Travelers, other Colombians, and even locals tend to agree that Bogotá is an acquired taste.
"It's a cold city," warns Howdy's Bogotá-based Community Administrator, Katherinne Romero. "We call it 'la nevera' (the fridge)."
Chilly weather isn't the city's only problem. With its traffic-clogged streets and stretches of concrete jungle, Bogotá is not conventionally beautiful, nor are its charms immediately apparent. Bogotá isn't a Caribbean beach town like Cartagena or a tourism hotspot like Medellin. If you find yourself in the sprawling city, you're likely traveling for work or passing through.
Whatever brings you to this misunderstood metropolis, give Bogotá a chance to pull you in. You'll be rewarded with cultural and culinary gems, from fascinating museums and colonial-era palaces to lively nightclubs and some of the continent's best restaurants.
Where to stay: Champinero
Click Clack Hotel Bogota | Source: Click Clack Hotel
To make the most of your 72 hours in Bogotá, where you stay matters. Your best bet is to book a hotel in the hip, bohemian Champinero neighborhood, one of the city's most appealing barrios for its safety and central location. Champinero is also home to Zona G (for "gourmet"), an eclectic concentration of some of the city's best dining options. You'll also have your pick of Bogotá's top hotels, including:
- Click Clack Hotel Bogotá: This hyper-modern 11-story building draws young, well-heeled guests with inspired details (like a Space Invader–patterned elevator and Earl Grey-scented tissues) and a thumping rooftop dance club.
- Four Seasons Casa Medina: Designed by Colombian artist-architect Santiago Medina Mejia, this 1946 brick-and-stone landmark hotel features individually designed rooms with beamed ceilings and fireplaces.
- Casa Legado: Each room in this family-owned hotel is inspired by one of the owner's nieces or nephews and is equipped with thoughtful touches — like herbal bath salts by the bathtubs and toe-warming hot water bottles in the bedsheets. You'll be served fresh coca tea on arrival to help with the high altitude.
Day 1: La Candelaria and Chapinero
Chemex and croissants at Varietale
Considering how coffee has been the dominant crop in Colombia since the late 1800s, it often surprises visitors how hard it is to get a decent cup of coffee in the country. This is changing in Bogotá, where a growing number of cafes are pushing the city into the world of third-wave coffee and contemporary brewing methods.
Witness Bogotá's coffee renaissance first-hand at Varietale, one such cafe staffed by enthusiastic baristas brewing up local beans using virtually any method — from Aeropress to DripperV60. Don't caffeinate on an empty stomach; pair a Chemex pour-over with a flaky almond croissant. Or — for something more substantial — try the avocado waffle with scrambled eggs and pan de yuca cheesy bread.
Cobblestones and neoclassical architecture in La Candelaria
After breakfast, hop in an Uber to La Candelaria, Bogotá's centuries-old historic quarter with pastel-colored houses and narrow cobblestone streets. The sprawling barrio juxtaposes old and new, with modern restaurants, cafes, and galleries sprouting up among the colonial buildings and old homes with wooden shutters and filigreed balconies.
Start your sightseeing at Plaza de Bolívar, La Candelaria's main square. Several neoclassical architectural standouts frame the plaza, including the Palace of Justice, the National Capitol building, and the Cathedral of Bogotá. Planning tip: Along with the crowds of tourists, the square draws flocks of unruly, dive-bombing pigeons — wearing a hat is advisable.
A short stroll from the square will take you to Museo Botero, a museum curated by one of Colombia's most famous artists, Fernando Botero. The museum displays more than 100 paintings of his distinctive, whimsically chubby characters, along with artwork by Picasso, Monet, Matisse, and Klimt.
Cheesy hot chocolate at la Puerta Falsa
Walk a block from the Museo Botero to one of Bogotá's oldest and most iconic restaurants: La Puerta Falsa (The False Door). The tiny snack shop has served home-cooked Colombian food to loyal customers — including artists, politicians, and journalists — for over 200 years.
