Things to do
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Botero Museum
Donated by the Antioquian painter himself, this collection of his outsize figures occupies a colonial house arranged around a courtyard in La Candelaria. Alongside the Boteros hang works he gave from his own holdings, including Picasso, Monet and Bacon. Entry is free, the rooms are quiet on weekday mornings, and an hour covers the house comfortably.
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La Candelaria
Colombia's best preserved colonial quarter climbs from Plaza de Bolivar towards the mountains in painted adobe and clay tile, its streets laid out long before the republic existed. Universities, hostels and small theatres keep it lively by day, and the Botero and gold collections sit within a few blocks. Cobbles are uneven and steep in places. After dark the quarter thins out and taxis are the sensible way back.
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Monserrate
A funicular and a cable car climb the ridge that closes the city's eastern edge, ending at a whitewashed sanctuary at 3,152 metres. The church draws pilgrims to a seventeenth century figure of the fallen Christ, while most visitors come for the view over the savanna. Cloud settles by mid afternoon, so early slots are the dependable ones. A stone footpath climbs the same slope and is open during daylight hours.
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Museo del Oro
Four floors above Parque Santander hold tens of thousands of pre-Hispanic gold and tumbaga pieces, grouped by the metalworking traditions that produced them. The Muisca raft, a votive model tied to the El Dorado legend, draws the longest queue. Labels run in Spanish and English, and a slow circuit takes about two hours. Sunday entry is free and correspondingly busy.
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Paloquemao Market
Wholesale flowers move here before dawn, and by breakfast the aisles are stacked with lulo, granadilla, mangostino and a dozen fruits that carry no English name. Vendors cut samples for shoppers who ask. The fruit hall and the juice counters are busiest early, and by mid afternoon the place is winding down. Cash works better than a card at most of the stalls.
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Plaza de Bolívar
Four institutions face this flagstone square: the cathedral, the Capitolio, the mayor's palace and the Palace of Justice, rebuilt after the siege of 1985. Pigeons, llama handlers and protest marches share the space depending on the day. It makes the natural start of a walk through La Candelaria, and takes only minutes to cross on the way to the museums.
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Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
Cut into a working salt mine 180 metres below ground, the sanctuary north of the capital is reached down a tunnel lined with fourteen stations of the cross carved from rock salt. A vast nave and an illuminated cross wait at the end. The air is cool and damp year round, so a layer is worth carrying. Guided entry is timed, and buses leave from Portal del Norte.