Centro Histórico (Walled City)

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/4

Where it sits

The circle is Centro Histórico and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Caribbean-Colombian food2 min walk153 m
• Salsa, rumba & rooftop bars6 min walk482 m
• Getsemaní & its street art8 min walk678 m
• Street food & the fruit-sellers8 min walk678 m
• Castillo San Felipe de Barajas16 min walk1.3 km
• A sunset harbour cruise23 min walk1.9 km
• Bocagrande (beach)8 min taxi2.5 km
• Playa Blanca87 min taxi28.8 km
• The Rosario Islands104 min taxi34.7 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 1.The Walled City — Simply wandering the walled old town is the great joy of Cartagena — a UNESCO-listed maze of narrow cobbled streets lined with balconied colonial mansions cascading with bougainvillea, opening onto flower-filled plazas, grand churches and horse-drawn carriages, all glowing in the tropical light. Endlessly beautiful and romantic, it rewards aimless strolling by day and by night; get lost, pause at the plazas, and photograph the doorways. The heart and soul of the city, and utterly unmissable.
• 2.The city walls at sunset — The massive stone ramparts that ring the old city — built over centuries to fend off pirates and navies — are Cartagena's defining feature, and walking them at sunset is a magical must-do. Stroll the thick walls as the sky turns pink over the Caribbean, then join the crowds at Café del Mar for a sundowner atop the bastions. A romantic, atmospheric highlight and the classic Cartagena evening; time it for golden hour. The city's most memorable ritual, and free to walk. Utterly unmissable.
• 7.Torre del Reloj & Plaza de los Coches — The iconic yellow clock-tower gate, the Torre del Reloj, is the grand entrance to the walled city — the historic main gateway, opening onto the Plaza de los Coches, once the slave market and now a lively triangular plaza lined with colourful balconied houses and the sweet-sellers of the 'Portal de los Dulces'. A great landmark and orientation point at the heart of things; pass through the gate, buy some traditional sweets, and soak up the bustle. A quintessential, much-photographed Cartagena spot.
• 8.Plaza Santo Domingo & the plazas — Cartagena's beautiful plazas are its living rooms — grand Plaza Santo Domingo, with its church, café terraces and a curvy Botero bronze; leafy Plaza de Bolívar with its shady benches and colonial buildings; and elegant Plaza San Diego, full of restaurants. Each evening they fill with music, diners and street performers under the warm night air. Plaza-hopping is one of the great pleasures of the old town; settle at a terrace, order a drink, and watch the romantic city come alive. Simply lovely.