Best Things to do in Medellin, Colombia | Medellin, Colombia

Our second stop on our Latin American leg of our mini-retirement was Medellin, Colombia.  This city is known as the City of Eternal Spring for a reason.  Its weather sits at a warm 20-24C all year round and it rarely rains.  It has reinvented itself as a bustling digital nomadic hub due to its low cost of living, active night-life, and great weather.

We spent two weeks in Medellin and had the opportunity to explore several different parts of the city to get a true flavor of this city.  

About Medellin

Medellin, Colombia is only a 2 hour direct flight from Bogota and is a great add-on to a Colombia itinerary.  We spent almost 2 weeks in Medellin. We fell in love with the nightlife, especially the palpable beat of salsa, bachata, and dance culture, the history and transformation, the nightlife, and opportunities to continue learning (particularly Spanish)!

Overall, we felt very safe in Medellin as it attracts a lot of digital nomads but make sure to exercise common sense where you do not walk alone at night and generally stay in the more touristic areas.  We have an entire blog post HERE about how to stay smart and safe in Colombia as a traveler and especially as an LGBTQ+ couple.

How To Get Around

Colombia is home to one of the few public transportation systems and Medellin is proud of its above ground subway system and tram system that connects various parts of the city..

We also downloaded Cabify, which is a great app that allows you to negotiate the fare prior to the driver accepting the ride.  This definitely helps with reducing the issues with language barriers but also allows you.

WHERE TO STAY

There are a few different areas that are popular to stay in Medellin.  Most travelers and tourists stay either in El Poblado or the Laureles neighborhoods.  These are considered the wealthier, more upscale neighborhoods where you will find an abundance of Airbnbs, hotels, and hostels etc.  We ended up staying at an Airbnb in Laureles for almost 2 weeks for only $30/night and thought it was a central location to the subway, the football stadium, and the main walking street in Laureles.

Here’s a link to the Airbnb we stayed at here.  Be forewarned – we were definitely budget travelers and trying to keep to a $100/per day budget for 2 people so this Airbnb suited our needs and budgets but it was loud since there were “tallerias” or car shops that would open up at 7am and a lot of noise coming from the street since the studio was on the first floor.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50089159

We loved our time in Medellin that is transforming and re-emerging out of a dark historical past! Keep on reading to see our favorite things to do on your trip:

BEST THINGS TO DO

1. Real City Walking Tour – Free walking tours are a great way to get acquainted with a city quickly and feel more comfortable walking around and exploring on your own in subsequent days.  We could not recommend real city walking tours enough since it was the absolute best walking tour we had taken in all of our mini-retirement trip.  What made their tours particularly unique was that it grounded the group in societal beliefs, attitudes, and talked about the history and how it shapes current events.  We found that oftentimes, generally these walking tours talk a lot about the history but do not tie it back to the present or clearly explain – why should we care?  We were fortunate enough to have the founder of the company give us a Free Walking Tour and we didn’t regret it.
2. Football Game at Estadio Atanasio Girardot – We had the opportunity to attend a weekend football (or soccer for us Americans) through a company called Medellin Football Tours (@medellinfootballtour). Now that we’ve been to a game I would not necessarily recommend this experience for everyone if you just want to go watch the game but a Colombian football game is more than the sport… its an experience from the moment you step out of your home to the moment the game ends.  The energy of the city changes drastically as you see street vendors walking through the aisles selling you snacks and aguardiente (illegally) in the stadium.

1. Comuna 13 Walking Tour with Zippy Tours – Zippy Tours quickly takes you into the heart of Medellin’s transformation. The Comuna 13 neighborhood, once a hotspot for violence, has turned its story around, and Zippy’s local guides bring the graffiti-covered streets to life with tales of resilience and community spirit.  It’s not just about walking through cool street art (though it’s hard not take take all the photos), it’s about feeling the pulse of a community that’s overcome some tremendous adversity.  The street art here isn’t just pretty; it’s a living, breathing testament to Medellin’s journey from troubled times to triumph.  Zippy Tours isn’t your average tour group. They’re locals who’ve lived through Comuna 13’s evolution, giving you an inside scoop you won’t find in guidebooks. Plus, they’re all about giving back to the community, so your visit isn’t just a tour; it’s a way to support positive change.
2. Language exchanges or Spanish language lessons – There are a myriad of language schools and free language exchanges throughout the city depending on your level of Spanish and learning.  Since there are so many expats, it’s a great place to meet a broader international community and learn more about what brought people to this city.  Sarah attended a school called OLSA Spanish School which has a location in Laureles and one in El Poblado as well.  Sarah took one week worth of Spanish class to jog her Spanish language skills memories for 237,000.00 COP or $57 USD.  It was an hour class every day except for Wednesdays.  They do a quick assessment in the first lesson to evaluate what level you are before placing you in small group-based classes.  We really enjoyed OLSA because not only does it have small group classes, it hosts a variety of social events like salsa lessons, game night, language exchange nights, and happy hours at the school to create a sense of community with faculty and students.
3. Ride the metro and cable cars to go to Parque ARVI – Take a ride on Medellin’s metro, which isn’t just a train; it’s a symbol of the city’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility.  Then hop on the cable cars, dangling above the lush green hills, to reach Parque ARVI, a nature reserve that’s like a breath of fresh air (literally) from the city.  We honestly enjoyed taking the Metro and the cable cars up to the park and checking out a local Farmer’s Market at the top more than walking through the park itself since it was 50,000 COP each or $12.50 to enter and the park is small, only taking about an 1.5 hours to complete one of the more extensive trails.

