The mere mention of Medellín, Colombia, conjures up images of Pablo Escobar, drug-traficking and violence. During the 80´s and 90’s, the Medellín Cartel’s dominance over the city, made it one of the world’s most dangerous cities. However, that was over 30 years ago. Medellín is no longer the nightmare on earth portrayed in the Netflix series, Narcos. Today, Medellín has transformed into one of South America’s most innovative urban destinations with amazing restaurants, beautiful parks and a uniquely fascinating history. From the vibrant street art in Comuna 13 to the breathtaking views from La Piedra del Peñol de Guatapé, Medellín offers an incredible blend of culture, history, and modern innovation. This 6-day itinerary will take you through the best of what this remarkable city has to offer – whether you’re a history buff, foodie, or adventure seeker. Follow along for 6 days in Medellin: the Ultimate Guide.
PROTIP: fill out your immigration form 72 hours before your flight
- GETTING THERE
- DAY 1 – EXPLORING THE CITY AND GETTING YOUR BEARINGS
- POINTS OF INTEREST
- TOP RATED TOURS IN MEDELLÍN
- WHERE TO STAY IN MEDELLÍN
- DAY 2 – DAY TRIP TO GUATAPÉ AND LA PIEDRA DEL PEÑOL
- CRAZY LLAMA FARM
- DAY 3 – COMUNA 13
- METRO MAP
- NIGHTLIFE
- DAY 4 – EXPLORING DOWNTOWN
- FERIA DE LAS FLORES
- DAY 5 – MOOD
- DAY 6 -YOUR LAST DAY IN MEDELLÍN
- MORE SUGGESTIONS
- BEST TIMES OF THE YEAR TO VISIT
- I’LL BE BACK
GETTING THERE
We caught an early morning Wingo flight out of Panama City, Panama, for our one hour and twenty minute flight to Medellíin. Our experience on Wingo was actually pretty smooth once we got past the initial booking. Note to self, stop trying to use US credit cards in Panama for online purchases.
PROTIP: the three of us shared a checked bag to cut down on cost. It worked perfectly allowing us 50lbs of luggage.
Social media posts make it clear that getting through the MDE airport as a foreign visitor is far from a cake walk often with a long 3-5 hour wait to clear immigration. I spent a good deal of mental energy strategizing over standing in a loooong line without bathroom breaks or food. Lucky for us, we landed at 9:15 a.m. and it only took about 10 minutes to clear the line. I understand that the later it gets in the afternoon, the longer the line becomes.
Once we grabbed our shared bag and some cash from the Bancolombia ATM, we started thinking about transportation into the city. There were many options from which to choose. We were approached by a taxi driver inside the airport who offered us a ride straight to our neighborhood in Laureles. Outside José María Córdova International Airport, city- approved shared white airport taxis go for around $20, but you need four passengers. A shuttle bus is around $5 per person.
DAY 1 – EXPLORING THE CITY AND GETTING YOUR BEARINGS
While we waited to check into our Airbnb , we grabbed lunch at Mamasita Medallo. I had read about this boho chic restaurant in El Poblado and it did not disappoint. They were still serving brunch on a Thursday morning, complete with delicious offerings and 2 for 1 mimosas. I ordered the “arepa de queso callejera” and I have thought about it every day since we left. It was delicious and so different. Five out of five for service, food and value for money for sure.
After lunch, we headed into the downtown. I have made it practice to start with a walking tour to familiarize myself with my new surroundings as much as possible. We scheduled a tour with Guruwalk at 2pm to explore Medellín’s historic city center. Our guide, took us through many of the parks and plazas in Medellín including Plaza Botero, Parque Bolívar and Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín. Along the way we checked out the street vendors, fascinating murals inspired by the greatest Mexican painters and some really sobering examples of how Medellín’s violent past can still be felt today.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe, built in the 1930s, is probably the most iconic of Medellín’s buildings with its unique black and white checked exterior done in Gothic Revival style. It is the cultural center of Antioquia, offering art exhibitions, concerts and a pictorial history of Medellín. It is free and go up to the top floor to enjoy a nice view from the terrace.
