One Day in Medellin – Places You MUST Visit

Do you have just one day to spend in Pablo Escobar’s home? Read on to find out the places you must visit in Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city.

Here are the places we visited during our one day in Medellin with our kids:

Pueblito Paisa

Pueblito Paisa is a replica of a typical Antioquoia town situated on top of Nutibarra Hill in Medellin. There is a church and rectory, a barber shop, a one-room school house and the mayor’s office.

Don’t miss out on the great view of the city and surrounding mountains and valleys during your visit.

Escalators of Comuna 13

A trip to the former murder capital of the world was by far the highlight of our visit to Medellin.

Medellin was plagued by violence between drug traffickers and paramilitary groups in the 1980s and 90s. Comuna 13 in particular was once a stronghold for guerrillas and drug traffickers.

Located on steep hills, some of its 12’000 residents had to hike the equivalent of 28 stories to get home. This was reduced to a 5 minute escalator ride after the six covered outdoor escalators were built in 2011.

The destination we had chosen when ordering our UBER car was alas in the middle of the large housing area. The top of the escalators was not accessible by car.

Thankfully, some kind locals gave us directions towards the top of the escalators and we slowly made our way down.

The walk down the stairs in between houses reminded me a lot of the favela tour we did in Rio de Janeiro. It was quite a challenge for us as we had a stroller and 3 kids ages 3 and under.

We had the best views of Medellin during our walk down.

There was a broad walkway approaching the top of the escalators surrounded by the many colourful buildings that make up Comuna 13.

We also enjoyed seeing the many beautiful murals everywhere in Comuna 13.

Click here for a good post on visiting this place independently.

Plaza Botero

Fernando Botero is a famous Colombian artist and sculptor with a signature style called “Boterismo“. It depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume representing political criticism or humour.

Plaza Botero is a large outdoor park that displays 23 of his sculptures.

Metro ride

The traffic in Medellin is terrible at peak hours. We decided to beat it by taking a ride in the city’s metro for part of the way to our lunch spot.

Apart from this one metro ride, we used UBER to get around from one place to another whilst in Medellin. We found it to be cheap, reliable, convenient and the best way to move around with kids.

Carmen

Situated inside a lovely house in the El Poblado neighbourhood, this restaurant is said to be the first in the running to get a Michelin star in Colombia. Main courses cost around 50-70’000 Pesos (1 USD = 3’000 Pesos).

The quality of food and service is equivalent to a top restaurant in Europe. I would highly recommend it.

Bonus tip: Always order a limonada de coco (Coconut lemonade) at every meal when in Colombia – simply the BEST drink!

Jardin Botanico

A perfect respite from the bustling city, a short trip north of the city centre to its botanical gardens would fit the bill.

We found it a great place to stretch our legs and for the kids to run around. It helps that the entrance was free.

Parque Explora

An interactive science museum housing South America‘s largest freshwater aquarium, Parque Explora is the perfect place to visit, especially with kids.

It was the first time I ever saw an anaconda. The insect house as well as the playful water outdoor area were also fun to visit.

The kids loved the indoor playground as well as the dinosaurs exhibit.

Sadly, we didn’t see a sign nor were we told that the entrance price ticket of 38’500 which they quoted, included entrance to the Planetarium, which we missed.

Mercado del Rio

Mercado del Rio is a large warehouse filled with around 40 little restaurants, food stalls and bars. There is a big selection of food from around the world here: Colombia, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese and more.

It wasn’t anything special to me as I’ve been to many places like this in Europe.

Santafe Mall

A local recommended Santafe Mall for shopping. It has every shop you will need under one roof.

Be sure to try the coffee ice cream at Crepes & Waffles!

Other Places You Must Visit in Medellin

A couple of other things I would have loved to do had we had more time would have been a ride in Medellin’s Metrocable and a visit to Parque Arvi.

Have you been to Medellin? What have been your other favourite places in this beautiful city?

Next stop: Cartagena

Check out the video of our trip to Colombia below!