Metro line A to Parque Berrío
Centro · 30 min
Buy the Cívica at the window, then ride. The Metro opened in 1995 and people still treat it as the proof that Medellín changed: no eating, no litter, no graffiti.
CO$4,400
Medellín · Colombia · 3 days
3 days in Medellín
Three days built around the Metro the city is proudest of: the center and a cable car into the hills, Comuna 13 and the museums along the river, then a day out to Guatapé and the rock. Each day takes in one part of the valley, from the old center to a reservoir two hours away.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 22 stops
- 14 with a ticket
- from CO$150,000 a day
When to go
Medellín sits at 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) and calls itself the city of eternal spring: 72 to 82°F (22 to 28°C) by day, around 59°F (15°C) at night, all year. The two rainy stretches are April to May and September to November, when afternoons bring an hour of hard rain. December to February and July to August are the drier months. The Feria de las Flores runs July 31 to August 9, 2026 and ends with the Desfile de Silleteros on Sunday, August 9; hotels fill and prices rise that week. December brings the Alumbrados, the Christmas lights along the river.
Where to base yourself
Laureles for a calm, flat, residential base with the best food streets and the Metro at Estadio or Floresta. El Poblado (Provenza, Manila) for first-timers who want restaurants and bars outside the door; it is hilly and loud around Parque Lleras. Do not stay in El Centro: busy by day, empty and uneasy after dark.
Getting around
The Metro is one line north to south (A), one east to west (B), a tram and six cable cars, all on a Cívica card. A tourist Cívica costs CO$12,100 at any ticket window and a ride is CO$4,400; transfers to the tram and the ordinary Metrocable lines are included, only line L to Arví costs extra. Trains run from before 5 a.m. to about 11 p.m. For anything off the line, call a taxi with inDrive, Cabify, DiDi or Uber rather than hailing one at night; rides across the valley are CO$15,000 to CO$30,000.
Day 1
The center and the Metro
- FromYour hotel in Laureles
- 1
- 3 min · walk
- 2
Plaza Botero
Centro · 45 min
Twenty-three fat bronzes Botero gave his home town, out in the open and free. Go early; by mid-morning the square is dense with vendors and the odd pickpocket, so keep the phone in a front pocket.
- Next door
- 3
Museo de Antioquia
Centro · 90 min
The Botero rooms upstairs are the reason to go, with his own collection of Picasso, Chagall and friends beside them. It opens at 9:40 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Sundays); no photographs in the Botero galleries.
- Next door
- 4
Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe
Centro · 45 min
The black-and-white Gothic pile on the corner of the square, by the Belgian Agustín Goovaerts, took from 1925 to 1998 to finish. Free; climb to the dome for the view down on the plaza.
- 5 min · walk
- 5
Hacienda, Pasaje Junín
Centro · 75 min
Bandeja paisa in the city it comes from: beans, rice, ground beef, chicharrón, chorizo, fried egg, plantain, avocado and an arepa, all on one tray. Share one if you plan to walk at Arví; Pasaje Junín is the pedestrian street south of the plaza.
CO$45,000
- 5.4 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Metrocable line K to Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo · 45 min
Line A north to Acevedo, then the cable car that in 2004 tied the hillside barrios to the city for the first time. It is part of the Metro fare, so stay inside the turnstiles; the Biblioteca España above the station has been shut for repairs for years, so the ride and the view down the valley are the point.
- 4.5 km · transit or taxi
- 7
Parque Arví by line L
Santa Elena · 150 min
A second cable from Santo Domingo over the ridge and 15 minutes across forest to the park at 2,500 meters. Entry is free, it runs Wednesday to Monday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and it is about 10°C (18°F) cooler up there, so bring a layer.
CO$26,700
- 11 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Cafe Zorba, Laureles
Laureles · 90 min
Line A back to San Antonio, line B to Estadio, then a short taxi or a 15-minute walk. Thin pizzas in a garden, cash only, no reservations, and a line after 8 p.m. on weekends; afterwards walk Carrera 70 (La 70) for a beer among the chuzo grills.