Explore Museo de Antioquia which houses an extensive collection of artwork by world-renowned sculptor and painter, Fernando Botero and muralist Pedro Nel Gómez. The museum is $16,000 Colombian pesos for nationals and $24,000 Colombian pesos for tourists.
Plaza Botero is located in the heart of Medellin and features 23 bronze statues donated to the city. The works of Fernando Botero are iconic: characterized by their chubby forms. Botero’s works are not meant to represent obesity, rather, they are meant to explore the themes of sensuality, form and cultural interpretations of beauty. Honestly, I have never been a huge fan, but in person they are actually quite interesting.
After a long day of early morning travel and sightseeing, we headed out for a delicious dinner at Palma Piton restaurant in El Poblado. This beautiful garden restaurant in the most trendy neighborhood offers more than just beautiful decor in a lush setting. The food is delicious. I loved the bacon and corn croquetas I had there and chicken satay.
TOP RATED TOURS IN MEDELLÍN
WHERE TO STAY IN MEDELLÍN
The most popular neighborhoods and safest neighborhoods in Medellín are El Poblado y Laureles. El Poblado is a tourist-friendly area with wonderful restaurants and excellent nightlife. Laureles is also a great spot with authentic Colombian flavor.
- York Luxury Suites Medellin **** EXCEPTIONAL guests loved the eco-friendly luxury ammenities, rooftop pool views, friendly staff and top-tier service. Excellent location and family friendly.
- Hunters Hotel *** EXCEPTIONAL guests loved this centrally-located, modern hotel with sleek design and all the comforts of home and then some. Close to parks and shopping.
- Botanica Manila *** Guests loved this economical aparthotel with a great location, friendly staff, gigantic, comfy beds and clean accommodations.
- Leviu By Bernalo Hotels***Guests loved the breakfast, friendly staff and convenient location.
DAY 2 – DAY TRIP TO GUATAPÉ AND LA PIEDRA DEL PEÑOL
We decided to head out of Medellín on Friday to avoid the peak weekend days in Guatapé and La Piedra del Peñol. Most tours roughly follow the same itinerary stopping in the colorful colonial town of Guatapé, climbing La Piedra, a boat ride on the Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir and a trip to a local llama farm. It’s a long day, jam-packed with adventure at an unbeatably low price of just $34. I booked our tour through Get Your Guide.
PEÑOL-GUATAPÉ RESERVOIR
Our tour started at 8:30 in the morning leaving from Parque Poblado. We headed out into the beautiful countryside of Antioquia, stopping for a fresh, delicious Colombian breakfast of eggs, an arepa and queso costeño with hot coffee or fresh fruit juice. Next, we continued on to our first tour stop on the reservoir. We honestly had zero expectations for this part of the trip, but it ended up being the unanimous favorite. Out on the water we cruised by the homes of Maluma, J. Balvin, James Rodríguez and Pablo Escobar’s old estate. The views of La Piedra were amazing from the water.
GUATAPÉ
After our cruise on the lake, we headed down the road to Guatapé. Located in the eastern part of Antioquia, Guatapé is about 50 miles from Medellín and emblematic in its representation of a Spanish colonial town. Stores and homes decked out in all the colors of the rainbow make this town Instagram perfect.
LA PIEDRA DEL PEÑOL
La Piedria del Peñol is a 220m high granite monolith a couple of hours away from Medellín. It sits on the old Villegas family farm. Years ago, one of the sons climbed to the top: a feat that took 3 days. He later built the stairway of 708 stairs charging one penny for visitors to climb to the top. After the surrounding reservoir was constructed and the new town of Guatapé sprung up, this has become one Antioquia’s most iconic tourist stops. The expansive views of Laguna de Guatapé or the Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir make the 25 minute climb worth the effort. Make sure you have $30,000 Colombian pesos–roughly $6 USD–on hand for admission to climb the rock as it is not included in the cost of the tour.
CRAZY LLAMA FARM
Finally, we stopped in at the Altos del Chocho on the way back into Medellín for our llama encounter. For 1,000 pesos, you can be hunted down by hungry llamas who will stop at nothing to get your carrots. They were pretty out of control, which was comical, but also not my jam. They were very cute, it was most definitely a tourist trap though.