Warm yourself up with a bowl of La Puerta Falsa's famous ajiaco, a hearty soup made with shredded chicken and three kinds of potatoes. For a true Colombian experience, finish lunch with the chocolate completo: hot chocolate served with chunks of cheese. Tradition dictates that you plonk the cheese into the beverage until it melts into silky strings, which you twirl around your spoon and slurp down.
Pre-hispanic gold at Museo del Oro
Museo del Oro | Source: Banco de la República, Colombia
Around the corner from La Puerta Falsa, you'll find Bogotá's Museo del Oro (Gold Museum). The celebrated museum is home to over 55,000 priceless pre-Hispanic artifacts, including gold and other materials like pottery, stone, and shells. One of the museum's most famous pieces is the Balsa Muisca, a tiny gold artifact depicting — in incredible detail — the legendary El Dorado ceremony. Performed by the indigenous Muisca people, the ritual honored a new chieftain by covering him in gold dust and submerging him, his raft, and other offerings into a sacred lake.
Locavore-driven small plates at El Chato
Head back to Chapinero for dinner at El Chato — the critically acclaimed contemporary bistro helmed by Bogotá-native chef Álvaro Clavijo. Expect flavorful, locavore-driven dishes like chicken hearts with candied native potato and suero costeño, crab with rice chips and charred corn husks, and tapioca pate with wild blackberry.
Craft beer and dancing in Chapinero
For a post-dinner drink, pop by Mono Bandido Bar. A key player in Bogotá's burgeoning craft beer scene, the popular watering hole serves up some excellent in-house and local brews on tap. The large, redbrick bar attracts a young, cool crowd and hosts live music and the occasional magic show.
You could end the night there. But if you want to party like a rolo (slang for Bogotá local), head to Theatron, the city's world-renowned gay club. The colossal five-story venue — housed in a former theater — has 13 dance floors, each playing its own style of music. The club charges an entrance fee of up to 50,000 COP (around $12 USD) that includes a reusable cup that gets you all-night open-bar access.
Day 2: Zipaquirá
Breakfast sandwich at Masa | Source: Masa
Breakfast sandwich at Masa
Hangovers are uniquely horrible in Bogotá, where high elevation means the air contains less oxygen than at sea level. After a night of open bar access at Theatron, you’ll need a carb-heavy breakfast and robust cappuccino, stat.
Masa has you covered. Bogotá's stylish, internationally beloved bakery cranks out the best bread and croissants in the city and stacks them with ingredients like gruyere, avocado, and scrambled eggs. Colombian owners and sisters Silvana and Mariana Villegas earned their stripes working kitchens in New York City. You'll find U.S. favorites like morning buns and donuts on the menu, too. There are several Masa locations throughout the city; the architect-designed cafe on Calle 105 — with its towering triangle windows — is the coolest and worth the trek from your hotel.
Guanábanas and granadillas at Mercado de Paloquemao
One of the city's most important markets, Mercado de Paloquemao, is a maze of aisles brimming with produce, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, and flowers. The indoor mercado dazzles with exotic fruits you've never heard of — bright tomato-like lulos, spiky guanábanas, and freckly orange granadillas filled with sweet, slimy pulp. Want a taste? Linger at a stall, and a vendor will eagerly cut open a choice piece and offer you a slice.
Predictably, Paloquemao is home to fantastic juice vendors, who blend exotic delights with water or milk. In addition to juice and produce, the market is a good place to sample local snacks like tamales stuffed with meat and potatoes and cornmeal arepas fresh from the grill.
Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá
After eating your fill of fresh fruit and cheesy bread, you'll be ready for the journey to Zipaquirá — a small pueblo about an hour's drive from Bogotá. The town is home to one of Colombia's most iconic architectural attractions: a soaring underground cathedral carved into a former salt mine. Join an hour-long tour to explore the cathedral, tunnels, and salt sculptures, and walk past the 14 Stations of the Cross, each cinematically illuminated and carved in salt rock.
