We don’t normally sign up for tours on our travels, but some of the places we wanted to see weren’t great areas for tourists to explore on their own, so we made an exception on this trip.

Medellín: Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour with Street Food & Cable Car

The first hour of the tour was getting out to Comuna 13 via subway and cable car. There were 11 of us assigned to our guide and we were each provided with an Eventual Civic metro card to use for the length of the tour. We took Metro line A to Metro line B, then continued on to a cable car for views over the city.

After some great views, we took the cable car back down and boarded a local bus that took our group west, deeper into the Comuna 13 neighborhood, followed by a steep uphill walk.

The group made a quick stop for a snack of arepas (corn cakes) and cheese, then continued onward to the Comuna 13 street art area, enjoying a 10 minute street dancing show on the way.

The area we were led to was defined by narrow sidewalks, steep stairs, and the occasional outdoor escalator. What really stands out is the over-the-top tourist energy, a blend of Camden Market and Hanoi, with Hong Kong’s verticality. It’s very kitschy, packed with Instagram backdrops featuring King Kong, neon lettering, and eclectic sculptures.

   

The murals were interesting but it was crowded and sometimes it was hard to get a good photo. Rain threatened, but weather held out the whole time.

Real City Tours – Walking Tour

Pablo and David were great guides – taking us through the history of the region, from colonial time to today. Our group of 18 was guided through the government campus and Monumento a la Raza, then through Avenida Carabobo, a very hectic commerce area on the far side of the Parque De Las Luces.

Much like Vietnam, there were vendors and shops everywhere. Our tour group stopped for a short break in the beautiful National Palace Mall, and I convinced Leandra to get us a chocolate filled doughnut from a street vendor.

We passed a white church, Parroquia de la Veracruz, but didn’t stop because the area is known for prostitutes. Our next site was Plaza Botero which is full of the artist’s larger than life sculptures (a beautiful culture building nearby also).

   

There were lots of people out and about on a partially sunny weekend afternoon. All told, the tour lasted about three hours. While technically “free,” the recommended tip was 50k per person (roughly $13.50 USD)—a price point we found perfectly reasonable.

El Jardin Botanico

A free botanical garden north of downtown, we Ubered over on Sunday morning. The lines were short and you need to show ID of some sort to enter.

Once inside we saw lots of trees, ferns, and flowers, plus a small pond with turtles and a few ducks. Unfortunately, the orchid area was closed as they disassembled an event stage and Leandra was bummed we didn’t see any of the touted iguanas. On the plus side there were lots of birds and the Merlin app helped us identify several of them. Overall, a nice visit to a free garden.

   

   

El Poblado area

Our Comuna 13 tour started from Poblado, so we Ubered over an hour early and briefly explored the neighborhood. We started by walking to Parque Lleras, a nice garden by day, hub of nightlife at night (apparently). We also had a quick walk through the Manila neighborhood and decided to return here for dinner after the tour.

Laureles area

Laureles served as our home base, so we spent time exploring different parts of it every day. During the day the neighborhood felt a bit sleepy, especially on weekends when the shops were shuttered. After 5pm the energy shifted, as restaurants opened their doors and street vendors started cooking. One night, we even witnessed a massive group of several hundred rollerbladers taking over the street!

On two occasions, we walked over to a more upscale section of Laureles along Diagonal 74a, which was bustling even on a Monday evening. This area felt a little more polished, with a higher presence of police and security, bright lighting, dedicated bike lanes, and even LED markers embedded in the road for crossing the main street. Plus lots of restaurants and co-working spots. In the end we were really charmed by the different pockets of Laureles and were quite glad we chose to stay here.