Vibrant Cities

Bogotá is the sprawling, high-altitude capital of Colombia. In fact, it is the third highest capital in the world! Cradled by chilly and lush Andean peaks, the city features colonial-era historical centre La Candelaria. Colonial buildings and cobbles streets attract visitors to explore the pre-Colombian Gold Museum, Fernando Botero's art and ornate churches. Bogotá’s monumental government buildings and human-scale brown brick houses are a real treat for architecture lovers. Another major attraction is the city's vibrant and varied nightlife.

Cartagena is the undisputed queen of Colombia's Caribbean coast and easily the most attractive city in the region — this given its apparent shortage of attractions in the classical sense of the word. Instead, what draws travellers in is the city itself: a microcosm of the Caribbean, walled in by defensive ramparts built to ward off unwelcome visitors, the likes of Sir Francis Drake, who held Cartagena de Indias captive for months during his 16th-century raids on the Spanish New World.