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Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Bolívar State in southeastern Venezuela, on the south bank of the Orinoco at the narrows that gave the city its old name, Angostura. Founded on 22 May 1764 as Santo Tomás de la Guayana de Angostura, it was renamed in honor of Simón Bolívar in 1846 and is an important river port for the east of the country.
In 1819 the Congress of Angostura met here and created Gran Colombia, and from 1818 the city printed the Correo del Orinoco, the newspaper of the independence cause. Angostura bitters were invented in the town in 1824. Its well preserved colonial center was placed on Venezuela's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage in 2003.
Visitors walk the old streets around Plaza Bolívar, with the cathedral and the Casa del Congreso, stroll the Paseo Orinoco along the river, look out at the Piedra del Medio and the Angostura Bridge, and visit the Jesús Soto Museum of Modern Art. The city is also a departure point for tours to Canaima and Angel Falls.
The Cathedral of Santo Tomás in Ciudad Bolívar stands on the northeast side of Plaza Bolívar. Blessed in 1841 after some 75 years of building, it was consecrated in 1896, and its tower rises 44 meters. The patriot general Manuel Piar was shot against its wall facing the plaza on 16 October 1817.
The Casa del Congreso de Angostura in Ciudad Bolívar, also called the Palacio de Angostura, stands on the west side of Plaza Bolívar and was built between 1766 and 1777. The Congress of Angostura met here in 1819, and for a time the newspaper Correo del Orinoco was also edited in the house.
Plaza Bolívar is the main square of Ciudad Bolívar and the center of its historic quarter. The cathedral and other original colonial buildings surround it, including the Casa del Congreso, and together with the old governors' house and royal treasury they form the city's historic quadrilateral.
The historic center of Ciudad Bolívar keeps much of its colonial architecture, which is rare among Venezuelan cities, with buildings such as the old prison, the old archbishop's house and the Casa del Correo del Orinoco. It has been on the UNESCO tentative list since 2003.
The Angostura Bridge near Ciudad Bolívar is a suspension bridge that opened in 1967 as the first bridge across the Orinoco River. It is 1,678.5 meters long with a main span of 712 meters, and it carries the road that links the city and the south of Venezuela with the rest of the country.
The Piedra del Medio is a rocky islet in the middle of the Orinoco off Ciudad Bolívar, which Alexander von Humboldt called the Orinocometer because it shows the level of the river. Local legend places a seven-headed serpent beneath it, and in 1955 a ferry sank in the whirlpools around the rock.
The Paseo Orinoco is the riverfront promenade of Ciudad Bolívar, running along the Orinoco at the edge of the historic center. It is one of the main sights of the city, with views across the river narrows, and the fish market here is known for its river fish dishes. It is best visited by day.
The Mirador Angostura is a lookout in Ciudad Bolívar over the narrows of the Orinoco, the angostura that gave the city its colonial name and made it the river's last navigable port. It is listed among the main sights of the city and gives wide views of the river that shaped the history of the town.
The Jesús Soto Museum of Modern Art in Ciudad Bolívar honors the kinetic artist Jesús Rafael Soto, who was born in the city. Designed by Carlos Raúl Villanueva and opened in 1973 between the old and new towns, it shows works by Soto and other modern artists in buildings set around gardens.
The Museo de Ciudad Bolívar occupies the colonial house in Ciudad Bolívar where the Correo del Orinoco was printed. The newspaper, the official organ of the Congress of Angostura, came out from 27 June 1818 to 23 March 1822, printed on a hand press during the Venezuelan War of Independence.
The Casa San Isidro in Ciudad Bolívar was the hacienda house of José Luis Cornieles, where Simón Bolívar often stayed during the Congress of Angostura. It was here that he wrote his famous message to the Congress in 1819. Today it is a house museum with a lush tropical garden that visitors can see.
Fortín El Zamuro is a small 18th-century fort in Ciudad Bolívar that offers good views over the town and its colonial center. It is listed among the main sights of the city together with the cathedral, the Casa San Isidro and the Soto museum, and makes a good stop on a walk through old Angostura.
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