If you are rushed for time on your visit, here are some must see sights in Bogota Colombia!
We had initially planned on spending three months in Cartagena, but shortly into our time there, we decided we wanted to view the must see sights in Bogota, Colombia & boy were we delighted that we did! To be honest after visiting Bogota, we wished we had allowed ourselves more time to see the sights. Just to be purely transparent here, Bogota was beyond what we had believed it could be! The locals were so kind & several stopped to ask us if we needed help or directions [you know those moments when we were on a corner debating whether Google maps was correct?? It isn’t always correct.].
I did end up getting a bad stomach bug & spent quite a bit of time in bed so our sight seeing time was drastically cut back but we made the most of the time we had. [No, it wasn’t covid, just something that definitely did not set well with me. Ha.]
For a city the size of Bogota, we felt nothing but safe. There was a definite police presence but we never felt unsafe. We did learn during a walking tour that a rebel group member had blown up in a bomb explosion. The rebel was attempting to climb a fence that connected to a neighborhood near the airport along the Colombian and Venezuelan border. That may have explained the large military presence throughout the city of Bogota. But let me stress again, we NEVER felt unsafe!
Lets Get Started! On a time crunch, here are OUR picks for must see sights in Bogota, Colombia!
1] Bolivar Plaza
Bolivar Square was constructed in the early 1500’s. One side consist of the Cathedral Basilica Metropolitan & Primate of the Immaculate Conception & Saint Peter of Bogota. The plaza is located in the La Candelaria area & consists of neo-classical architecture dated around 1820’s.
The image at the opening of this post is a close up of the ceiling & chandeliers in the entry of this Cathedral.
The Cathedral sits on the east side of the Square. The House of Commons & other government buildings complete the square shape leaving the center open for viewing, llama rides & vendors.
2] Street Shopping with Local Vendors!
Whether you are just ‘window shopping’, souvenir hunting, food tasting or looking for cultural events – a simple walking tour may be for you! We found on our trip that certain days certain streets were closed to traffic allowing vendors to set up & opening up the world of Colombian shopping to everyone. Here are a few views of our walks.
A little side note on what exactly are Indigenous people
Mauricio, our tour guide on this particular day, explained to us that the Indigenous people were here in Colombia PRIOR to the European arrival in the 16th Century. They make up approximately 5% of the Colombian population & have over 80 tribes. As late as 2020 the Indigenous are still fighting for rights, etc as covered in this very interesting article.
3] Free Walking Tours in Bogota
There are a lot of tours that can be found online in Bogota & quite a few are FREE other than a suggested tip for the Tour Guide!
War & Peace Walking Tour – great tour! We signed up the day before & met our group in front of the Gold Musuem. It was scheduled for three hours but actually lasted almost five hours which was a bit long BUT part of that time was spent at a local coffee shop discussing Colombia’s history! Besides learning about the fact that Colombia has only had a peace treaty for the last five years – it took eight years to get to that point. Still today there is a high police presence but again we never felt unsafe & would love to go back to Bogota one day for an actual visit! Here is a pic of our little group.
Half the fun of visiting different countries is the people you meet from such a wide variety of backgrounds. On this trip we met Jazmina & Alexander from Poland who travel the world kite surfing! Ash, on the far right, is from France who took a couple weeks vacation to check out Bogota! Mauricio, in the middle was our guide. I apologize now if I misspelled anyone’s name!
Again, do your research & I can guarantee you will find one to match your interest! Graffiti Street Art/Painted wall murals are everywhere & that is free!
4] Parish of Our Lady Chiquinquira
If you enjoy architecture of older churches/cathedrals, all you do is need to walk the neighborhoods. This Cathedral of gothic architecture was built between 1925 & 1959. It caught our eye one day on a walk & we simply could not get enough of it!
5] Museo del Oro or Museum of Gold – “must see” sight in Bogota, Colombia
Although this was on our must see list, we did not make it to the Museo del Oro or Musueum of Gold but I was ill during the time we had planned to check out this amazing Must See in Bogota – here is a peak at what we missed [this trip] & what you will see on yours! I had read in one article that the Museum was free on Sundays but this article did not mention that? I’m told by many that it is well worth the time to view.
In closing, if we had to do it over again, we would probably spend less time in Cartagena & more time in Bogota! If Colombia is not yet on your bucket list, what are you waiting on? I hope you enjoy this post. Leave any comments & we will be happy to respond.
Happy New Year from our casa to yours!