At the end of our 11 hour long trek, we opted for a nearby dinner at German Street Food in nearby Parque de El Poblado. We had yummy burgers, wursts and fries. It was the perfect end to a great day.
DAY 3 – COMUNA 13
Colombia and Medellín, in particular, have been through a lot of turmoil over time, but things have improved drastically with a lot of effort. Nowhere in Medellín, is that more evident than in Comuna 13. It is the living story of a community torn apart by violence and conflict, undergoing a transformation through street art, improved infrastructure, and tourism. Tours to this renascent neighborhood are very popular and with good reason: it’s unlike any place I’ve ever been.
We met our guide at the Poblado metro station and headed down the line to catch our first Metrocable ride. The expanse of Medellin crawling up the hillsides and across the valley floor is truly captivating. It’s such a cool way to get around the city.The stories that we heard that day made us grateful for our privilege growing up in the US. The neighborhood of Comuna 13 was once dominated by guerillas, paramilitary groups and Pablo Escobar’s agents that fought over territory and access to the road leading in and out of Medellín. Violence was a way of life here. In 2002, the Colombian government sent in 1500 troops to eradicate these groups in a three day siege. Since then, life has been markedly different. It’s a uniquely fascinating story that is hard to imagine living. Get Your Guide tours start as low as $13 and that includes an incredible bilingual guide, transportation on the Metrocable, a delicious snack, coffee and a beer. Five out of five and hands down our favorite tour on the trip.
METRO MAP
How to get to Parque Arví: Grab the metro to the Acevedo metrocable station line K and then transfer to L. This trip will cost you about $13.
Parque Arví or Arví Regional Ecotourism Park is a 16,000 hectare park that features Pre-Columbian structures dating back 1500 years, waterfalls, forests, hiking trails, saltwater habitats for birds and places to grab a traditional Colombian treat like obleas or hot chocolate. The ride out to this beautiful park is WOW! It’s a pretty long trip cruising high over an extensive forest. Honestly, I thought we’d never get there. Don’t forget to bring a jacket or wear long sleeves: it’s very chilly when you get to the top.
The park is beautiful with lovely, expansive beds of hydrangeas, brightly colored hanging baskets and varied landscapes. There are numerous trails to choose from including the orchids and bromelids, the biodiversity trail and the archaelogical circuit. There’s a little something for everyone here, so come prepared to spend a few hours exploring.
NIGHTLIFE
Our 3rd day in town was a Saturday and I really wanted to go out on the weekend. It was a tough call between salsa and a super crazy Colombian party. This time I went for the super-crazy Colombian party recommended to me by my friend who lives in town. The spot is called Dulce Jesús Mio or My Sweet Jesus and it is a local favorite. This cartoon-themed night spot is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before decked out in Christmas tree lights, crazy characters like Super Man and Super Mario and a plethora of penises–just check the bathroom and the pig. We made a reservation for 9pm paying a minimal cover charge for this maximum experience. If you go in a group of 4 or more, you are expected to purchase a bottle of liquor for the table. Getting drunk is the expectation, just so you know. The servers stay in character all night and party-goers are welcome on stage to play instruments and dance. It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience that kept us laughing all night long. I cannot recommend it enough.
DAY 4 – EXPLORING DOWNTOWN
My friend and I got up a little grumpy on day 4 after a late night and pretty strong drinks, but we still had lots to see. We took an Uber to Museo Casa de la Memoria. This free museum is a moving tribute to Colombia’s years of conflict–on various fronts. It primarily traces the history of groups like FARC and narcotraffickers over the course of Antioquia’s history, but there are also very interesting installations detailing the struggles of women demanding social equality and the courage of journalists who exposed these stories to the world putting their lives at risk. The museum features interractive screens that tell the story of Antioquia in digital newspaper clippings and a moving patchwork quilt with heartfelt messages. Some displays are translated into English.