To get to Zipaquirá, you can take a tourist train from Bogotá’s Sabana station. The train only runs on weekends and Colombian holidays; an Uber shouldn't set you back much more than $50 if you're traveling on a weekday.
Meat and music at Andrés Carne de Re
On your way back from Zipaquira, you can't not stop at Andrés Carne de Res — Bogotá's famous restaurant cum nightclub and a Colombian right of passage.
At Andrés Carne de Res, you'll be serenaded by roving performers as staff fling yellow paper butterflies in the air (a reference to Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude.") Expect to be plied with shots of aguardiente, Colombia's (truly horrible) fiery anise-flavored national spirit.
Day 3: Usaquén and Zona T
Brunch at Abasto
After a night at Andrés Carne de Res, you might be off to a late start this morning. You're in luck: Abasto — a beloved eatery in the historic neighborhood of Usaquén — is renowned for its brunch. The restaurant draws large crowds at brunch time on weekends, but trust us: the fresh breads and hearty arepas stuffed with local ingredients are worth waiting in line for, aguardiente hangover and all. Don't miss the egg arepas or the torta de almojábana, which is bread pudding served with a tangy guayaba sauce.
Antiquing in Usaquén
After a revitalizing brunch and a cup of coffee or three at Abasto, you'll be set to explore the surrounding neighborhood of Usaquén. Once a separate municipality incorporated into Bogotá in the late 1950s, Usaquén retains its small-town vibe, with a stone main square, colonial-era houses, boutique shops, and cafes.
Visit on a Sunday to catch the Mercado de las Pulgas de Usaquén (Usaquén Flea Market). One of the hippest flea markets in Latin America, the Mercado has been a popular weekend outing for rolo families for nearly three decades. At the bustling market, vendors hawking everything from repurposed home goods to locally made honey while busking performers provide entertainment.
Views from Monserrate
You have a few options to get to the top of Cerro de Monserrate, the mountaintop viewpoint offering breathtaking views of the city below: You can hike the 1.8-mile winding trail up the city’s sentinel mountain. You can hop in an Uber. But to save energy while taking in the best views, your best bet is to hop in one of the teleféricos (cable cars), which depart from the Parque de los Periodistas. At the summit, you’ll find a 17th-century church, small shops selling local handicrafts, and dazzling views across Bogotá's urban sprawl.
Final dinner at Elcielo
For your last dinner in town, reserve a table at Elcielo. The eatery, from Michelin-starred Colombian chef Juan Manuel Barriento, is known for elevated Colombian food and dramatic presentations — such as the tableside "chocotherapy," which involves washing your hands in liquid chocolate to awaken your senses. Expect over 15 courses of super creative plates, like activated charcoal buñuelo with a porcini and black truffle filling, corn tempura with sweet potato, and green mango popsicle with a spicy powder coating and a shot of aguardiente to cleanse the palate.
Farewell Drinks at Apache Rooftop
Bid farewell (for now) to Bogotá on the rooftop of the trendy Click Clack Hotel. The 10th-story bar, Apache, offers majestic panoramic city views — perfect for a sunset cocktail.
Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Márquez once wrote, "It can't be helped: In Colombia, any gathering of more than six people, regardless of class or the hour, is doomed to turn into a dance." Márquez's wisdom holds at Apache, where live DJs ramp up the tempo after 9 p.m. If you don't have an early flight, stick around to join the mix of beautiful locals and hotel guests when they inevitably swarm the dance floor.
Practical Information
When to go
The third highest capital city in the world, Bogotá stays chilly year-round.
Temperatures typically range between 50°F and 70°F year round, dropping to around 48°F at night. The rainiest months are April to June and October to November. The "dry" season runs from December to March — but inclement weather is always a possibility, Romero warns.
"The weather here is so variable," Romero says. "I recommend bringing a really warm jacket."
Getting around
Bogotá’s traffic is notoriously congested, so plan your travel times accordingly. Taxis are cheap, but ride-sharing apps are more convenient and safer for getting around — especially at night.
