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Once upon a time, Europe (mostly Switzerland, France, Belgium, and the UK) dominated the chocolate market and through aggressive marketing and downright colonialist extraction methods, became erroneously known for being the world’s experts on cacao, yet cacao came from South and Central America and didn’t grow anywhere near Europe. Recent years have seen the best chocolate rightfully return to the source where it originated—Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, where a boom of quality chocolate has replaced reimported European milk chocolate sold to those cacao producing countries for generations. But Switzerland is back in the game with this excellent new chocolate shop by local food expert Dieter Meier and his patented cold pressed extraction method that brings out the botanicals and nuances of these sourced cacaos in ways other chocolate manufactures cannot. The results are Cuban, Bolivian, and Guatemalan single bean bars ranging from white to 80% dark that are unlike anything else on the market. The tiny shop overlooking the Limmat River opened in December 2017 and is not cheap, but worth every rappen for its exquisite expression of flavors.

This two-auditorium space—with adjacent performance venues—is a lot more than simply a place to catch great concerts. Part of Parque de los Deseos and constructed opposite the city’s planetarium, it emerged from a citizen initiative meant to reanimate Medellín’s social and cultural life. The idea is to foment learning and create awareness about various musical disciplines. It offers a number of free musical and dance training programs; children’s orchestras from underserved neighborhoods also present memorable open-air recitals here. Casa de la Música is one part of an equation that, little by little, has allowed life to improve in complex and marvelous Medellín.

Barranquilla’s famed pre-Lenten carnival is the supreme forum for residents’ festive spirits, but that same dance-till-you-drop energy can be found all year round at La Troja, now in its 52nd year. The barroom is a no-frills, open-air affair—weekend crowds regularly spill onto the streets in a veritable salsa-dancing tempest (definitely go elsewhere if you want quiet drinks and conversation). The music invites you to dance—with your honey, with the people at the next table, even the staff—so loosen up and enjoy.

Colombians from the Caribbean coast, known as Costeños, are immensely proud of their cultural, musical, literary, and historical heritage, all of which are on display at this interactive museum. The country’s famous shore stretches from the jungles bordering Panama up through the historic cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta, all the way to the deserts of La Guajira. Multimedia exhibits here offer insight into the region’s indigenous cultures, and into the varied musical expressions that have emerged along the long coastline.

The name of this park, which alludes to going barefoot, is both description and invitation. Take off your shoes and tread among nature’s sublime textures in the park’s sandpits, Zen garden, fountains, and leafy grasses. You’ll also find a bamboo forest and an interactive science museum, but the biggest attraction is people-watching: children splashing in fountains, teens pitching woo, everyone soaking up the sun. A guided (barefoot) park tour offers insight into its history as part of a citywide renovation program.

Barranquilla’s must-go eatery for exceptional, local, and home-style specialties prepares its meals using organic, locally sourced produce only. In a warmly decorated, landmark colonial residence, Donde Mamá serves up a Colombian delicacy often found on the country’s Caribbean coast—the traditional mote de queso, yam soup with chunks of floating cheese and bits of pork rind.

The 17th-century estate where Simón Bolívar died in 1830 is the site of several Bolivar monuments as well as an art museum featuring works by Latin American artists inspired by Bolívar, the hero who freed Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela from colonial rule. The estate serves as the city’s botanical garden, also worth your time for its magnificent, centuries-old trees.

Up in the rolling hills of Colombia’s Caldas, Quindío, and Risaralda regions, some coffee plantations offer guest accommodations for visitors looking to lap up traditional coffee culture (pardon the pun). Many of the farms give tours that involve arabica picking, drying, and roasting…and that always wrap with a fabulous cup of joe. You’ll also see beloved cultural symbols: the Jeeps that serve as the region’s pack mules. (Local Jeep festivals, called Yipaos, celebrate the vehicles with contests—those that most artfully pack and haul the biggest loads win prizes.) Not far from the town of Armenia, the Parque del Café, a veritable coffee-themed amusement park, is a great option for those traveling with children.

At the center of Medellín, Plaza Botero gets its name from Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who donated 23 of his much-loved, disproportionate-bodied bronze sculptures to the city. There’s a huge chubby head, a reclining woman, and an oddly small man with a bowler hat riding a horse, plus good old Adam and Eve. The Museo de Antioquia abuts the plaza and houses other pieces by Botero as well as works by other artists. By day the square is vibrant and lively, but do take appropriate precautions after dark.

The Andean condor is Colombia’s national bird, and it’s one among more than 130 avian species on display at the National Aviary (Aviario Nacional de Colombia) outside Cartagena. But the condor is the least impressive of the birds here—at least in the looks department. Keep an eye out for a glimpse of some more-colorful tropical beauties, such as scarlet macaws, and the more diminutive but equally vivid and gorgeous tángara primavera (blue-winged mountain tanager) and carriquí verdiamarillo (green jay).

Cartagena’s culinary scene has been sizzling lately, with a growing number of restaurants that specialize in contemporary updates of Colombian classics popping up around the city. María Cartagena is one of them—a place that privileges local ingredients, especially those from the sea. Look for grilled octopus and crab rémoulade, and pair your pick with one of María’s popular cocktails. The modern-tropical décor includes funky pineapple-laden chandeliers.

Centrally located on Parque de los Novios, Ouzo serves the city’s best Mediterranean dishes, including brick oven pizzas, seared octopus and roasted lamb with orzo. The chef and owner, Michael McMurdo, began his culinary career in New York City at the Michelin-starred Greek restaurant Anthos. On a visit to Colombia, however, he was charmed by Santa Marta and decided to make his home in the city, opening Ouzo in 2011. The result is a celebrated Greek restaurant in an unexpected corner of the Caribbean.

Once the source of two-thirds of the world’s emerald supply, Colombia’s gem-mining industry remains active, and visitors to the country count jewelry among their most coveted souvenirs. While there are many shops where emeralds and Colombia’s famed gold filigree can be purchased, Lucy Jewelry is considered one of the most professional: They’ve been in business for more than three decades.

In a city that inspired the most famous works by the winner of a Nobel Prize in literature, you’d be forgiven for expecting a place to buy novels on every corner. Cartagena’s book offerings are somewhat slim, but the best by far is Ábaco, a bookstore and café in the heart of the old part of the city. It draws local literati, but even if you don’t speak Spanish, you’ll find something here; there’s a small gift section, and, of course, Colombian coffee.

The spirit of the late Gabriel García Márquez—one of Colombia’s most beloved cultural figures, and certainly its most beloved writer—lives on in Colombia, and is felt palpably in Cartagena. Though the Nobel Prize–winning author lived in Mexico City for many years, he had a home in Cartagena, and it was one of the cities that inspired his novels and the magical-realist style in which they were written. A walking tour focuses on the city’s influence on the work of Gabo (to use his affectionate nickname), with a smart narrative recounting historical, cultural and literary references.