1. Go to a salsa club to learn salsa – We had the opportunity to check out an intimate salsa bar called El Tibiri, on Carrera 70 which is the main road that runs through the Laureles neighborhood.  
2. Biking & running by the stadium – The Stadium area isn’t just for cheering on your favorite team; it’s a fitness hub where locals come to sweat it out. Whether you’re biking, running, or taking a dip in the Olympic-sized pool, this is where Medellin’s health freaks gather.  Sarah and I took advantage of the streets being fully closed down on the Saturdays to exercise and we learned that even non-locals can swim in the swimming pool for an hour if you bring your passport.
3. Flower Festival – Colombians don’t mess around when it comes to flowers, and the Flower Festival in Medellin is a floral extravaganza that turns the city into a riot of colors and scents. Parades, flower displays, and a general bloom takeover make this festival a feast for the senses.  The Flower Festival is a celebration of Medellin’s flower-growing tradition which is almost two weeks of various concerts, free events, and tours of the silleteros or flower carriers with the celebrations being capped off by a parade through the city.
4. Day Trip to Guatape – A trip to Medellin wouldn’t be complete without a day in Guatape. This colorful town, nestled among rolling green hills and lakes, is a charming escape from the urban hustle. But what steals the show is “The Rock” or “La Piedra,” a colossal monolith that juts out over 650 feet above sea level.  Climbing the 740 steps to the top of La Piedra is like unlocking a 360-degree postcard of epic Colombian landscapes. From the summit, you’ll see a patchwork of islands on a sparkling reservoir, and the vibrant streets of Guatape below.  The town itself is a canvas of vivid colors. Every building tells a story through its intricate, hand-painted frescoes known as “zocalos.” Grab a coffee from a local cafe, stroll the streets, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a living, breathing work of art.  Lastly we finished the day with a boat ride on Lake Guatape.  The tour will include stops along the way to several notable famous people’s homes (like Pablo Escobar and famous Colombian football players) but it’s also noteworthy that the lake is man-made and there used to be a village that was flooded by the government.

WHAT & WHERE TO EAT

Honestly we didn’t find the Colombian food in Medellin to be particularly interesting or diverse but we did find some local dishes that we really enjoyed.  Don’t get me wrong – you can definitely find a great avocado toast and smoothie catered to digital nomads / tourists but we were looking to try some more authentic flavors and cuisine while we were in the area so we outlined a few of our favorite dishes/foods and where we tried them in Medellin.

• Saludpan – Great spot for vegetarian cuisine and a local health food spot. It has a organic vegetable market attached to the restaurant and it looks like the menus is constantly changing. Definitely ask what the menu del dia is since it comes with a soup, main dish, and a dessert for around $6 USD or 25,000 COP
• Parrilla Dejame Q’ Te Cuente Medellin – We had some amazing arepas with cheese, and chorizo as well as a ice tea lemonade that was so refreshing since it was so hot when were in Medellin.
• Mi Bunuelo 7 –  The buneulo and empanada are two staple dishes in Medellin, typically deep fried and filled with cheese or ground beef. This is a staple dish to try.
• Street Food stalls – We tried some of the street food stalls near the football stadium that were selling Mango Biche which is unriped mangoes with salt sprinkled on top. A good tip that we got is that check the stall to see if they are displaying a sign/placard that says they are a registered food stall since legitimate food stalls have to be registered with the government and are kept to a higher standard of food safety/cleanliness than others that do not have this signage.

Our time in Medellin was too short but our next stop on our Latin America leg was in Cartagena – so we’ll cover the do’s and don’ts in our next blog post.