Even more so than most Colombian cities, Medellin has gotten a bad wrap due to the powerful cocaine factions that controlled the city for some time. However, with that in the past, the northern central city is coming unto its own and one of Colombia’s top city destinations. It has a lively arts scene and modern architectural designs and now called the Land of eternal Spring and the Capital of Flowers. In the city center Candelaria (Parque Berrio and Villaneuva) joins Parque Bolivar. El Poblado in the south has of late become a trendy upmarket neighborhood and business center. Cerro Nutibera is a hill overlooking the city with a small square, sculpture park, and auditorium. Other attractions include the Catedral Metropolitana, one of the largest brick buildings in the world, and the Joaquin Antonio Uribe Gardens is good for a break from the city. Nearby the gardens you will also find the Museo Antropologico. For sporting events, there is the Estadio Atanasio Girardot which host soccer and baseball matches, and the Bull Ring at La Macarena, which has fights in January and February. Horse riding and hiking has grown popular in the surrounding countryside as well.

For an artsy city, you can just assume that Medellin will have an exceptional dining scene. For a stylish café bar and intellectual crowd try El Viejo Vapor, for fine Italian there’s Palazzetto D’Italia, for music and dine in an old country mansion in El Poblado there’s Aguacatala, La Posada de la Montana and Hato Viejo for Colombian dishes, and Carbon for grilled meats.

The city host an annual flower festival in late July and August and opened with a grand horse parade. April and May plays host to a Orchid Show. June host a Tango Festival. While in August there is a Colombian Paso-fino horse show.