Travel Guide to Medellin

Visited: May 2019

We only spent a few days in Medellin, but it certainly made an impression, and we have plenty of recommendations for your visit! (Of course, we also recommend you look at other travel guides from people who have more experience in the city than we do.)

Overall, Medellin was a warm and welcoming city. On our first full day in Medellin, I looked at Jonathan and said, “I’ve never understood what people mean when they say, ‘The people in X place are so friendly.’ Why wouldn’t they be friendly? But now, I get it. The people here are so friendly.” Furthermore, Paisas (the people of the Colombian region that includes Medellin) are very aware of their violent and often scary past, but I think it is because of that very history the people of Medellin are so welcoming to tourists now. They don’t hide their past, but it’s apparent they are ready to embrace a more positive future (without forgetting those affected by the past).

The photo above is a perfect example of what I’m trying to explain about the resilience of the Paisas. The bird statue on the left was destroyed during a fatal bomb attack in 1995. The statue was going to be removed, but the people advocated to keep the statue rather than make it disappear. Instead, an identical statue was built to the right, so the incident and its victims would not be forgotten. The names of the bombing victims are listed on the base of the original statue (left).

Now, on to the nitty gritty of visiting Medellin and what to do (and eat!) when you arrive:

Getting There & Getting Around

Medellin has an international airport about 40 minutes outside the city: José María Córdova International Airport (MDE). On your ride down to the city (about $16 USD for an Uber ride, or you can take the public bus), be sure to look out the window, as you’ll have a gorgeous view of the city from the top as you slowly make your way down to the floor. Long-haul buses are also a great way to get around in Colombia, if you are visiting Medellin from another Colombian town, and local airlines (like Viva Air) offer very cheap flights between cities.

Once in the city, the metro system is amazing. It was built in the 1990s and is still the only metro system in Colombia. It is affordable (2,550 pesos per ride, or about 78 cents USD), easy to use, and clean. One of our tour guides explained that because the metro is so new and the people spent a lot of money building it, they have great pride in the metro and take care of it. I believe her! We didn’t see any graffiti, trash, torn seats or scratched windows. It was truly impressive.

To Stay

We stayed in El Poblado, which was home to many hostels and was very close to both the metro and good restaurants. However, if (when!) we return, I’d like to check out Laureles. It is still trendy and safe, but it doesn’t sound like it’s completely overrun with tourists (yet).

To Eat & Drink

Coffee

Welcome to Colombia, and enjoy the coffee! Colombia actually exports most of its coffee to the global market, so Colombians often drink not-so-great coffee loaded with sugar. BUT, thanks to the recent tourism boost in the city, it has a great café culture. A few of our favorites included Urbania in the Poblado neighborhood and El Laboratorio del Café downtown. I was really looking forward to visiting Pergamino (in Poblado), but it was closed for renovations. So if you visit on your trip, let me know how it is! 😉

Our free walking tour guide was really into coffee, and she also recommended the following places: Café con Mucho Amor (inside the palace downtown, pictured above right), and Café Revolución (two locations) and Rituales in Laureles.

Food

Because we were in Medellin for such a short time, I don’t feel qualified to tell you which restaurants to visit in a city of more than 2 million people. However, we will tell you which foods you should try!

The bandeja paisa is the typical plate of Medellin; it includes (with some variation) rice, beans, fried plantains, chicarronnes, sausage, an arepa, avocado and a fried egg.

Also definitely eat arepas—as many as you can get your hands on! We were actually really impressed by the food at a 24-hour place near our hostel called Mi Arepa. (Order one of the fried plantains—they come LOADED with meat and cheese and avocado and all kinds of yummy stuff. Pictured above left.)

Empanadas are also a popular snack (or meal) in Medellin; we especially recommend the carne y papas (meat and potatoes) empanadas from Empanadas Envigadeñas. (Look for the blue awning. And be sure to add the green sauce!) This shop also offers a carne y arroz (meat and rice) empanadas, but as much as I LOVE rice, the potato was far superior.

For breakfast (or a snack, or dessert), try a buñuelo: a fried ball of dough sometimes described as a “Colombian doughnut.” (But they are way better than doughnuts—especially the ones with cheese inside! Pictured above right.)

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Drinks

For a fun splurge and great views of the city, grab a cocktail on The Envy rooftop bar (at the top of The Charlee hotel). It’s certainly expensive for Medellin standards, but pretty reasonable by U.S. standards. (Note: We saw some reviews that mentioned a dress code; we went on a weeknight and it wasn’t a problem—I’m pretty sure the woman next to us was wearing sweatpants—but it might be stricter on the weekends.)

Otherwise, I became obsessed with lulos (little oranges, pictured above left) during our time in Colombia, so any juice (or cocktail!) you see with lulo in it is a safe bet. In fact, pretty much all the natural juices in Medellin are worth trying, including the limeades sold for about 50 cents by downtown street vendors. When ordering natural juices or batidos (smoothies), you often choose your fruit and then water or milk. If you want to get a smoothie with milk, I recommend guanabana or borojó. (Jonathan would disagree with my choice of borojó—pictured above right—so approach with an open mind! Hehe.)

