• colourful mochilas in Cartagena
    Provided by: Ricardo Gomez Angel/unsplash

Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.​

*this will be downloaded as a PDF.

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Plaza de Las Bóvedas

Plaza de Las Bóvedas

Las Bóvedas (The Vaults) form part of Cartagena’s Old City walls, positioned between Santa Clara and Santa Catalina forts. Originally built as dungeons in the late 1700s, with bombproof chambers and 47 porticos, these thick-walled spaces served successively as Spanish military storage, 19th-century prison cells (where seawater flooded inmates at high tide), and later as republican garrisons. Today, the vaults house 23 shops selling Colombian crafts and souvenirs. While most stalls offer similar Cartagena-themed items, you also find handmade artisan works like wall hangings and sculptures by local artists. The arched passageways, now shaded by ancient porticos, make for a distinctive shopping experience with Caribbean Sea views from the upper levels.
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Bazurto Market

Bazurto Market

While seasoned travellers may venture into Cartagena's gritty Bazurto Market on their own, those not yet toughened by locals-only markets of the region may prefer to explore as part of a guided tour. This sprawling market, where trade starts before the crack of dawn, features incredibly fresh produce and seafood from Cartagena and beyond. Much of it makes its way to the tables of local fine dining establishments within the space of the same day. There is plenty to look at and taste, including local street food and multiple succulent varieties of tropical fruit you're unlikely to have encountered before.
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