---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Cartagena, Colombia | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Cartagena, from the walled city and San Felipe to the Rosario islands and Bazurto market. Mapped, ranked and fact-checked."
url: https://wimup.com/city/cartagena
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-18
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Cartagena

Cartagena, Colombia · South America · By Wimup Editorial, 15 min read

Pedro de Heredia founded Cartagena in 1533, and within a century Spain had turned it into the strongbox of the Caribbean: the port where the silver of the Americas was gathered, and the largest slave-trading port in the empire. Both facts are still legible in the street plan. Three days is the working minimum.

## Quick answer

Give the first day to the walled city on foot: the Torre del Reloj, the Plaza de Bolívar with the gold museum on one side and the Inquisition palace on the other, San Pedro Claver, then the ramparts at dusk. Day two starts early at Castillo San Felipe, climbs to La Popa for the view, and ends in Getsemaní. Keep day three for the water. Take the middle of the day indoors.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar
- **Ideal length:** 3 days
- **Budget per day:** $60–130
- **Language:** Spanish
- **Getting around:** On foot, taxis & Transcaribe
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://colombia.travel/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Cartagena

### 1. The walled city and its ramparts

Landmark · Centro Histórico, Cartagena de Indias

Eleven kilometres of masonry went up around this peninsula over nearly two centuries, and most of it is still standing. The walls are the best introduction because they are free, open at all hours and completely uninterpreted: climb at the Baluarte de San Francisco Javier and walk above the roofline past cannon and the sea.

- **Time:** 2 hours
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** An hour before sunset
- **Tip:** Start at the Baluarte de Santo Domingo and walk north towards Las Bóvedas. The wall is unlit in places, so come down before full dark.

Links: [UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/285/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

Landmark · Cerro de San Lázaro, Barrio Pie de la Popa

The largest fortress the Spanish built anywhere in the Americas, begun in 1657 and enlarged after 1762 into the sloped, layered thing you see now. Every face covers another, and the tunnels beneath were cut to carry sound as well as soldiers. It worked: Admiral Vernon left without the city in 1741. Go early; there is no shade.

- **Time:** 1.5 hours
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Opening time
- **Tip:** The tunnels are low, narrow and worth doing. Bring water and a light, and take the ramp to the top before the tour groups arrive.

Links: [Website](https://fortificacionescartagena.com.co/en/castle-of-san-felipe-de-barajas/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Getsemaní and the Plaza de la Trinidad

Neighborhood · Getsemaní, outside the Puerta del Reloj

The old artisans' and dockworkers' quarter, just outside the inner wall, and where the city actually moves in the evening. Independence started here on 11 November 1811. The Calle de la Sierpe is an open-air gallery of murals, and the square by the Trinidad church fills after dark with fruit carts and dancers.

- **Time:** An evening
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** After 7pm
- **Tip:** Eat before you sit down in the plaza. The square is for drinking, watching and talking, and the kitchens worth your time are on the streets around it.

### 4. Islas del Rosario

Island · Boats from the Muelle de la Bodeguita, Centro

An archipelago of low coral islands an hour southwest by fast boat, protected since 1977 inside a national park. This is where the water finally turns the colour the brochures promise, because the bay in front of the city does not. The reefs are the reason to bring a mask, and park entry is charged separately from the boat.

- **Time:** Full day
- **Cost:** Boat plus park entry
- **Best at:** First departure
- **Tip:** Boats leave the Bodeguita between roughly 8am and 10am and come back mid-afternoon. Book the day before, take cash for the park fee, and pick an island rather than an island-hopping loop.

Links: [Parques Nacionales](https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Museo Histórico de Cartagena, the Palacio de la Inquisición

Museum · Plaza de Bolívar, Centro Histórico

The Holy Office set up a tribunal here in 1610, one of only three in Spanish America, and the baroque palace was finished in 1770 with a denunciation window on the side street so accusations could be made without a name. The building is the finest civil facade in the city. Labelling inside is mostly Spanish.

- **Time:** 1 hour
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Late morning
- **Tip:** The denunciation window is on the Calle de la Inquisición side and is easy to walk past. Look for it before you go in.

