Search results for

Hotelier

Curaçao is one of the most diverse islands in the Caribbean

5 little-known spots for exploring Colombian beaches, deserts and mountains

5 Trips You Need to Take Now the Tour de France is Ending

The Trendiest Travel Destinations—and Where to Go Next

“Travel exposes you to new flavors and ideas in a way you can’t escape (and probably don’t want to).” — Emily Butters, Royal Rose Syrup

The destinations to visit in Cartagena, Colombia inspired by the memoir of Colombian magic realist author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Overview

On Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Cartagena is a vividly-painted walled city filled with 400-year-old houses. You could just spend your days there walking around, snapping photos of the historic center. Nobody would question that desire. But there’s so much more to do, from exploring the street art of the Getsemaní barrio to touring the Teatro Heredia and daytripping to Islas del Rosario. Some of Colombia’s best cocktails and finest seafood dishes are served in this port city. Don’t miss the sautéed snapper in coconut-shrimp sauce at Restaurante Donjuán.

Highlights for a quick jaunt around Cartagena!

Ok, so maybe you’ll need a week and a half. Perhaps even two? Stay a month. There’s more than enough to do on this trip from Bogotá to Medellin and then along the coast of the Caribbean Sea from Cartagena to a National Park or the Lost City. Explore vibrant cities and relaxed seaside towns. Hike. Take a cable car from neighborhood to neighborhood. Eat. Dance. Drink. And plan your return.

The interior spaces as well as the incredible rooftop at an amazing former mansion in Cartagena’s historic center are the setting for the Colombian Caribbean’s most talented bartenders. The cocktails mixed here are magic potions that transform whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum into can’t-miss elixirs, always with a local lilt. The crowd—sophisticated locals and hip turistas looking for a break from pure tropicalismo—love the DJs who come here to spin jazz, funk, and hip-hop.

The gilt, plush decor, and stunning architecture at the Teatro Adolfo Mejía are a spectacle in themselves; the guided tours will direct your attention to the marble staircase, imported from Italy, and to a frescoed ceiling depicting the nine muses, each doing her thing, in a fabulous allegory envisioned by Cartagena’s most renowned painter, Enrique Grau. Try to catch a show to experience the place in all its splendor. The 1911-era auditorium, more commonly known as Teatro Heredia, is Cartagena’s prime cultural venue and hosts events throughout the year, especially during the literary Hay Festival.

A menu as curated as it is creative greets diners within this venerable town house not far from the cathedral and Plaza Fernández Madrid, in Cartagena’s historic city center. Talented chef Heberto Eljach blends Japanese, Italian, and French culinary influences with local ingredients and, naturally in this seaside town, anything that hails from the sea. His popular ceviche, for instance, contains octopus, shrimp, and fish, but also suero atoyabuey (a kind of sour cream), pork rinds, and a roasted arepa; the braised oxtail “jam” comes with lobster risotto.

The best way to enjoy Cartagena’s historic center is simply to get lost. Wander the narrow streets that flow past gaily colored edifices and into small, leafy parks or sprawling plazas. Stroll the city ramparts, the walls built starting in the 16th century to protect the city from foreign enemies and marauding pirates. Between the churches and gardens, you’ll find everything from emerald emporiums to local design boutiques to street vendors. The city’s dark history provides some stark contrast to the candy-hued and lively present, and should not be entirely ignored: Cartagena’s bloody past is revealed at the Palace of Inquisition museum and at some of the memorials at sites where locals sold African captives into slavery. Knowing a bit of what came before gives texture and context to a town that may otherwise seem like a touristy set piece.