FERIA DE LAS FLORES
Colombia is the world’s second largest exporter of flowers after the Netherlands, so we were really looking forward to checking out the events at this annual extravaganza. We headed toward Parques del Río in search of Medellín Flower Fair events. Up until this point, we hadn’t really seen anything related to the festival. We wandered somewhat aimlessly upon arriving. The park has some really great cafés and bars as well as kiosks selling yummy Colombian treats like cheesey arepas, micheladas and hot chocolate. The park was very urban, but very clean and beautiful at the same time. There were street musicians playing classical music that added to the ambience. We finally stumbled upon some tents and concerts, but ultimately headed to the parade down on the highway. It was really well organized with shaded bleachers, vendors and city workers cleaning as they go.
After a couple of hours of watching the parade, we decided it was time to head out for dinner. I actually have a friend living in Medellín and so he invited us to check out a restaurant in his neighborhood called Sabaneta. It’s a really nice area with a good mix of residential, business and entertainment. We had a really delicioius dinner with sangria at Catalán.
DAY 5 – MOOD
By day five, we were running a little low on energy, not to mention, we needed to cover more Flower Fair ground, so we puposely planned for a kind of chill day to hit up Centro Comercial Santa Fé. Every year, during Feria de las Flores, the mall takes it to the next level with brightly colored pieces like hot air balloons, hummingbirds and seahorses. They were not actually made of real flower petals to be clear, but they’re cool. I’m not much of a mall princess to be honest, so it was in and out for me.
We decided on the most spectacular view for our last dinner in Medellín. La Octava Maravilla is a really cool mirador perched high above Sabaneta. The sunset and night time views are spectacular. Looking at millions of twinkling lights scattered across the valley is truly magical. The food and drinks here were really delicious as well. I had the chicken cordon bleu–random–which was very good.
DAY 6 -YOUR LAST DAY IN MEDELLÍN
The Botanical Gardens or Jardín Botanico are a beautiful oasis in the center of this sprawling metropolis. A walk around the park is really lovely. We explored the boardwalk that took us through a forest marked with signs that explained parasitic plants, crown shyness and light filtration. It was really well done and so informative. We hung out by the lake for a bit admiring really unusual ducks, herons and iguanas before heading over to the food stalls for our last delicious “meal” in Medellín: a Club Colombia beer, giant cup of strawberries and cream and a cheesy arepa for the road.
The real attraction, however, was the flower festival orchids display. There are no words or pictures that do the sights and smells justice. I had no idea that there were literally thousands of species of orchids and so many were represented here at the botanical gardens. They had been categorized and judged and were just phenomenal in every color of the rainbow-including black. The park was alive with visitors, food and craft vendors. It was truly the perfect way to wrap up an amazing time in Medellín.
MORE SUGGESTIONS
Even having spent 6 full days here, we still didn’t see everything there is to see in this amazing city. Here are just a few of the items that we simply ran out of time for. Fortunately, it’s not too far come back for a visit.
- Museo de Antioquia works by Botero and Pedro Nel Gómez 4 floors narrating Medellin’s history. Admission is around $6.
- La Setenta (70) avenue with numerous bars and restaurants. This area offers nightlife much cheaper than in El Poblado and more in line with “authentic” Colombian evenings.
- Salsa at Nueva Guardia and Tibiri Check SonHavana’s IG for Salsa class
BEST TIMES OF THE YEAR TO VISIT
Medellín is known as “The City of Eternal Spring,” but the best times to visit are from December to February and July to August. The days will be warm and the nights will be cool. Like we did, you could also opt to visit for one of Medellín’s yearly festivals.
- June Fiesta de la Música
- August Feria de las Flores
- November – December Christmas Lights Festival
I’LL BE BACK
Medellín truly exceeded every expectation I had! This incredible city has shown the world what’s possible when a community comes together for transformation. From the innovative urban planning to the warmth of the paisa people, every moment of these 6 days will leave you with unforgettable memories.
The contrast between Medellín’s turbulent past and its bright future makes this destination unlike anywhere else in the world. You’ll leave with a deeper appreciation for resilience, innovation, and the power of hope. Ready to experience the magic of the City of Eternal Spring for yourself?