Links: [Website](https://www.muhca.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. Iglesia y Claustro de San Pedro Claver

Church · Plaza de San Pedro Claver, Centro Histórico

Built between 1580 and 1654 and named for the Jesuit who spent forty years meeting slave ships at the quay, and who called himself the slave of the slaves forever. His remains are in a glass reliquary under the high altar. It is the one monument here that addresses what the port was for.

- **Time:** 45 minutes
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** The cloister rooms are the point, not the nave. Give them the time and read the panels on the trade rather than only the saint.

### 7. Convento de Santa Cruz de la Popa

Viewpoint · Cerro de la Popa, Barrio Pie de la Popa

The Augustinians founded this convent in 1607 on the ridge that gives the city its only height, and from the terrace the geography finally makes sense: the walled peninsula, the bay, the container port and the marshes inland. The chapel holds the Virgen de la Candelaria, whose February feast draws a pilgrimage up the hill.

- **Time:** 1 hour
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** Take a taxi up and agree the fare including the wait. The road is steep, unshaded and not a walk.

### 8. Museo del Oro Zenú

Museum · Plaza de Bolívar, Centro Histórico

The Banco de la República's Caribbean gold museum, and the best hour of history in the city. The Zenú engineered the flooded plains of the Sinú with canals covering hundreds of thousands of hectares, and the goldwork here is filigree of a delicacy that reads as modern. Small, air-conditioned and free.

- **Time:** 45 minutes
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Midday heat
- **Tip:** Closed on Mondays. The museum’s own site gives current hours, which run Tuesday to Saturday and a shorter Sunday.

Links: [Website](https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/sucursales/cartagena-museo-del-oro?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Mercado de Bazurto

Market · Avenida Pedro de Heredia, Barrio Bazurto

The city's working market, and the antidote to the walled centre. Everything Cartagena eats passes through it: fish landed that morning, plantain, sacks of coconut, and counters serving mote de queso to people there to eat rather than look. Loud, wet underfoot and unpolished. Go in the morning.

- **Time:** 2 hours
- **Cost:** Free to enter
- **Best at:** Before 10am
- **Tip:** Eat at a counter with a queue of market workers. That is the whole method, and lunch will cost a fraction of anything inside the walls.

### 10. San Basilio de Palenque

Day trip · Mahates, Bolívar, about 50 km southeast

A village founded by people who escaped slavery in Cartagena and fortified themselves in the hills behind it, recognised as free by the Spanish crown in 1691: the first free town in the Americas. It still speaks Palenquero, and UNESCO listed its cultural space in 2005. Visit through the community's own guides.

- **Time:** Half a day
- **Cost:** Guide and transport
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Arrange the visit with a community guide rather than arriving unannounced, and ask before photographing anyone.

Links: [UNESCO listing](https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/cultural-space-of-palenque-de-san-basilio-00102?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best restaurants in Cartagena

Eight kitchens, from a Latin America 50 Best dining room to eight tables doing ceviche on a corner.

1. **Celele** (Colombian Caribbean · Calle del Espíritu Santo · Getsemaní): Jaime Rodríguez cooks the ingredients of the Caribbean coast that nobody else was cooking, out of a decade of field research. In Latin America's 50 Best. Book well ahead. [Website](https://celelerestaurante.com/en/home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Carmen** (Contemporary Colombian · Calle del Santísimo · San Diego): A tasting-menu kitchen in a courtyard behind the Santo Toribio church, built on Caribbean produce and technique. The most reliable fine dining inside the walls. [Website](https://carmencartagena.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **La Cevichería** (Ceviche and seafood · Calle Stuart · San Diego): Eight tables on a corner in San Diego, made famous by Anthony Bourdain and still turning out the ceviche that earned it. No reservations. [Website](https://lacevicheriacartagena.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Candé** (Cartagenera cooking · Carrera 10 · Centro Histórico): The place to eat the city's own repertoire rather than a chef's reading of it: posta negra, arroz con coco, cazuela de mariscos, with champeta between courses. [Website](https://restaurantecande.com/en/home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Interno** (Set menu · Cárcel de Mujeres San Diego · San Diego): A restaurant inside the women's prison, staffed by the women serving sentences there, with profits going into their reintegration. Book ahead and bring your passport. [Website](http://restauranteinterno.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **Alma** (Caribbean and Colombian · Hotel Casa San Agustín · Centro Histórico): The courtyard restaurant of Casa San Agustín, and the quietest good dinner in the walled city. Seafood under an arcade, with a bar that stays civilised. [Website](https://www.almacolombia.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
7. **La Vitrola** (Cuban and Caribbean · Calle Baloco · Centro Histórico): Ceiling fans, white jackets, a live Cuban trio and the city's see-and-be-seen dinner for decades. The cooking is solid rather than inventive. Reserve.
8. **El Boliche Cebichería** (Ceviche · Calle Cochera del Hobo · Getsemaní): A dozen seats and a short blackboard of ceviches worked with coconut, tamarind and local fruit. Small enough that lunch is the easier service to get into.

