Cartagena, CO

A Getsemaní restaurant in a colonial house celebrating the forgotten flavors of the Colombian Caribbean, ranked among Latin America's best. The chefs forage the region's biodiversity into visually stunning, deeply local dishes.

A fine-dining restaurant in a restored Walled City mansion with a lush courtyard, plating creative takes on Colombian and Cartagena ingredients. The romantic setting and live music make it a special-occasion table.

A tiny, famous Walled City spot for Caribbean ceviches and seafood, put on the map by an Anthony Bourdain visit. The fresh fish and the corner-table buzz keep the line going.

A lively two-story seafood restaurant in the Walled City with a rooftop and live music, doing ceviches, grilled fish, and seafood rice. It's a crowd-pleasing spot for a festive seafood dinner.

A small, award-winning restaurant in a yellow Getsemaní house devoted to traditional Cartagena and Caribbean home cooking. It's the place to taste the region's authentic dishes done with care.

A romantic tapas-and-cocktail bar on Getsemaní's Plaza de la Trinidad, built into stone ruins with a retractable roof and an open-air terrace. It's a cool, atmospheric spot for small plates and drinks.

A bustling Getsemaní lunch spot popular with locals for cheap, generous Colombian set meals. It's where to eat an honest comida corriente away from the tourist prices.

A cheerful, art-filled Walled City lunch spot serving Caribbean-Colombian set menus to a faithful midday crowd. It's a great-value introduction to coastal home cooking.

The elegant restaurant of the Casa San Agustín hotel, in a restored colonial mansion, plating refined Colombian-Caribbean cuisine. It's the polished, candle-lit choice in the heart of the Walled City.

A polished Peruvian restaurant in the Walled City bringing bright ceviches, tiraditos, and pisco sours to the Caribbean coast. It's a fresh, citrus-forward alternative to the local seafood spots.

A specialty-coffee bar in the Walled City showcasing Colombian single-origin beans done properly. It's the reliable spot for a real espresso in a city where good coffee can be surprisingly hard to find.

A beloved Walled City bakery and dessert café famous for layered cakes, pastries, and a tres leches that locals rave about. It's the sweet stop for an afternoon break from the heat.

A hip Getsemaní café-restaurant with an all-day menu of brunch plates, bowls, and small plates in a colorful, plant-filled room. It's the neighborhood's relaxed daytime hangout.

A popular Getsemaní trattoria turning out wood-fired pizza and fresh pasta near Plaza de la Trinidad. It's the dependable Italian when you want a break from Caribbean food.

A long-running Bocagrande institution reflecting Cartagena's deep Lebanese heritage, with kibbeh, stuffed grape leaves, and grilled meats. It's a window into a community that has shaped the coast's food for generations.

A walk atop the centuries-old stone walls that ring the old city, looping past bastions and cannons with the Caribbean on one side and colonial rooftops on the other. The sunset stretch by Café del Mar is the city's classic golden-hour stroll.

A calm walk along the bay-side point of Castillogrande, an upscale residential peninsula with a quiet beach promenade and views back to the Bocagrande skyline. It's a flat, breezy escape from the tourist crush.

A fishing village north of the city where local guides paddle visitors in canoes through silent mangrove tunnels and lagoons. It's a flat, on-the-water nature experience led by the community.

A leafy 19th-century park between the Walled City and Getsemaní that doubles as an unexpected urban wildlife pocket, with resident sloths, monkeys, and iguanas in the trees. It's a short, shaded walk full of surprises.

A boat excursion from the city's docks to an archipelago of white-sand cays and coral reefs in turquoise Caribbean water. Snorkeling, beach clubs, and fresh seafood make it the region's essential day-trip.

A legendary Getsemaní salsa bar with a live Cuban-style band, ceiling fans, and a sweaty, joyful dance floor. It's the city's most famous spot to dance salsa late into the night.

A brightly painted open-sided party bus that loops the city with a live vallenato band, aguardiente, and dancing on board. It's a raucous, only-in-Colombia night out on wheels.

An open-air bar perched on the old city walls at the Baluarte de Santo Domingo, famous for sunset cocktails over the Caribbean. It's touristy but the golden-hour view from the ramparts is genuinely special.

The city's vast, chaotic, sensory-overload local market, far from the tourist polish, where Cartagena actually shops and eats. A guided food tour through its stalls is a raw, unforgettable taste of the real city.

A small, free gold museum in the Walled City displaying the intricate goldwork and pottery of the Zenú people, who engineered the region's pre-Hispanic canals. It's a quiet, air-conditioned cultural gem.

A beautifully preserved colonial palace on Plaza Bolívar that once housed the Spanish Inquisition's tribunal, now a museum of the city's history and the Inquisition's grim instruments. The building and its stories are equally compelling.

A tiny, beloved salsa bar by the Portal de los Dulces whose walls are covered in vinyl and photos, spilling salsa onto the plaza. It's an old-school, no-frills place to soak up classic salsa with locals.

A walking tour of Getsemaní's murals, where the neighborhood's history and its working-class identity are told through vivid street art on nearly every wall. It's the best way to read the barrio's transformation.

The UNESCO-listed walled old city, a maze of candy-colored colonial mansions, flowering balconies, and plazas ringed by centuries-old stone ramparts. Simply wandering its narrow streets is the city's defining experience.

The largest Spanish fort in the Americas, a hulking hilltop fortress of ramparts and tunnels that repelled a massive British invasion. Climbing its ramps and exploring the dark passages rewards you with a commanding view over the city.

The vibrant former working-class barrio just outside the walls, now a riot of street art, umbrella-draped lanes, and a buzzing nightlife centered on Plaza de la Trinidad. It's the city's most alive and characterful neighborhood.

The yellow clock-tower gate that is the main entrance to the walled city, opening onto the Plaza de los Coches and its Portal de los Dulces sweet stalls. It's the symbolic threshold of old Cartagena.

The Walled City's most sociable plaza, fronted by the old Santo Domingo church and home to a voluptuous reclining Botero sculpture. Its café terraces and street performers make it the heart of the old town's evening life.

A 17th-century church and convent honoring the priest who ministered to enslaved Africans arriving at the port, his remains displayed beneath the altar. The serene cloistered courtyard and the moving history make it a standout.

The city's highest hill, crowned by a 17th-century monastery with a flower-filled courtyard and the most sweeping panorama over Cartagena, the bay, and the sea. The view takes in the whole city laid out below.

A row of 23 vaulted chambers built into the city walls as colonial-era storerooms and dungeons, now whitewashed arches housing craft and souvenir shops. The arcade is both a landmark and the go-to spot for handicrafts.

The long city beach below Bocagrande's high-rise strip, a gray-sand stretch of Caribbean water backed by hotels and lined with vendors. It's the convenient in-city beach, with a lively, local Colombian-resort feel.