"Sometimes drivers make you pay more for a service if they notice you're a foreigner," Romero says. "I recommend using Uber, Cabify, or Didy to make sure you get a fair price."
Similarly, Uber and other ride-sharing apps are the easiest way to get to and from Bogotá's airport, El Dorado International Airport (BOG). The 20-minute journey between BOG and the city center should cost around $8.
Using money
Colombia uses the Colombian Peso (COP). At the time of writing, the exchange rate is about 4,100 COP per $1 US dollar.
Hotels and most restaurants accept cards, but many small businesses and market vendors are "solo effectivo" (cash only). Local shops and vendors prefer smaller bills, so try to break your larger bills at fancier spots and hoard your smaller notes for when you need them.
Staying safe
"As with any major city, some parts of Bogotá are more secure than others," Romero says.
Most of the wealthy, safer neighborhoods are concentrated in the north of the city, while the poorest — which tend to receive less police protection or private security — are in the south, according to Romero.
Even poorer neighborhoods are reasonably safe during the day, "but it's good advice to watch your surroundings and be careful," Romero says.
What to eat
Bogotá is making waves in the high-end contemporary food scene, combining creative techniques and international influences with local flavors and ingredients. For a complete culinary experience, however, don't leave town without trying these classics:
- Chocolate completo. Also known as chocolate santafereño, chocolate completo refers to the Colombian tradition of dropping cheese into hot chocolate. Weird — yes — but also delicious. Try it, and you'll understand the Colombian rhyme: "Chocolate sin queso es como amor sin beso" (Chocolate without cheese is like love without a kiss).
- Ajiaco. Bogotá's signature dish, ajiaco is a thick, fragrant soup made with three types of potatoes, chicken, corn, capers, and guasca, a leafy Colombian herb. Thick and rib-sticking, the dish is just what you want after a drizzly day in Bogotá.
- Tamales Bogotános. Bogotá's take on the popular Latin American dish, tamales Bogotános — also called tamales Santafereños — are less spicy and chunkier than the tamales you've had in the U.S. or Mexico. Although no two tamales are ever alike, Bogotá-style street snacks are usually stuffed with chunks of chicken or pork belly, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed.
- Changua. This simple bread-based breakfast soup — made with milk, water, eggs, scallions, and cilantro — is a time-honored hangover cure.
- Arepas. Beloved by Colombians, many foreigners find these cornmeal cakes to be a little bland and dry. You'll see arepas everywhere, topped with cheese, stuffed with meat, and served plain, so give them a try. Unique to Bogotá are the slightly sweet arepas boyacenses (pronounced bo-ya-senses), which are stuffed with cheese and made with panela (brown sugar).
Speaking the language
You can get by on minimal Spanish in Bogotá — but for a smoother, more authentic experience, familiarize yourself with Spanish basics. Here are a few words and phrases you will hear throughout your three-day visit:
A la orden - A common Colombian customer service idiom meaning "at your service." You'll hear it after saying "gracias" after finishing a transaction, or from shop staffers and market vendors trying to catch your attention.
Bacano - Slang for "great" or "awesome."
Parce - Short for parcero or parcera, which means "pal" or "buddy."
Pues - A word Colombians use to fill dead air, similar to "um" or "eh." Pues can also be used as emphasis — for example: ¡Hágale pues! (Do it, already!)
Que pena - A way to apologize, translating roughly to "how embarrassing," or "how inconvenient," or "sorry to bother." You won’t hear this in other parts of Latin America — but in Medellín, you'll hear it several times a day.
¿Que mas? - A slang greeting, similar to "what's up?" You can respond by saying, "Bien, y tú?"
Que chimba - A common expression typically used to refer to something great or awesome but also to express displeasure, depending on the context. While used abundantly, the phrase is technically a swear and may not be appropriate for formal situations.
Rumba - A word for "going out" or "party."
¿O Qué? - This expression translates to "or what?" and is typically used at the end of questions in casual conversation. For example: "¿Bien o qué?" ("All good, or what?").