## Best bars and nightlife in Cartagena

Five rooms: a salsa institution, a bastion at sunset and three bars worth staying in.

1. **Alquímico** (Cocktails · Calle del Colegio · Centro Histórico): Three floors of a restored townhouse, each with its own bar and menu, and a rooftop that fills last. The safest first drink in the city.
2. **Café Havana** (Live salsa · Calle del Guerrero · Getsemaní): Corner doors open to the street, a brass-heavy band on the floor rather than a stage, and no room to stand still by midnight. Cash, and go late.
3. **Café del Mar** (Sunset bar · Baluarte de Santo Domingo · Centro Histórico): Tables on top of a bastion, facing straight west over the sea. The drinks are priced for the view. Arrive an hour before sunset for a wall seat.
4. **Donde Fidel** (Salsa bar · Portal de los Dulces · Centro Histórico): A narrow room papered with photographs beside the clock tower, playing salsa clásica loud enough that most of the crowd ends up outside with a beer.
5. **El Barón** (Cocktails · Plaza San Pedro Claver · Centro Histórico): A corner bar on the Plaza San Pedro Claver doing serious cocktails without ceremony, with tables out on the square. Good early, before the plazas fill.

## Best museums and history in Cartagena

Six collections, and the two best of them sit on the same square.

1. **Museo del Oro Zenú** (Free · Plaza de Bolívar · Centro Histórico): The Banco de la República’s Caribbean goldwork collection, covering the Zenú canal civilisation of the Sinú floodplain. Free, air-conditioned and closed on Mondays. [Website](https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/sucursales/cartagena-museo-del-oro?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Museo Histórico de Cartagena** (Palacio de la Inquisición · Plaza de Bolívar · Centro Histórico): The Inquisition palace of 1770, now the city’s historical museum: founding, sieges, independence and the tribunal that sat here from 1610. Labelling is mostly in Spanish. [Website](https://www.muhca.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Museo Naval del Caribe** (Naval history · Calle San Juan de Dios · Centro Histórico): Two floors on the naval history of the Caribbean, from the treasure fleets to the modern Colombian navy, beside San Pedro Claver. [Website](https://museonavaldelcaribe.org/en/naval-museum-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Claustro de San Pedro Claver** (Church and cloister · Plaza San Pedro Claver · Centro Histórico): The cloister where Claver lived and died, with rooms on the slave trade he worked against and a courtyard that is the coolest place in the centre at midday.
5. **Museo de Arte Moderno de Cartagena** (Modern art · Plaza de San Pedro Claver · Centro Histórico): A compact collection of Colombian and Caribbean modern art in a colonial customs building, strongest on the coastal artists the national museums under-show.
6. **Casa Museo Rafael Núñez** (House museum · El Cabrero · El Cabrero): The wooden Caribbean house of the president who wrote the 1886 constitution and the words of the anthem, kept as he left it, ten minutes north.

## Best beaches and islands near Cartagena

Six options, because the beach in front of the city is not one of them.

