Must-see attractions in Bogotá

  • Bogota , Colombia  - February 24, 2017 : Museo del Oro gold museum in Bogota capital city of Colombia South America; Shutterstock ID 650281423

    Museo del Oro

    Bogotá

    Bogotá's most famous museum and one of the most fascinating in South America, the Gold Museum contains more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials…

  • BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - OCTOBER 22, 2015: Interior of the Botero Museum. The art collection donated by Colombian master artist Botero is considered the most important donation in the Country's history. ; Shutterstock ID 337708817; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Museo Botero

    Bogotá

    Even if you've never heard of Fernando Botero, you'll probably recognize some of his highly distinctive paintings of oversized (read: chubby) characters,…

  • Colombia, Bogota, 16th century Iglesia de San Francisco, Bogota's Oldest Restored Church, Intersections of Avendia Jimenez and Carrera Septima

    Iglesia de San Francisco

    Bogotá

    Built between 1557 and 1621, the Church of San Francisco is Bogotá's oldest surviving church. In the atmospherically dark interior, with its extravagant…

  • Plaza de Bolívar

    Bogotá

    The usual place to start discovering Bogotá is the giant concrete Plaza de Bolívar, the heart of the original town. What it lacks in green foliage it…

  • Colección de Arte

    Bogotá

    Most of Banco de la República's permanent art collection, which features 800 pieces by 250 different artists spread over 16 exhibition halls at two…

  • Bogota, Colombia: Presidential Palace

    Casa de Nariño

    Bogotá

    On the south side of Plaza de Bolívar, beyond the Capitolio Nacional and reached via Carreras 8 or 7, this is Colombia's neoclassical presidential…

  • Museo Nacional

    Bogotá

    Housed in the expansive, Greek-cross-shaped building called El Panóptico (designed as a prison by English architect Thomas Reed in 1874), the Museo…

  • Statue in front of Santa Clara church.

    Museo Santa Clara

    Bogotá

    One of Bogotá's most richly decorated churches, the Santa Clara is also its oldest (along with Iglesia de San Francisco). Deconsecrated in 1968, it was…

  • Museo Militar

    Bogotá

    This two-floor museum is run by military guys in fatigues, and features playful models sporting the history of military uniforms (note the 'antiterrorist'…

  • Casa Museo Quinta de Bolívar

    Bogotá

    Bringing a bit of the country into the middle of high-rise Bogotá, this lovely historic home–museum is set in a garden at the foot of the Cerro de…

  • Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo

    Bogotá

    No one agrees exactly where present-day Bogotá was founded – some say by the Catedral Primada on the Plaza de Bolívar; others say here, in this wee plaza…

  • Museo Histórico Policial

    Bogotá

    This surprisingly worthwhile museum not only gets you inside the lovely ex-HQ (built in 1923) of Bogotá's police force, but gives you 45 minutes or so of…

  • Teatro Colón

    Bogotá

    The Teatro Colón, with its adorable Italian-style facade, has had various names since its birth in 1792; this latest version opened as Teatro Nacional in…

  • Casa de Moneda

    Bogotá

    This historic museum inside the Banco de la República complex houses the Colección Numismática as well as the Colección de Arte. The former exhibit starts…

  • Capitolio Nacional

    Bogotá

    On the southern side of the plaza stands this neoclassical seat of congress. It was begun in 1847 but, due to numerous political uprisings, not completed…

  • Mirador Torre Colpatria

    Bogotá

    From the 48th-floor outside deck of the Colpatria Tower you can catch a superb view of the bullring, backed by office buildings and the mountains – there…

  • Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes

    Bogotá

    First of its kind in Bogotá, construction on this neo-Gothic church began in 1875. Its monumental architecture and stained-glass windows designed by…

  • Plaza Central de Usaquén

    Bogotá

    It's best coming on Sunday for the flea market (Mercado de las Pulgas; from 9am to 5:30pm).

  • Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar

    Bogotá

    At 360 hectares, the Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar is slightly larger than New York's Central Park, something that more than a few of the weekend…

  • Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen

    Bogotá

    With Spanish colonial architecture dominating the historical centre, this peculiar Gothic-style church, adorned with Byzantine and Arabic art, is a rare…

  • Espacio KB

    Bogotá

    One of several edgy art galleries that have sprung up in San Felipe, Bogotá's next cusp-of-cool barrio, this house-turned-gallery is a magnet for the city…

  • Museo Colonial

    Bogotá

    This museum occupies a one-time Jesuit college and traces the evolution of how religious and portrait art pieces are made, particularly by Colombia's…

  • Capilla del Sagrario

    Bogotá

    This small baroque cathedral has more to see than its bigger brother next door, the Catedral Primada, including six large paintings by Gregorio Vásquez.

  • Colombia, Bogota, Towers of the Catedral Primada, Dome and Belfry of the Capilla del Sagrario, Plaza de Bolivar

    Catedral Primada

    Bogotá

    This neoclassical cathedral stands on the site where the first Mass may have been celebrated after Bogotá was founded in 1538 (some historians argue that…

  • Centro Cultural Gabriel García Márquez

    Bogotá

    Slotting seamlessly into historic Candelaria, this cleverly constructed arts center anchored by a graceful amphitheater was designed by Franco-Colombian…

  • Palacio de San Carlos

    Bogotá

    This colossal edifice has seen a few lives, notably as the presidential HQ of Simón Bolívar, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt here in 1828…

  • Museo El Chicó

    Bogotá

    Housed in a fine 18th-century casona (large, rambling house) surrounded by what was once a vast hacienda. It features a collection of historic objects of…

  • Museo de Arte Moderno

    Bogotá

    Opened in the mid-1980s in a spacious hall designed by revered local architect Rogelio Salmona, MAMBO focuses on various forms of visual arts (painting,…

  • Iglesia La Tercera

    Bogotá

    Boasts a fine stone facade and lovely wood-carved altars in walnut and cedar set on white walls below a wood-carved ceiling.

  • Museo de La Salle

    Bogotá

    This natural-science museum at La Salle University uses the science of taxidermy to preserve and promote Colombia’s rich biodiversity. The three floors of…

  • Palacio de Justicia

    Bogotá

    On the northern side of the plaza, this massive, rather styleless edifice serves as the seat of the Supreme Court.

  • Observatorio Astronómico

    Bogotá

    Conceptualized by celebrated Colombian botanist José Celestino Mutis, the 1803 tower is reputedly the first astronomical observatory built on the…

  • Maloka

    Bogotá

    A short walk from the bus station in the planned neighborhood of Salitre, Maloka is a kid-oriented interactive center of science and technology. Lots of…

  • Museo de Arte del Banco de la República

    Bogotá

    Though indistinguishable as its own museum, this is the space inside Banco de la República's museum complex used for temporary exhibitions. Its auditorium…

  • Edificio Liévano

    Bogotá

    On the western side of the plaza, this French-style building is now home to the alcaldía (mayor's office). The building was erected between 1902 and 1905.

  • Iglesia de San Ignacio

    Bogotá

    The Jesuits began this iconic church in 1610 and, although opened for worship in 1635, it was not completed until their expulsion in 1767. It was the…

  • Iglesia de la Veracruz

    Bogotá

    Iglesia de la Veracruz is known as the National Pantheon because many of the heroes of the struggle for independence have been buried here.