Things to Do in Medellín: Top Landmarks, Cable Cars and Day Trips

What makes Medellín so rewarding to explore is the way world-class public art, tropical architecture, and dramatic Andean topography come together along its public transit lines. Within a single day, you can admire monumental bronzes in the historic centre, glide above red-brick neighbourhoods in an aerial gondola into high-Andean cloud forest, and sip single-origin coffee under a bamboo canopy in Provenza.

1. Walk Among 23 Monumental Bronzes at Plaza Botero and Museo de Antioquia

Start in downtown La Candelaria at Plaza Botero, where 23 larger-than-life bronze sculptures donated in 2002 by Medellín-born master Fernando Botero (1932 to 2023) stand between the 1937 Art Deco facade of the Museo de Antioquia and the black-and-white Neo-Gothic Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe.

2. Ride the Outdoor Escalators of Comuna 13 (San Javier)

In the western hills above San Javier station, Comuna 13 has transformed from one of Colombia's most conflict-scarred districts into a living gallery of hip-hop, breakdance, and muralism, anchored by its 384-metre-long outdoor electric escalators inaugurated in December 2011.

3. Soar on the Metrocable to Parque Arví and Santa Elena

Transfer at Acevedo station onto Metrocable Line K and Line L to ascend more than 900 vertical metres over the eastern rim of the Aburrá Valley into the 16,000-hectare Parque Arví cloud-forest reserve and the ancestral flower farms of Santa Elena.

4. Stroll Beneath the Orquideorama at the Jardín Botánico

Step off the Metro at Universidad station to walk free of charge through the 14-hectare Jardín Botánico Joaquín Antonio Uribe, crowned by the 20-metre-tall hexagonal timber honeycomb of the 2006 Orquideorama, right across from the red exhibition cubes of Parque Explora.

5. Climb the 740 Steps of Piedra del Peñol and Explore Guatapé

Set aside a full day for an excursion east to Piedra del Peñol and Guatapé to climb the 200-metre granite monolith overlooking the emerald islands of the Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir and photograph the painted bas-relief zócalos of Guatapé, or head west through the Occidente Tunnel to 1541 colonial Santa Fe de Antioquia.