1. **Playa Blanca, Barú** (White sand · 1 hour by road or boat · Barú): The white sand and turquoise water the city itself does not have. It is also the busiest beach in the region by midday, so come early and walk from the boat landing.
2. **Isla Grande, Islas del Rosario** (Island day · 1 hour by boat · Islas del Rosario): The largest of the Rosario islands, with an inland lagoon, mangrove channels to paddle and the best of the reef snorkelling. Day passes include lunch.
3. **Playa Manzanillo, Tierra Bomba** (Nearest island · 15 minutes by boat · Tierra Bomba): Ten to fifteen minutes across the bay from Bocagrande, the shortest crossing to clear water and a beach club. Good for a half day.
4. **La Boquilla** (Fishing village · 20 minutes north · La Boquilla): A fishing village north of the airport where the beach is grey, the crowd is local and the draw is a canoe trip through the mangrove tunnels.
5. **Bocagrande** (City beach · walkable · Bocagrande): The high-rise strip south of the walls, with grey sand and a promenade. Nobody comes for this beach, but it is the one you can walk to.
6. **Isla Múcura, Islas de San Bernardo** (Overnight · 2 hours by boat · Islas de San Bernardo): Two hours south, past the Rosarios, into the San Bernardo archipelago. Quieter water, better reefs and far fewer boats. Best as an overnight.

## Best neighborhoods in Cartagena

Five districts, and the trade is always price against quiet.

1. **Centro Histórico** (Plazas, museums, hotels · Inside the walls): The postcard half of the walled city: the Plaza de Bolívar, the cathedral, the museums and most of the grand hotels. Beautiful, busy, and priced accordingly.
2. **San Diego** (Quieter walled quarter · Inside the walls): The northern half inside the walls, with the same architecture and a fraction of the foot traffic. Las Bóvedas and the best small restaurants are here.
3. **Getsemaní** (Nightlife, murals, hostels · Outside the Puerta del Reloj): The old workers’ quarter, now the city’s evening. Murals, the Plaza de la Trinidad, the cheapest beds and the loudest nights, all within ten minutes of the walls.
4. **Bocagrande** (Towers, beach, chain hotels · South of the walls): A peninsula of apartment towers, shopping and a workable city beach, twenty minutes on foot from the Puerta del Reloj. Where the city goes about its business.
5. **Manga** (Residential · republican villas · Across the Puente Román): An island of early twentieth-century villas and shaded streets over the bridge from Getsemaní, with the marina and a waterfront walk. No sights, which is the appeal.

## Best day trips from Cartagena

Five days out, from a coral national park to the first free town in the Americas.

1. **Islas del Rosario** (National park · Muelle de la Bodeguita · 1 hour by boat): The coral archipelago inside the national park. Boats leave the Bodeguita in the morning and return mid-afternoon; the park fee is paid on arrival. [Parques Nacionales](https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Barú and Playa Blanca** (Beach · road bridge since 2014 · 1 hour by road): Barú stopped being an island when the bridge over the Canal del Dique opened, so it is reachable by road as well as by boat. The earlier you get there the better.
3. **San Basilio de Palenque** (UNESCO intangible heritage · Mahates · 1.5 hours by road): The first free town in the Americas, still speaking Palenquero and teaching its drum traditions. Go with a community guide. [UNESCO listing](https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/cultural-space-of-palenque-de-san-basilio-00102?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Volcán del Totumo** (Mud volcano · Santa Catalina · 1 hour by road): A fifteen-metre cone of warm grey mud northeast of the city that you climb into rather than up. Undignified, memorable, with a lagoon to rinse in.
5. **Bocachica and Fuerte de San Fernando** (Fortress · Isla Tierra Bomba · 45 minutes by boat): The horseshoe fort that closed the southern mouth of the bay, built after the 1741 siege. Boats go from the Bodeguita and from Bocagrande.

## Best shopping and crafts in Cartagena

Six places, from vaults built as dungeons to a concept store of Colombian designers.