To Do & See

Take the free walking tour

Unlike most free walking tours, you need to register for this one. And I mean you need to! There were a few tourists who tried to join in on our walking tour the day of, and they were turned away because the group is already at capacity. Real City Tours manages group sizes to make your experience better, but this means you need to go online and sign up. Our guide (Caro) was one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had, and as someone who was born in Medellin in the late 1980s, she was able to share her personal experiences and memories of the city’s infamous past.

Ride a cable car

Medellin is located in the base of a bowl, surrounded by hills. The city metro system has several “cable car” routes (pictured above) that were built to allow the people living on the hills (typically the lower-income areas) to more easily access jobs and resources in the city center. Over recent years, riding the cable cars has become a tourist activity that will afford you a different view of the city and a chance to visit neighborhoods you might not otherwise seek out. The transfer to ride the cable cars is included in your single-use metro ticket. Ask a local guide about which lines are best for tourists to use; some neighborhoods have more accommodations for and are more welcoming to visitors than others, depending on how long their cable car has been around.

Learn about exotic fruits (and drink all the juice)

The exotic fruits tour with Real City Tours was definitely a highlight of our Colombian travel. We tried 14 different types of fruit, a delicious cheese bread, and a milkshake or juice of our choice. Our guide (Diana) was another amazing introduction to Medellin! Real City Tours must have a great hiring process. The tour took place in the Plaza Minorista indoor market, which was the setting of multiple fatal attacks during the reign of the cartels. Because of its tragic history, many locals avoid the market even today, which is precisely why Real City Tours chose the market as the location for this tour; they hope that if locals see enough foreigners in the market, they will begin to feel safer going there. (Tip: If you do the free walking tour first, you can get 10 percent off your fruit tour!)

Also, I promise we’re not getting any kickbacks from Real City Tours ;), but we heard they are also starting a street food tour. If this tour is up and running when you visit Medellin, you should do it!

Visit the Memory Museum

Colombia still has a(n outdated) reputation for being dangerous, especially Medellin. Most of this is due to the reign of Pablo Escobar and the power of drug cartels in the country, especially in and around Medellin. The Museo Casa de la Memoria was powerful because instead of focusing on Escobar and the cartels, it focused on the victims of the civil unrest and the ways the country has worked together to achieve safety and prosperity in the past 10-20 years. There is also a free audio guide you can download on your Apple or Android smartphone when you arrive at the museum (free wifi available).

Day trip to Guatape

Unfortunately, we were only in Medellin for two full days, so we opted out of this, but many hostels in Medellin will offer day trips (or they can tell you where to find one) to Guatape, a colorful town about two hours away from Medellin. In addition to exploring the colorful town, many tourists choose to climb the Piedra del Penol, a huge rock with a restaurant at the top.

Take a guided tour through Comuna 13

Again, we didn’t visit Comuna 13 (though we would have with more time), but your hostel or hotel can direct you to a guided tour of this neighborhood, which was once known as the most dangerous neighborhood in Medellin. It’s now known for its street art (many of the guided tours are actually graffiti tours).

What to Expect: General Travel Tips

Water

The water is Medellin is potable, so drink away! We filled our reusable water bottles in various faucets and never had an issue.

Bathrooms

Public bathrooms cost about 1,000 COP (31 cents USD). Many public bathrooms in Medellin have an attendant to take your money, rather than a coin-operated door. Like other Latin American countries, you may need to get your toilet paper from a dispenser before you enter the stall and/or toss your paper in the wastebasket instead of the toilet.

Money

Colombia uses Colombian pesos (COP), and you will definitely need cash on hand. Even the awesome metro system doesn’t take cards. If you are coming to Colombia straight from your home country, I would recommend getting Colombian pesos from your bank beforehand and requesting small bills. ATMs (cajeros) are not hard to find in Medellin, but they only give you 50 or 20 mil bills, and no one wants to take big bills. We had more trouble breaking bills in Colombia than in any of the other countries we’ve visited so far. Tipping: Most restaurants include a 10 percent service charge on your bill; check your receipt to see if it’s included.

Language

English is not widely spoken in Colombia. Most taxi drivers, restaurant staff and other locals we encountered spoke no English. However, Paisas are very interested in visitors, and don’t be surprised if people enthusiastically practice common English phrases on you (“Hello!” “How are you?” “Excuse me!”) when passing you on the street. A smile goes a long way in Medellin—as the sign from Café con Amor says (pictured above in the “Coffee” section): “Everyone smiles in the same language.”

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Overall, we highly recommend Medellin as a travel destination! As long as you know a little Spanish (or are willing to try), it’s a very easy and affordable destination for the casual traveler.

Have you been to Medellin? What did we miss? Share your recommendations in the comments below!