Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
The largest Spanish fortress in the Americas, a great stone wedge on San Lázaro hill with ramps, gun platforms and dark tunnels, here paired with a guided walk through the street art of Getsemaní.
Colombia
Cartagena
Cartagena de Indias is the jewel of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, a walled colonial port where bougainvillea spills over balconies painted ochre, cobalt and coral, and where the sea breeze arrives just in time for sunset on the ramparts.
For three centuries it was one of the most important harbours of the Spanish empire, and the stone walls and forts built to defend its treasure fleets still stand, together forming a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Inside the walls you wander plazas shaded by almond trees, Baroque churches, a sombre Palace of the Inquisition and a free museum of glittering Zenú gold. Just outside, the old artisans’ quarter of Getsemaní has become the city’s most colourful neighbourhood, with murals, street food and salsa until late, while the vast Castillo San Felipe de Barajas looms over it all from its hill. Out to sea, boats leave every morning for the coral reefs and white sands of the Rosario Islands and Barú, and inland a national aviary shelters some two thousand birds. This guide shows what is worth booking, what you can see for free, how to handle the heat and the boat trips, and where to stay, from a converted 17th-century convent to a design hotel in Getsemaní or a beachfront tower in Bocagrande.
Don't miss
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
The largest Spanish fortress in the Americas, a great stone wedge on San Lázaro hill with ramps, gun platforms and dark tunnels, here paired with a guided walk through the street art of Getsemaní.
Cartagena Walled City Guided Walking Tour
A small-group guided walk through the UNESCO-listed old town and Getsemaní, from the vaults of Las Bóvedas to Plaza Santo Domingo, decoding the balconies, churches and plazas of colonial Cartagena.
Rosario Islands (Corales del Rosario National Park)
A boat trip into a marine national park of coral reefs, mangroves and turquoise water off Cartagena, with snorkelling, island beaches and an aquarium on San Martín de Pajarales.
City Walls of Cartagena and Las Bóvedas
Walk the broad stone ramparts that ring the old town, built over two centuries to keep out pirates, and watch the sun drop into the Caribbean from a bastion, for free.
Things to do in Cartagena
Cartagena Walled City Guided Walking Tour
A small-group guided walk through the UNESCO-listed old town and Getsemaní, from the vaults of Las Bóvedas to Plaza Santo Domingo, decoding the balconies, churches and plazas of colonial Cartagena.
City Walls of Cartagena and Las Bóvedas
Walk the broad stone ramparts that ring the old town, built over two centuries to keep out pirates, and watch the sun drop into the Caribbean from a bastion, for free.
1 to 2 hoursDetails →
Getsemaní
Cartagena’s most colourful barrio, once home to artisans and freed slaves, now alive with murals, flags strung over the lanes, street food in Plaza de la Trinidad and salsa bars that run late.
2 to 3 hoursDetails →
Palace of the Inquisition (Museo Histórico de Cartagena)
A handsome Baroque mansion on Plaza de Bolívar that once housed the Holy Office of the Inquisition and now holds the city history museum, with its sobering instruments of torture.
Museo del Oro Zenú (Zenú Gold Museum)
A free, air-conditioned museum on Plaza de Bolívar showing the delicate gold filigree and the vast water-management works of the Zenú people, run by Colombia’s central bank.
45 minutes to 1 hourDetails →
Convento de la Popa
A whitewashed hilltop convent founded in 1606, with a flower-filled cloister, a gilded chapel and the highest, widest view over Cartagena, its bay and the old town.
Rosario Islands (Corales del Rosario National Park)
A boat trip into a marine national park of coral reefs, mangroves and turquoise water off Cartagena, with snorkelling, island beaches and an aquarium on San Martín de Pajarales.
Aviario Nacional de Colombia
A shaded walk through 22 habitats on the Barú peninsula, home to some 2,000 birds of around 200 species, from macaws and toucans to flamingos and harpy eagles.
San Pedro Claver Church and Museum
The stone church and cloister of the Jesuit saint who ministered to enslaved Africans arriving in Cartagena, with a museum, his relics beneath the altar and a moving story.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena
San Diego (Walled City)
A 17th-century convent of the Poor Clares turned into Cartagena’s grandest hotel, with cloister gardens, the largest pool in the old town, a spa and refined dining in the San Diego quarter.
Rates on Expedia →Movich Hotel Cartagena de Indias
Walled City (Centro)
A comfortable four-star in the heart of the walled city, best known for its rooftop pool and Alyzia terrace restaurant with views over the domes of the old town to the sea.
Rates on Expedia →OSH Hotel Cartagena
Getsemaní
A stylish design hotel in Getsemaní with a leafy courtyard pool, a rooftop bar with sunset views and a lively restaurant, steps from Plaza de la Trinidad.
Rates on Expedia →Hyatt Regency Cartagena
Bocagrande
A modern beachfront tower in Bocagrande with 380 rooms, infinity pools facing the Caribbean, a spa and sea views from many rooms, a short taxi ride from the old town.
Rates on Expedia →ibis Cartagena Marbella
Marbella
A simple, good-value chain hotel facing the sea on Avenida Santander, with a sea-view restaurant, a 24-hour bar and free parking, a short taxi ride from the walled city.
Rates on Expedia →Cartagena guides
First Time in Cartagena: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
The practical primer for a first visit to Cartagena de Indias: what to book ahead, how to handle the heat and the island boats, how to get around, how many days you need and where the headline sights fit.
Where to Stay in Cartagena: Walled City, Getsemaní, Bocagrande or Marbella
Where to stay in Cartagena for every kind of trip: the colonial walled city and its quiet San Diego quarter, lively Getsemaní, beachfront Bocagrande and budget-friendly Marbella, with the best hotel for each.
