From colonial village to a city that reinvented itself: checkerboard palaces, bronze birds and paisa myths.
Medellín began around a thatched chapel beside the Aná stream and grew into Colombia's industrial capital. Its downtown keeps 1920s palaces, a cathedral made of more than a million bricks, Fernando Botero's sculptures and the memory of the hardest years, told today through the city's transformation. Three free walking routes to explore it on foot, by day and at your own pace.
Choose your free tour
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the mixed route.
Three centuries of Medellín in six stops: the founding, the 1920s palaces, the railway and the memory of 1995.
A cemetery for outsiders, a friar who never left, a buried stream and the paisa myths that parade every December.
Botero's sculptures, the city's favourite square, the Coltejer spire, Junín street and a brick cathedral.
The map
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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Itineraries
We’ve planned it day by day for you: which routes to walk and in what order, what else to see and where to eat.
All three routes in one full day: the highlights, the history and the legends at dusk.
See the itinerary 2A gentler pace: the three routes over two days, plus extra sights and where to eat.
See the itinerary 3The city in depth: one route a day, extra museums and neighbourhoods, and a day for good food.
See the itineraryWhat to eat
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Antioquia's signature platter: beans, rice, minced beef, chicharrón, chorizo, fried egg, ripe plantain, avocado and arepa, all on one plate. It is muleteers' food, made to get you through a day's work. Order it at lunchtime on Junín.
Where to try it
A thick soup of beef tripe and pork with potato, cassava, carrot and hogao, served in Antioquia with rice, avocado, banana and arepa. Mondongo's has drawn queues since the 1970s with its founders' family recipe from Ciudad Bolívar.
Where to try it
The paisa empanada is made of corn dough, fried and filled with potato and meat, and comes with ají sauce. On Junín, Versalles has served its baked Argentine version since 1961, which became part of the «juniniar» ritual.
Where to try it
A strip of pork belly fried until the skin puffs up and crackles, served with arepa and ripe plantain. A paisa meal often ends with mazamorra, corn cooked in its broth with milk and a small piece of panela.
Where to try it
In Colombia a «tinto» is the small cup of black coffee drunk at any hour, and downtown Medellín pairs it with buñuelos or pandequesos. For something sweet, the Astor pastry shop, founded in 1930 by the Swiss Enrique Baer, is famous for its moritos and Swiss-style cakes.
Where to try it
An aniseed spirit drunk in small shots, always in company. Try it to the sound of tango at the Salón Málaga, a 1957 café-bar with a vast record collection and walls covered in old photographs.
Where to try it
