The highlights can certainly be seen in a busy day but I felt rushed and didn't do all that I'd hoped.Īs a strategic Caribbean port for the colonial Spaniards, Cartagena was wealthy and needed protection. There aren’t many original items among the exhibits however, most of it consists of information panels.Īfter reading many travel reviews on Cartagena suggesting that less time is better (cost, crowds and hassle were frequently mentioned) we only gave ourselves one full day to see the old town. Both are located in beautiful historic buildings and for that, you actually have to go inside. No comparison to Quito for example! I also visited 2 museums: the Inquisition building and the Maritime Museum. I entered 2 churches (the Cathedral and the Church of San Pedro Claver), but as in general in Colombia I found the interior of the churches to be not very rich. It generally costs 20,000 - 25,000 pesos per attraction (around 5-7 EUR). The entrance fees that you pay here in Cartagena are a lot higher than in the rest of the country. There are a number of churches and museums as well in the historic center, but I found them overpriced. I visited it on a walking tour with a small group, but you can easily do it on your own. Bits of Coral Masonry can still be seen in the walls. It is a nice area to stroll through though. For these people it has now become unaffordable - just about everything here has been converted into guest houses, restaurants, shops, and cafés. Here also the uprising against the Spaniards and for independence began. This is the neighborhood, outside of the city walls but inside the WHS core zone, where the poor people of Cartagena used to live. I for example discovered the former monastery La Merced and the theater next to it, two fine Italy-inspired buildings.Īnother area worth exploring is Getsemani. At sunset I walked the full loop, it is nice to see the city from different angles in this way. They still are about 70% intact and you can walk on them for most stretches. One of the best things to do in Cartagena is to walk the city walls. They now often keep only the historic façades and build entirely new hotels and shopping centers behind them. The historic center within the city walls has also not escaped the more modern, higher buildings. What is striking is how many high-rise buildings there are - when I came flying in from Bogota it seemed as if we were landing in Dubai. It's already worth going in there for the strong air conditioning.įrom the highest point of the fort, you have a good view of the city of Cartagena. In the former hospital, you can watch a 20-minute video explaining in detail how the Spaniards defeated the English fleet. There is a system of tunnels under the entire complex. But only a small part dates from the 16th century, in the 17th and 18th centuries the structure was significantly enlarged to the large, bulky mass that it is now. Reportedly, it is the largest fort in South America. It is a fort built by the Spaniards in 1536, intended to expel the English from the Colombian coast. and I was one of the first visitors of the day, so it was very quiet. The Fort San Felipe de Barajas opens at 8 a.m. So on my first morning in the city I walked via the bridge from the center to the big fort on the other side of the bay. The town’s OUV mostly is about its military fortresses and port. The city also has an accessible and low-key airport with long-haul connections, for example to Amsterdam, New York and Lima. When you walk away a bit from the clock tower area and the busiest parts of the historic center, it certainly gets enjoyable. I had about 2 full days there, which I found a good amount of time. On the other hand, it is so fully geared to tourism that sooner or later you will get fed up with it, trying to fend off the stream of sellers of water and hats and avoid the ubiquitous tour groups. On the one hand, it is Colombia’s most vibrant city which also has preserved its historical core. A visit to Cartagena does leave you with mixed feelings.
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