1. **Las Bóvedas** (Craft market · 23 vaults under the wall · San Diego): Twenty-three vaults built into the wall in the eighteenth century as storerooms, later cells, now the craft arcade. Hammocks, mochilas and sombreros vueltiaos.
2. **Portal de los Dulces** (Sweets · Plaza de los Coches · Centro Histórico): The arcade beside the clock tower, lined with stalls of cocadas, panela sweets and tamarind balls in glass jars. Buy the coconut ones and eat them the same day.
3. **Mercado de Bazurto** (Working market · Avenida Pedro de Heredia · Bazurto): Not a souvenir stop. This is where the fish, fruit and spice come in, and where the best cheap lunch in Cartagena is served at a counter.
4. **Ábaco Libros y Café** (Bookshop and café · Calle de la Iglesia · Centro Histórico): A bookshop and coffee counter on a corner in the centre, open since 2002, with a good Spanish literature wall and enough in English to get you through the flight home.
5. **St. Dom** (Concept store · Calle Santo Domingo · Centro Histórico): A concept store stocking Colombian designers across clothing, jewellery, homeware and art. The one place to buy something made here that is not a craft-market piece.
6. **Silvia Tcherassi** (Fashion · Plaza Santa Teresa · Centro Histórico): The Barranquilla-born designer’s Cartagena boutique, in a colonial house beside the Plaza Santa Teresa. Resort dressing, made for this climate. [Website](https://silviatcherassi.com/pages/cartagena-boutique?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Festivals & annual events in Cartagena (2026)

- **Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música** (January): Ten days of chamber and orchestral music in the Teatro Adolfo Mejía and the churches, with a free open-air programme.
- **Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias** (Late January): The Latin American edition of the Hay Festival, four days of writers across the walled city. Beds in the centre go months ahead.
- **Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria** (2 February): The city's patron saint, honoured with a nine-day pilgrimage up the Cerro de la Popa, on foot and mostly at night.
- **Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias** (March): Founded in 1960 and the oldest film festival in Latin America, from the Teatro Adolfo Mejía to open-air screenings in Getsemaní.
- **Semana Santa** (March or April): Holy Week processions leave the walled city's churches, and the whole coast takes its holiday at once. The busiest week.
- **Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen** (16 July): Patron of fishermen and drivers, marked with decorated boats in the bay and blessings at the quays in La Boquilla.
- **Festival de Tambores de San Basilio de Palenque** (October): Four days of drumming, dance and Palenquero song in the village 50 km away. Transport fills, so arrange it in advance.
- **Fiestas de Independencia** (11 November): The city declared itself free of Spain on 11 November 1811, and marks it with parades and street dancing. Getsemaní is the centre.

## Must-try dishes in Cartagena, Colombia

- **Arepa de huevo**: Corn dough fried once, split, filled with a whole raw egg and fried again until the egg sets.
- **Posta negra cartagenera**: Beef braised for hours with panela until the sauce turns almost black. It arrives with coconut rice.
- **Arroz con coco**: Rice cooked in coconut milk until the sugars catch on the pan, which is the titoté that colours it.
- **Cazuela de mariscos**: A thick casserole of prawns, squid, fish and shellfish in coconut milk.
- **Mote de queso**: A soup of yam and salty coastal cheese, sharpened with sour orange. Cheap and filling.
- **Carimañola**: A torpedo of yuca dough stuffed with seasoned beef or cheese and fried.
- **Pescado frito con patacón**: Whole mojarra fried crisp, with twice-fried green plantain and coconut rice. The beach lunch.
- **Cocadas**: Coconut pressed with panela into chewy discs, sold under the arches of the Portal de los Dulces.

## Cartagena transport & airports

- **Rafael Núñez International Airport** (CTG): Three kilometres from the walled city, one of the shortest airport transfers in the Americas. Use the official taxi desk inside the terminal, which prints the fare before you go outside. [Aerocivil](https://www.aerocivil.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Transcaribe** (BRT): The city's bus rapid transit line, running from the Terminal de Transportes to the walled city and Bocagrande. It uses a rechargeable card rather than cash. [Website](https://www.transcaribe.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Taxis and walking** (City): The walled city, Getsemaní and San Diego are best done entirely on foot, and the centre is flat. Taxis are not metered: agree the fare first, or use an app that prices it in advance.
- **Long-distance buses and island boats** (Onward): Coaches to Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Medellín and Bogotá leave the Terminal de Transportes, twenty minutes out by Transcaribe. Island boats leave the Muelle de la Bodeguita.

