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CITY GUIDE / 43 discovery ideas
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Search this city by topic →Snorkel the Rosario Islands
Take a boat to the coral reefs of the Islas del Rosario off Cartagena, swim over the reef, and photograph the turquoise water.
Swim at Playa Blanca on Barú
Ride to Playa Blanca on Isla Barú, walk past the day-trip crowds to the quiet far end, swim in the calm Caribbean, and photograph the white shoreline.
Sail the sunset over Cartagena Bay
Board a small sailboat in the bay, watch the sun sink behind the walled city, and photograph the golden skyline.
Paddle the glowing mangroves of La Boquilla
On a moonless night, take a local canoe into the La Boquilla mangroves where the water lights up with bioluminescent plankton at every stroke, and photograph the glow.
Escape to Punta Arena on Tierra Bomba
Take the short boat from Bocagrande to Punta Arena on Tierra Bomba island — far fewer tourists, calm water facing the skyline — swim, and photograph the city across the bay.
See Cartagena from La Popa hill
Ride up to the 17th-century Convento de la Popa, the highest point over Cartagena, take in the whole city and sea at once, and photograph the view.
Sail to the forts of Bocachica
Boat to the far end of Tierra Bomba and walk the twin harbour forts of San Fernando and the Batería de San José that once chained the sea shut — almost no crowds — and photograph the ramparts over the water.
Visit Santa Cruz del Islote
Take the longer trip out to the San Bernardo islands and step onto Santa Cruz del Islote — the most densely populated island on Earth, a football-pitch of houses with no cars — and photograph its impossible density.
Eat ceviche at La Cevicheria
Line up at La Cevicheria on Calle Stuart in San Diego — the tiny counter Anthony Bourdain made famous — order the mixed ceviche, and photograph the plate before it disappears.
Try an arepa de huevo from a street cart
Buy a fried arepa de huevo from a Cartagena street cart at dawn or dusk, eat it hot with the egg still runny, and photograph this coastal classic.
Read over coffee at Abaco Libros y Cafe
Find Abaco Libros y Cafe, the old corner bookshop-cafe near the cathedral, order a real Colombian coffee among the shelves, and photograph your cup on a book.
Buy fruit from a palenquera
Find a palenquera in her bright dress balancing a bowl of tropical fruit, buy a fresh-cut portion, and photograph this Cartagena icon (leave a fair tip and ask first).
Cool down with a limonada de coco
In the Caribbean heat, order a limonada de coco — the frozen coconut-and-lime blend that is pure Cartagena — and photograph the cloudy glass sweating in the sun.
Eat posta negra cartagenera
Order the dish locals grew up on — posta negra, slow-braised beef in a dark sweet sauce, with coconut rice and fried plantain — and photograph the full plate.
Dine at Celele in Getsemani
Book a table at Celele, the Getsemani kitchen reviving forgotten Colombian-Caribbean ingredients and ranked among Latin America's best, taste the tasting menu, and photograph a course.
Eat where locals eat at Mercado Bazurto
Go early, ideally with a local guide, into the loud, real Mercado de Bazurto far from the tourist walls, eat a fish soup at a plastic stool, and photograph the market in full swing.
Learn to dance champeta
Take a champeta dance lesson in Cartagena, move to the Afro-Caribbean beat born on this coast, and photograph the moment.
Dance salsa at Cafe Havana
Step into Cafe Havana on the corner of Media Luna and Del Guerrero in Getsemani, where a live band plays Cuban son and salsa until late, dance one song, and photograph the smoky room.
Catch live champeta at Bazurto Social Club
Head to Bazurto Social Club in Getsemani for loud, joyful live champeta and picó sound-system culture with the locals, and photograph the crowd mid-song.
Shoot a photo series in Getsemani
Walk the Callejon Angosto and side lanes of Getsemani under the hanging umbrellas and giant murals, make a small photo series of the color, and keep your favorite frame — and photograph it.
Find a handmade piece at Las Bovedas
Browse the 23 arched artisan shops of Las Bovedas, once colonial dungeons built into the walls, choose one handmade piece with a story, and photograph it in the vaults.