CO$40,000
Day 2
Comuna 13 and the river
- FromYour hotel in Laureles
- 1
Comuna 13 Graffitour
Comuna 13 · 150 min
Line B to San Javier, then a shared taxi or bus up to the escalators. Book with Casa Kolacho, the hip-hop collective from the barrio that started the tours, or with any guide who grew up there; the point is to hear the 2002 Operación Orión and what came after from someone who lived it.
CO$40,000
- Next door
- 2
Food stalls on the Escaleras Eléctricas
Comuna 13 · 60 min
The six flights of outdoor escalators from 2011 are free and lined with stalls. Eat as you go: mango biche with lime and salt, a bag of chicharrón, a paleta from the ice-cream counters at the top.
CO$20,000
- 6.9 km · transit or taxi
- 3
Jardín Botánico
Aranjuez · 60 min
Line B back to San Antonio, line A north to Universidad; the gate is a minute from the station. Walk the Orquideorama, the wooden honeycomb canopy over the orchids, and sit by the lake; closed Mondays.
- 3 min · walk
- 4
Parque Explora
Aranjuez · 90 min
Across the road: a science museum with the largest freshwater aquarium in the country, built on the Amazon and the Magdalena. The ticket window closes at 4 p.m. on weekdays; closed Mondays and the day after a holiday.
- 2.9 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Museo Casa de la Memoria
Buenos Aires · 60 min
Line A to San Antonio, then the tram two stops to Bicentenario. The city's own museum of the armed conflict, told through the victims, and the right place to put the Comuna 13 morning in context; closed Mondays, with shorter weekend hours, so on a Saturday put it before the garden.
- 4.2 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Alambique, Provenza
El Poblado · 100 min
Taxi to El Poblado. Colombian cooking with the volume turned up, in a house with a courtyard off Carrera 37: the posta negra, the fish of the day, a guaro cocktail; then walk Provenza's two blocks and Parque Lleras for a drink.
CO$90,000
Day 3
Guatapé and the rock
- FromYour hotel in Laureles
- 1
Bus from the Terminal del Norte
Caribe · 135 min
Line A to Caribe; the terminal is attached to the station. Sotrasanvicente runs to Guatapé from office 14, first buses around 6 a.m. and then every 30 to 60 minutes, about two hours; tell the driver La Piedra and get off at the rock, before the town.
CO$24,000
- 44 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Piedra del Peñol
El Peñol · 90 min
A 200-meter granite monolith with a staircase zigzagging up its one crack: 740 steps, 20 to 40 minutes up. The view from the top over the flooded valley and its islands is the picture you came for.
CO$35,000
- 2.6 km · transit or taxi
- 3
Guatapé and its zócalos
Guatapé · 75 min
A tuk-tuk or the passing bus covers the 10 minutes into town for a few thousand pesos. Every house carries a zócalo, a raised painted panel along its base; walk Calle del Recuerdo up to the Plazoleta de los Zócalos, then the church square.
- Next door
- 4
La Fogata, Guatapé
Guatapé · 60 min
Trucha, the reservoir trout, grilled or with garlic, with patacón and salad, on a terrace over the water on the main road into town. Order the trout; everything else is filler.
CO$40,000
- 4 min · walk
- 5
Boat on the Embalse
Guatapé · 60 min
Shared boats leave from the malecón when they fill. Ask for the islands and the cross marking the drowned old town of El Peñol; skip the detour to Escobar's burned-out finca the touts push.
CO$30,000
- 45 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Bus back to the Terminal del Norte
Guatapé · 135 min
Return buses leave from the little terminal by the malecón. Buy the ticket when you arrive in town, because on Sundays and holidays the last afternoon departures sell out and the road home crawls.
CO$24,000
- 7.6 km · transit or taxi
- 7
Mondongo's, El Poblado
El Poblado · 75 min
The original on Calle 10, open late, no reservations. Order the mondongo (tripe soup with pork and vegetables) or a half bandeja, with a cold Pilsen.
