This post was originally published on A Globe Well Travelled in 2017. The content has been revised and updated with fresh information.
As soon as I walked into a coffee shop and ordered a delicious Colombian brew, I knew I would love the city of Medellin.
Navigating the menu with my 5 words of Spanish was no easy feat, but I managed to order a coffee served chemex-style. Sitting in the outdoor seating area, the air was a perfect room temperature – so pleasant that I could sit there all day and never feel like I needed to add or retract from what I was currently wearing.
Medellin sort of felt like an odd combination of tropical paradise and mountain city. It had the drastic hills of many South American cities but with the palm trees and ferns of somewhere more coastal. It was an easy place to relax and explore at a slow pace.
I actually spent 3 full days ticking off all the best things to do in Medellin, but seeing as one of them was spent doing nothing but drinking coffee in Poblado (no regrets), I’m whittling down my suggestions to two days of Medellin activities. Here’s my perfect itinerary for a 48 hours in Medellin!
Quick summary:
Planning a weekend in Medellin? This 2-day itinerary covers the best of the city, from street art and great coffee to downtown sightseeing and modern art museums.
Recommended tours:
🎨 Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour – Explore the once-dangerous neighbourhood now transformed by art
🍸 Rooftop Bars & Clubs Tour – Experience Medellin’s nightlife with drinks and views in Poblado
🚶♂️ Downtown Medellin Walking Tour – Discover El Centro’s history, architecture with a local guide
🚌 Guatapé + El Peñol Day Trip – Take a colourful detour from the city for epic countryside views
Where to stay in Medellin
Rob and I stayed in an private apartment rental just up the hill from Poblado. This area ended up being a perfect place to base our stay in Medellin! Poblado also has a number of boutique and budget hotels, so it’s really a great spot for all sorts of travellers.
🛏️ I’d recommend something like Wake Apartment Hotel for a similar vibe to what we had in the Poblado area.
Medellin itinerary: Day one
Morning: Visit Comuna 13
Medellin has somewhat of a dirty, violent, and corrupted history, so what better way to begin your tour of the city than by visiting what was considered one of Medellin’s most dangerous areas.
Tourists would never have ventured into Comuna 13 until a few short years ago. This hillside suburb was once under the control of the cartel, and there was a bloody battle here in 2002 when the military fought to regain control of the area. Over the past few years, Comuna 13 has become much safer and has been revitalised with arts projects, education, and tourism.
🎨 There are a few different operators who will take you there – I ended up going with a Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour which I booked online.
Afternoon/Evening: Explore Poblado
Poblado is known for a few things, including expats, coffee shops, food, and nightlife. This area is where you’ll find a lot of other gringos, though it still has plenty of Colombians. It’s basically a nice little gentrified part of Medellin that nearly everyone would enjoy.
The coffee shops in Poblado are exceptional. We ventured into Pergamino (twice!) and Toucan Cafe. The restaurants in this area are also some of the best in Medellin.
If you’re still exploring Poblado in the evening and are keen to experience some Medellin nightlife, there are a few good places to drink. We tried the craft beer at Bogota Beer Company, and had some tasty mojitos at El Social.
🍸 Those of you who love to stay out late might be interested in a Medellin rooftop bars & clubs tour where you can visit the best venues in Poblado, with drinks included!
Medellin itinerary: Day two
Morning: Walk around El Centro
🚶♂️ El Centro is the historical center of the city with many Medellin attractions, and it’s worth a few hours of exploration. The best way to see this area would be through a Downtown Medellin walking tour.
Here’s what to see in the area: Start by catching the metro to San Antonio station, then exit the station and walk north towards Botero Plaza. Here you’ll see a selection of 23 bulbous bronze statues (Rob and I nicknamed them “the fat-stues”… get it?) by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero who was born in Medellin. Botero donated the statues to the city and they were installed in 2002.
Next to Botero Plaza is the Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture building, which was built in 1925 and has absolutely beautiful Gothic Revival architecture. Stop here for some photos as this building is one of the best photo spots in Medellin.
Next, walk south back towards San Antonio station via Carrera 52 (also known as Avenida Carabobo) which is lined with market stalls. If you are looking for souvenirs, this is where you’ll find them. Just be prepared for a few pushy salespeople around this area as its tourist central.
Before you head back to the station, walk to the nearby Parque San Antonio, where you can see a large statue of a bird (also by Fernando Botero) which was partially blown up by a bomb in 1995. The bomb was set off during a concert and killed 23 people, and the damaged statue was left in place as a memorial to the victims.
Afternoon: Go to a museum
Once you’ve finished with El Centro, you should definitely check out one of Medellin’s museums. There are plenty of museums for you to choose from, so I’ve narrowed the choice down to just 2:
We visited the Museum of Modern Art (Museo Arte Moderno Medellin) as both Rob and I are fans of contemporary art. The museum was cheap to enter at only 10,000 pesos (about $3.40 USD) and is open daily except Mondays. I loved seeing all the local art and would definitely recommend this activity.
Another option is the Memory House Museum (Museo Casa de la Memoria). I didn’t get the chance to visit this one but it was recommended by a few other bloggers as it touches on some of the more sensitive subjects in Medellin’s history.
🚌 If you will have extra time for some more Medellin activities, I would highly recommend adding on a day tour to El Peñol and Guatapé.
I did this trip to Guatapé on one of my days in Medellin, and I found it to be a fantastic way to get out of the city and see the Colombian countryside and some adorable small towns.
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