Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Cartagena de Indias is the Caribbean city that many travellers picture when they imagine Colombia: bougainvillea spilling over wooden balconies, church bells over shaded plazas, coral-stone walls holding back the sea and evenings that stay warm long after sunset.
Beyond the walls, the city is large and modern, with high-rise beach districts, a busy port and islands scattered offshore.
Few cities in the Americas show their colonial past as clearly as Cartagena. The port, its walls and its forts form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the scale of the defences tells the story of a city that pirates, privateers and rival empires all tried to take.
It is also a city with a complex history. Cartagena was a major entry point for enslaved Africans, and Afro-Colombian culture shapes its music, food and neighbourhoods to this day.
Most visits begin at the clock tower gate, the main entrance to the walled city from the busy Camellón de los Mártires.
The clock tower gate, Puerta del Reloj, is the main entrance to the walled city from Camellón de los Mártires. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A few blocks inland, shady Plaza de Bolívar is the calmest square in the Old Town, with an equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar and benches under big trees. On one side stands the Palace of the Inquisition, where the colonial tribunal for the region sat; it is now a museum on the Inquisition and the city's history.
The Palace of the Inquisition on Plaza de Bolívar now houses a historical museum. Photo: © Dr. Thomas Liptak, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
This church and former convent near the waterfront honour Pedro Claver, a Spanish Jesuit who spent decades caring for enslaved Africans arriving in the port and was later canonised. His remains rest beneath the altar, and the cloister and upper rooms hold exhibits on his life and on Afro-Caribbean art.
The Church of San Pedro Claver honours the Jesuit priest who ministered to enslaved Africans arriving in the port. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The walls run for several kilometres around the Old Town, and you can walk along long stretches of the top for views of the sea, the skyline of Bocagrande and the rooftops of the old city.
Las Bóvedas, a row of vaults built into the wall in the late eighteenth century, now hold craft shops. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The San Diego quarter in the north of the walled city is quieter and more residential than Centro, with small plazas, boutique hotels and cafes. Plaza de Santo Domingo, beside one of the oldest churches in the city, is known for Fernando Botero's reclining woman sculpture and its outdoor dining tables.
Just outside the main walls, Getsemaní was historically the neighbourhood of artisans and working families, and it has become the city's most vibrant district. Its narrow streets are covered in murals, strung with flags and umbrellas, and packed with small restaurants, bars and hostels.
Plaza de la Trinidad is the social heart of the Getsemaní neighbourhood. Photo: Joe Ross from Lansing, Michigan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Rising from San Lázaro hill east of Getsemaní, this huge fortress was begun in the seventeenth century and expanded over the following decades to guard the city from land attack.
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, begun in the seventeenth century, guarded the land approaches to the city. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The convent on top of La Popa, the highest hill in the city, dates back to 1607 and holds a chapel and a flower-filled cloister. The real reward is the view across Cartagena, from the old town and Bocagrande to the bay and the port.
The convent of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa dates back to the early seventeenth century. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
South of the old city, the Bocagrande peninsula is lined with apartment and hotel towers facing a long city beach. It is not the most beautiful sand in the region, but it is convenient for a swim, a sunset walk or a meal with a sea view.
Bocagrande is Cartagena's modern beach district of hotel and apartment towers. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
About 20 kilometres southwest of the city, the Rosario Islands form part of a national park created in 1988 to protect one of the most important coral reef systems on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
The Rosario Islands lie within a national park created to protect coral reefs south of Cartagena. Photo: Joe Ross from Lansing, Michigan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The long white beach on the Barú peninsula is the most famous beach day from Cartagena, reachable by boat or by road across a bridge. The water is clear and calm, but the beach can be extremely busy on weekends and holidays.
Cartagena's cooking is Caribbean, built on seafood, coconut, plantain and corn. The classic plate is a whole fried fish served with coconut rice, patacones (twice-fried green plantain) and a simple salad.
Street food is a highlight. Arepa de huevo, a corn arepa fried with an egg inside, is a coastal favourite, along with carimañolas (yuca fritters filled with meat or cheese), empanadas and fresh juices made from tropical fruits like lulo, maracuyá and corozo.
Popular dishes to try in Cartagena
The walled city (Centro and San Diego) is the most atmospheric base, with restored colonial houses turned into boutique hotels and guesthouses.
Getsemaní suits younger travellers, backpackers and anyone who wants nightlife and street life on the doorstep.
Bocagrande and Castillogrande suit families and beach lovers who prefer modern high-rise hotels and apartments with pools and sea views.
Manga, a residential district near the port, offers quieter streets, local character and better value, and suits longer stays.
Where to stay in Cartagena
Cartagena is hot all year, with daytime highs typically in the low thirties Celsius and warm, humid nights. The driest months are December through April, when steady breezes make the heat more comfortable, and this is the main tourist season.
The city is busiest during the Christmas and New Year holidays and Holy Week, when Colombians and international visitors arrive in large numbers and prices rise.
Rafael Núñez International Airport lies about three kilometres northeast of the Old Town and has direct flights from Bogotá, Medellín and other Colombian cities, as well as international routes from the United States, Panama and elsewhere.
Inside the walls and in Getsemaní, walking is by far the best way to get around. Taxis do not use meters, so agree on the fare before you get in; ride-hailing apps are widely used.
Enter through the clock tower gate in the morning and explore Plaza de los Coches, Plaza de la Aduana and the Church of San Pedro Claver.
Start early at Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, then take a taxi up to the convent of La Popa for the views.
Take a boat day trip to the Rosario Islands for snorkelling and beach time, returning in the late afternoon for a relaxed evening in the Old Town.
Choose a slow morning at Las Bóvedas and the San Diego quarter, a beach afternoon in Bocagrande, or a guided half-day trip to San Basilio de Palenque to learn about its Afro-Colombian heritage.
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