CO$45,000
- 5.2 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Son Havana, Laureles
Laureles · 120 min
Taxi across the valley to the salsa bar on Carrera 73, open Thursday to Saturday with a live band most weekends and a small cover charge; dance or watch, nobody minds which. For reggaeton instead, the clubs around Parque Lleras run until 3 a.m. and later.
CO$15,000
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
José María Córdova (MDE) is in Rionegro, 45 to 60 minutes from the city through the Túnel de Oriente. The Combuses shuttle leaves every 15 minutes for CO$20,000 and ends at the San Diego terminal next to the mall of that name, with stops at Exposiciones Metro station and the Hotel Nutibara in the center; from San Diego a taxi to El Poblado or Laureles is CO$15,000 to CO$25,000. A regulated airport taxi direct to the city is a fixed CO$132,000 in 2026; pay at the booth, not the driver. Domestic flights from Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali often use Olaya Herrera (EOH), the city airport ten minutes from El Poblado.
What a day costs
About CO$150,000 to CO$250,000 a day per person, roughly US$40 to US$65, for two meals, one ticket, the Metro and a couple of taxis. The Arví cable and the Guatapé day are the dear ones: line L costs CO$26,700 each way for foreign visitors on a general card (CO$11,900 with a personalized Cívica), the Arví guided walks CO$50,000, and the Guatapé day about CO$150,000 with bus, rock, lunch and boat. The Comuna 13 tour is about CO$40,000 booked locally, two to three times that through booking sites.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Buy the tourist Cívica on arrival and load it once for the three days. It is faster than waiting in line for single tickets and the only way onto most cable lines without a wait.
- No dar papaya, as locals say: do not give anyone the chance. Phone away on the street in the center, bag in front, no jewelry, and take an app taxi rather than walking after dark anywhere but Laureles, Provenza and Manila.
- Check the closed days against your dates. Parque Arví and its cable close Tuesdays; the Jardín Botánico, Parque Explora and the Casa de la Memoria close Mondays. Waystop's hours check flags a stop placed on a closed day.
- Carry cash for the Piedra ticket (CO$35,000, cash only at the window), the Comuna 13 stalls and any bus. The Museo de Antioquia charges foreigners around CO$35,000 and Parque Explora around CO$50,000; cards work almost everywhere in El Poblado and Laureles, and ATMs inside malls are the safe ones.
- Afternoons bring rain in April, May and September to November. Do the outdoor stops before 2 p.m. and keep a light shell in the bag.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
We land on a Tuesday, what do I do instead of Parque Arví?Is the Comuna 13 tour all right with a seven-year-old?What is the easiest way from the Jardín Botánico to the Casa de la Memoria?Give me a rain plan for the Guatapé dayIs anything on in Medellín for the Feria de las Flores while we're there?
Questions
Is Medellín safe for visitors?
Yes with ordinary city care. Violent crime against tourists is rare; phone snatching and bag theft in the center and drink spiking around Parque Lleras are the real risks. Keep the phone out of sight on the street, use app taxis at night, watch your drink and treat dating-app meetings with caution.
Should I do a Pablo Escobar tour?
The city would rather you did not, and this itinerary leaves it out. Medellín knocked down his Mónaco building in 2019 and put a memorial to his victims in its place; the Museo Casa de la Memoria on day 2 is where the city tells that story itself, free. The Comuna 13 guides will talk about those years plainly if you ask.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 2. Parque Explora, the Museo Casa de la Memoria and the Museo de Antioquia are indoors, and the Comuna 13 tour runs in any weather with the escalators under cover. Tell Waystop it is raining and Chat proposes a wet-weather version of the Guatapé day beside the original, ready to accept as a card.
Do I need cash?
Some. The Piedra del Peñol ticket, the Guatapé buses, the Comuna 13 stalls and the boats (around CO$25,000 to CO$30,000 a person) are cash; the Cívica top-up machines take cash too. Restaurants and shops in El Poblado and Laureles take cards. Draw pesos from an ATM inside a mall and refuse any note that is torn.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Medellín. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.