3-Day Bogotá Itinerary: Historic Centre, Gold Museum, Monserrate and Day Trips

Three full days in Bogotá give your body time to adjust to the 2,640-metre elevation on Day 1 while grouping sights geographically so you never cross the city unnecessarily. This route keeps you on foot in the historic core on your first day, ascends into the Eastern Hills and northern neighbourhoods on your second day, and ventures out across the northern savanna on your third day.

Day 1: La Candelaria, Museo Botero, Plaza de Bolívar and Museo del Oro

• Morning at Chorro de Quevedo and the Cultural Block: Start at Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo, where Bogotá was founded in 1538, and walk down the mural-covered cobbles of Calle del Embudo. Turn onto Calle 11 to enter the Banco de la República complex, spending two hours inside the Museo Botero and Casa de Moneda.
• Midday on Plaza de Bolívar: Continue down Calle 11 to Plaza de Bolívar to admire the 1823 Catedral Primada, the Capitolio Nacional, and Palacio Liévano, pausing for a steaming bowl of ajiaco santafereño at a traditional colonial dining hall near the 1892 Teatro Colón.
• Afternoon at the Gold Museum: Walk north along pedestrian Carrera 7 past the 16th-century Iglesia de San Francisco to Parque Santander and spend the afternoon exploring the pre-Hispanic goldwork and Muisca Raft inside the Museo del Oro.

Day 2: Cerro de Monserrate, Quinta de Bolívar, Museo Nacional and Chapinero

• Early Morning Ascent of Monserrate: Arrive early at the base station on Paseo Bolívar and ride the funicular or teleférico up Cerro de Monserrate (3,152 m) while morning skies are clearest. After descending, tour the gardens and rooms of Simón Bolívar's country residence at the Quinta de Bolívar right beside the lower station.
• Midday in Centro Internacional: Ride or walk north along Carrera 7 to the brick curves of Rogelio Salmona's Torres del Parque and the stone fortress of the Museo Nacional de Colombia, the country's oldest museum (founded 1823).
• Late Afternoon in Botanical Gardens and Chapinero: Head west to the José Celestino Mutis Botanical Garden to see high-mountain frailejón plants and wax palms, then spend the evening dining in Chapinero's Zona G or Usaquén.

Day 3: Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral and Laguna de Guatavita

• Morning at Paloquemao or on the Tren de la Sabana: Start early at Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao to taste exotic Andean and Amazonian fruits, or board the weekend Tren Turístico de la Sabana north toward Zipaquirá.
• Underground Salt Sanctuary and Sacred Crater Lake: Descend 200 metres underground into the halite tunnels of the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, then continue east to Sesquilé to walk the rim trail above circular Laguna de Guatavita before returning to Bogotá for traditional hot chocolate and cheese.