evening curfews in Medellin, I was still able to fully enjoy what the city had to off. Here are some must dos and see in Medellin, even if you only have a limited amount of time.

How to Get There

Being one of the bigger cities in Colombia it is quite easy to get to the city via bus or flying, including direct flights from the US on Spirit airlines (at the time of this post). Once you arrive into the city you have the option of taking a bus, a collective taxi, or a personal taxi, uber, or Easy Taxi/Cabify (a local version of Uber). Once you get situated with which is the best way for you to get into town off to go. Due to Medellin being built in the mountains, a cool opportunity you have is to either take the recently opened tunnel that takes you through the mountain or you can go around on Las Palmas and get views of the country side. choose the tunnel for the speed, and the views upon exiting the tunnel did not disappoint. One of the spectacular things about Medellin is how it is a city built surrounded by the mountains, and it so beautiful to see. Once you settle in the city, there are a few options for getting around, including walking, buses, the metro, or taxis/ubers.

Where to Stay

There are several neighborhoods within Medellin, for those visiting and wanting to be near the nightlife and/or restaurants and shopping, the two best neighborhoods are, El Poblado and Laureles. These two are well connected with the metro, where a lot of tours depart from, and offer some great restaurants. Once you decide on the area, there are several options for places to stay from hotels to Airbnb’s and some nice hostels.

What to Do

Medellin itself is much more of a living city than a tourist city, however, it does offer a great mid-point for connecting to small towns in the area, hiking and outdoor adventures, loads of cafes, and a great place to learn about the area’s history.

Guatape

The small town of Guatape, about 2 hours of driving from Medellin, is a must do day trip. The town is known for los zocalos, which are images placed on the outside of all the houses in the city. You can take a mini tuk-tuk tour to see the different images. Besides the historic zocalos and the old historic streets, you can visit the famous umbrella street or stop and grab a cup of coffee and take in all the beauty this puebla has to offer.

This areas not only know for the historic city center, but a short distance from it is La Piedra del Penol, which is a set of 750 stairs built into a massive rock. It is worth the walk up there, and while it looks overwhelming from down below, the 20-min leisure walk (or 10-min walk if you run up it) makes for some incredible views of the surround lakes and mountains. Plus you get a mini workout for your trip.

There are a few options to getting to both of these locations, the easiest way is by taking a tour. I used Travel Medellin, but there are a variety of different tour companies out there. And on most of the tours, there is also a short boat ride where you can experience El Penol from afar. But if you would rather avoid a tour, you can easily get to the village and the rock via public bus. There are regular buses that depart from the north bus terminal in Medellin and will drop you off either at la Piedra or in the city center, and you can always ask the driver to tell you if you are afraid you’ll miss your stop. At the time of writing this tickets cost 15,000 COP and you can get them from using Sotrapenol, Sootransvincente and Transporte Guatape la Piedra bus companies. But no matter how you get there, it is worth taking this side trip while exploring the city of Medellin, you wont be disappointed.

MetroCable cars

The famous cable cars of Medellin have become a tourist hot spot. These offer amazing panoramic views of the city. The most popular of these lines is the L line, which takes you up to Arvi Park. Not only do you get to experience a unique way to get around the city and incredible views on your way up, but this park is a massive space that leaves you feeling as if you have left the city behind you. Here you can also find nature trails as well as food and craft vendors.

El Poblado Neighborhood

This trendy neighborhood offers a variety of things from cafes, to international restaurants, and bars to fit every taste. And one of the top things to do while in Medellin is to grab a cup of coffee. This is because most of the coffee grown in Colombia comes from Antioquia area (the department Medellin is located in), and El Poblado is a perfect location to enjoy a great cup of jo. Just walking around the area, you can easily find a coffee spot on almost any corner.

Comuna 13

Once known as the most dangerous area within Medellin, this neighborhood is becoming a popular spot for tourists to visit. Located on the side of the mountain, this neighborhood offers open air escalators and loads of graffiti art, including some of the murals being around the escalators. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I was unable to experience I only saw a limited amount of this area. But if you are looking to venture into this neighborhood and really see all the amazing murals, it is recommended to take a tour. I was recommended Comuna 13 Graffiti tours by a fellow traveler, but there are other groups that take out around the area.

Botanical Garden

Another highly recommended spot is the Botanical Garden. I personally did not venture here as I choose to spend my limited time exploring other parts of the city. But, if you are interested in escaping the city life, hop on the metro to the Universidad stop, and you can enter (for free) this 14 hectares of open space, where you will find over 600 different species and plants and even a butterfly house.

So when you are planning a trip to Colombia, consider checking out Medellin, and visiting a few of these popular spots while there.