“It’s almost ludicrous that this place exists and that everybody doesn’t want to live here.“
– Anthony Bourdain in Medellin, Colombia.
Impressions Of Medellín
As you come through the other side of the La Linea tunnel – it can seem like you’re driving through that tunnel for an eternity, but more on that later – look to your right and see Medellín city sprawl into its valley home in every direction. The city’s skyline is made up of towering skyscrapers, elegant historic buildings and colourful houses.
It’s a pretty breathtaking first impression, it has to be said.
Referred to as the ‘City of Eternal Spring’ because of its year-round warm temperatures, Medellín is the second largest city in Colombia and is the capital of the Antioquia region. With year-round average temperatures being approximately 23 degrees celsius, there is little wonder why so many people opt to travel here at any given time of the year. Being situated in the Aburrá Valley also means you get some refreshing breezes too – the perfect addition to a hot day.
I had no idea what to expect from Medellín except that we were going to experience much warmer weather there than we had in Bogotá. Also we felt that Medellín had a lot to live up to as we loved the capital city so much.
We very quickly discovered that the city is a popular destination with backpackers and digital nomads. Right off the bat as we wound our way down the valley into the El Poblado area of Medellín to where we would be staying, we were surprised by what we saw.
Firstly, the city is extremely lush – bursting with foliage, plants and flowers. The climate allows for all the sorts of (expensive!) plants I owned back home to grow quickly and in vast quantities on the streets. And secondly we realised just how urban and modern the place was. It was far more ‘touristy’ in the sense that you are surrounded by other travellers in cute cafes and trendy restaurants.
Medellín certainly has an awful lot to offer any tourist. Here are just some of the things we enjoyed about our stay…
La Linea Tunnel
Our taxi driver informed us that we were going into a ‘very long tunnel’ as we left the airport – and boy was he not wrong!
You will most likely find yourself journeying through La Linea if you stay in Medellín. It is considered to be one of the most important feats of Colombian infrastructure and is nearly 9km in length! It acts as an essential link between José María Córdoba airport and Medellín itself.
The accessibility of the city center from the airport is definitely appealing, particularly if you are a solo traveller, for example. There is no better feeling than knowing you have an easy trip from the airport to your accomodation!
The Flower Festival
We didn’t know it until a fellow traveller (shoutout to our American friend Kristal!) informed us that Medellín’s annual flower festival was due to be taking place while we were staying in the city.
Did you know? Colombia is one of the biggest exporters of cut flowers in the world.
We found an extensive itinerary of activities to do with the flower festival online – it appears to be a pretty significant event. The various activities for the flower festival are run all over the city so if you do happen to be in the city during this time know that you will be doing lots of exploring to see what events are on where and at what time.
You can find lots more information about the flower festival here.
Proximity to Guatape
If you have a day to spare then we would definitely recommend taking a little day trip out of the city to visit Guatape and climb the ‘big rock’, El Peñón. It’s a very unique place in the fact that the landscape is entirely transformed to accommodate a hydro-electric dam. The town of Guatape is a must-visit too as it is extremely quaint and colourful.
Learn more about what we got up to on our trip to Guatape here.
Day Trip Variety
I would consider the city to be a great base if you want to stay somewhere lively and urban and then take a few day trips out to explore the surrounding area. From Guatape and Parque Arvi to San Rafael and countless others, you will definitely not be short of day trip destinations when basing yourself in Medellín.
El Castillo Museum and Gardens
We learnt about El Castillo Museum and Gardens from some Mexican friends we made on our food tour back in Bogotá. The castle and its grounds make for a great little escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and as a bonus you get to see lots of local birds and even spot an iguana or two lurking in the trees!
Read more about our visit to El Castillo here.
Santafé Mall
I want to add a disclaimer here that I am not a massive fan of shopping and malls in general, but I really enjoyed paying Santafé Mall a visit! It is a huge multi-story building with a retractable roof which opens up in the evenings allowing sunshine and fresh air to flood the place.
It’s great to get some food too – we would highly recommend trying out some Colombian fast food here – you can’t beat the chicken, rice and beans from Frisby!
El Poblado
If you are looking to stay in an area that has lots of clubs, bars, restaurants and boutiques then the El Poblado region of Medellín is the one for you. Adam and I stumbled upon the area as we found a hostel we liked and it happened to be in this particular area.
It’s very safe and has more drinking and dining options than you can shake a stick at. I believe it is considered to be quite a high-end area of the city, but I guess that is reflective of the fact that it is such a hub for travellers.
We were also big fan of the Éxito supermarket. It had everything – a currency exchange, bakery and sold everything you needed in one place, whether you wanted to stock up on snacks or toiletries, for example.
The Graffiti
Much like our Bogotá, Medellín is an incredibly photogenic city. Be sure to tag along to a street art tour in the Comuna 13 neighbourhood to learn more about the murals you see around the city.
Where To Stay
We couldn’t recommend Viajero Hostel enough when it comes to finding a safe, comfortable and pretty ‘trendy’ place to stay.
Our private en-suite room overlooked the river which we really appreciated as we loved falling asleep to the sound of water. Everything was clean and we each had a big bedside safe which was perfect for storing valuables.
The rooftop area is particularly cool too – they have a bar and a couple of hot-tubs to chill out and sunbathe in. The staff were always in demand but equally always had time for any queries we had. We ate a few meals at the on-site restaurant, did our washing there and organised a tour with them with no complaints.
We have since learnt that Viajero is a popular hostel chain – and I can see why, honestly. It feels very metropolitan, hip and borderline western-feeling. We loved that there was so much diversity of people staying here; there were some people who were clearly digital nomads and were working in quiet corners, there were those who came to party and made the most of the nightlife and then everyone in between.
Is Medellín worth a visit?
There is a reason that Medellín is a top destination for all kinds of travellers. We saw a bunch of people we met in Bogotá make their way to join us in Medellín – those who didn’t move on to Cartagena that is!
The climate is fabulous, the people are friendly and you can find whatever sort of accommodation you need here – all budgets are welcome! If you like to party then Medellín is definitely the place for you too, more so than Bogotá I would say. It has everything you could possibly need as a modern day traveller and then some.
Absolutely do not miss out on this fun and eclectic Colombian city!
Until next time,
Lica xoxo