Visit the San Pedro Claver sanctuary
Step into the stone church and courtyard of San Pedro Claver, the priest who defended the enslaved, and photograph the quiet cloister full of orange trees.
Have a drink where Garcia Marquez set a novel
Slip into the old Santa Clara convent, now the Sofitel Legend, whose crypt inspired Garcia Marquez's Of Love and Other Demons — the girl with the long copper hair — sit in the courtyard, and photograph the cloister arches.
Watch the old city from Alquimico's rooftop
Climb the three floors of Alquimico on Calle del Colegio, one of the world's best bars set in a republican mansion, reach the rooftop at dusk, and photograph the old-town rooftops under the last light.
Spend a night on Plaza de la Trinidad
After dark, join the locals on the church steps of Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemani — street food, cold beer, kids playing football, spontaneous dancing — and photograph the everyday scene.
Walk the sea walls at golden hour
Climb onto the old muralla near Baluarte de Santo Domingo and walk the sea-facing ramparts as the light turns gold, dodge the Cafe del Mar crowd, and photograph the waves breaking on the stone.
Ride through the old town at night
Take a horse-drawn carriage through the lamplit streets of the walled city after dark, past balconies of bougainvillea, and photograph the old town glowing.
Wander Cartagena's walled old town (UNESCO)
Wander the Caribbean's most beautiful city among bougainvillea-draped balconies, colorful colonial houses and stone walls — and photograph it.
Hunt for the finest door knocker
Colonial Cartagena doors wear ornate knockers that once signalled a family's rank — a lizard for royalty, a lion for the military, a fish for merchants. Find the most beautiful aldaba in the old town and photograph it.
Find the bluest house in the old town
Cartagena's houses are painted every color of the Caribbean. Wander until you find the single bluest one on the block, and photograph its door.
Rub Gertrudis for luck
In Plaza de Santo Domingo lies Botero's plump reclining bronze, La Gorda Gertrudis. Locals rub her for good luck — do the same, then photograph her shining where a thousand hands have passed.
Find the fullest bougainvillea balcony
The wooden balconies of the old town spill over with bougainvillea. Find the one dripping with the most flowers and photograph the cascade.
Find the narrowest lane in the old town
Somewhere in the walled city is a callejón so narrow you can touch both walls at once. Find it, stand in the middle, and photograph the sliver of sky above.
Watch a street domino game in Getsemani
As the heat eases, neighbours in Getsemani set up plastic tables and slam dominoes into the night. Find a game, watch a round, and photograph the table (ask first).
Photograph a perfect fruit-cart pyramid
Cartagena's fruit vendors stack mangoes, zapotes and níspero into perfect glossy pyramids. Find the most beautiful cart and photograph the stack before it sells down.
Frame the yellow clock tower
The Torre del Reloj, the yellow clock-tower gate, is the classic doorway into the walled city. Stand beneath the arch, wait for a gap in the crowd, and frame it against the sky — and photograph it.
Find a mural that tells a story
Getsemani's walls are a free open-air gallery. Find one mural that tells you something about Cartagena — its people, its history, its music — and photograph it.
Claim a free sunset spot on the walls
Skip the pricey Cafe del Mar and sit on the open ramparts a little further along, buy nothing, watch the sun drop into the Caribbean, and photograph the sky turning.
Street food tour at Mercado Bazurto
Try fresh seafood, mote de queso and tropical fruits at Cartagena's chaotic local market — and photograph it.
Take a mud bath in the Totumo mud volcano
Climb into the crater of a small mud volcano and float in the mineral mud — and photograph it.
Tour the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Walk the network of tunnels and ramparts of the Caribbean's largest Spanish fortress; look down on the city — and photograph it.
Street art and nightlife in Getsemaní
Spend the night in the bohemian quarter — once working-class, now full of graffiti, open-air parties and bars — and photograph it.
Visit Cartagena Old Town
A walled city that kept its walls: eleven kilometres of them, built because the treasure fleets made this the most raided port on the coast. Walk the top at dusk when the stone is still warm and the balconies fill up. Photograph the wall running away from you.
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