## Cartagena at a glance

- **Country:** Colombia
- **Region:** Cartagena de Indias District · Bolívar Department
- **Population:** 1,011,520 in the district (2025 DANE projection)
- **Founded:** 1 June 1533, by Pedro de Heredia
- **UNESCO:** Port, fortresses and monuments, inscribed 1984
- **Language:** Spanish
- **Currency:** Colombian peso (COP)
- **Time zone:** UTC-5, no daylight saving
- **Calling code:** +57 605
- **Airport:** CTG
- **Power:** 110V · Type A & B
- **Emergency:** 123, the single national number

## Interesting facts

- UNESCO inscribed Cartagena in 1984 as one property covering the port, the fortresses and the monuments.
- In 1741 Admiral Edward Vernon besieged the city with some 180 ships and 20,000 men, and lost.
- Castillo San Felipe de Barajas was begun in 1657 and rebuilt so that each battery covers the one below it.
- Cartagena declared its independence from Spain on 11 November 1811, before Bogotá did.
- San Basilio de Palenque was recognised as free by the Spanish crown in 1691 and is considered the first free town in the Americas.

## Watch

[Cartagena Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/cartagena.md), 11:20

## Cartagena travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Cartagena?

Three is the working minimum. Day one is the walled city on foot, day two is San Felipe early, La Popa for the view and Getsemaní in the evening, and day three is the water. A fourth day buys San Basilio de Palenque or a slow morning at Bazurto.

### When is the best time to visit Cartagena?

December to March. That is the dry season, when the trade winds take the edge off the heat, and it is also the festival run: music and Hay in January, Candelaria on 2 February, FICCI in March. The rains build from August to November. It is hot all year, so the season decides rain and prices rather than temperature.

### Where should you stay in Cartagena?

Inside the walls if the architecture is why you came, and San Diego rather than the Centro for the same streets with fewer people. Getsemaní is ten minutes away, cheaper and louder after dark. Bocagrande is the modern strip with a beach you can walk to. Manga is quiet and needs a taxi for everything.

### How do you get to the Rosario islands?

By boat from the Muelle Turístico de la Bodeguita beside the walls, with departures through the morning and returns mid-afternoon. Most people buy a day pass through a beach club on Isla Grande, which covers the crossing and lunch. The park fee is separate and paid on arrival, so carry cash.

### Is Cartagena safe for visitors?

The walled city, San Diego, Getsemaní and Bocagrande are busy and heavily policed, and the everyday risk is petty theft and overcharging. Agree taxi fares before getting in or use an app, keep phones off the table at night, and say no once and clearly to street sellers. Bazurto is better visited in the morning.

## Nearby guides

- [Santa Marta](https://wimup.com/city/santa-marta.md): Colombia · 10 picks
- [Medellín](https://wimup.com/city/medellin.md): Colombia · 10 picks
- [Bogotá](https://wimup.com/city/bogota.md): Colombia · 10 picks
- [All of South America →](https://wimup.com/south-america): 39 cities

Part of the [Colombia guide](https://wimup.com/country/colombia.md) · [South America](https://wimup.com/south-america.md)

## Sources

- [Cartagena tourism board](https://colombia.travel/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The walled city and its ramparts: UNESCO listing](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/285/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (official site)](https://fortificacionescartagena.com.co/en/castle-of-san-felipe-de-barajas/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Islas del Rosario: Parques Nacionales](https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museo Histórico de Cartagena, the Palacio de la Inquisición (official site)](https://www.muhca.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museo del Oro Zenú (official site)](https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/sucursales/cartagena-museo-del-oro?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [San Basilio de Palenque: UNESCO listing](https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/cultural-space-of-palenque-de-san-basilio-00102?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Celele (official site)](https://celelerestaurante.com/en/home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Carmen (official site)](https://carmencartagena.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [La Cevichería (official site)](https://lacevicheriacartagena.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Candé (official site)](https://restaurantecande.com/en/home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Interno (official site)](http://restauranteinterno.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Alma (official site)](https://www.almacolombia.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museo Naval del Caribe (official site)](https://museonavaldelcaribe.org/en/naval-museum-of-the-caribbean-cartagena-home/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Silvia Tcherassi (official site)](https://silviatcherassi.com/pages/cartagena-boutique?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Rafael Núñez International Airport: Aerocivil](https://www.aerocivil.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Transcaribe (official site)](https://www.transcaribe.gov.co/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.