Cartagena de Indias in two days: the best itinerary

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Day 11-12: Cartagena de Indias in two days: the best itinerary

With this route by Cartagena de Indias in two days We want to help you organize your second day in this incredible city after yesterday having made the route through the historic center, visiting the Center and San Diego, which are the two neighborhoods that make it up and that we include in the route through Cartagena de Indias in a day.

With this part of the city already covered, today we will dedicate it to get to know the Getsemaní neighborhood in addition to some places that are left out of these neighborhoods such as the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, which is another of the places to visit in Cartagena Indias de Indias and the Convent of the Popa.


What to see in Cartagena de Indias in two days

If your stay in the city allows you to have two days, the second day we recommend you dedicate it to Gethsemane, which is one of the most fashionable areas of the city where you can find many of the best known graffiti in addition to the typical streets that usually be seen on Instagram photos, which seem taken from a postcard.
A highly recommended option, if you want to know this neighborhood by the hand of a guide in Spanish, is to hire one of the best free tours in Cartagena de Indias or take the Cartagena Tourist Bus, which will take you to all the attractions of the city, including a stop in this neighborhood.

Recommended travel cards

Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.

You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Gethsemane, one of the places to visit in Cartagena de Indias in two days

Known for being one of the most conflictive neighborhoods in the city a few years ago, currently Gethsemane has changed a lot thanks to the restructuring project, in which many places and hotels have opted for the neighborhood, making it a benchmark for the city and One of the safest neighborhoods. Also here are some of the areas with more atmosphere, both day and night, such as the Plaza de la Trinidad, where every day, after sunset, you can enjoy street artists and live music.

Much quieter than the area of ​​the historic center, there are not so many tourist attractions here and street vendors have not yet arrived, Getsemaní is a perfect neighborhood to enjoy it quietly, losing yourself in its streets, while discovering some of the graffiti that have made Neighborhood an authentic open-air museum.
In addition to this, many streets have been adorned with flags, umbrellas or flags, something that has added charm, especially for Instagram fans who arrived in the neighborhood hoping to take the best photo.

Gethsemane, one of the places to visit in Cartagena de Indias in two days

Trinity Square

We could say that this is the center of the neighborhood and one of its most emblematic places as well as, of course, one of the places that you cannot miss in the Cartagena de Indias in two days. In addition to this, it is the place where the Church of the Holy Trinity is located, from which it takes its name.
During the day and from 9 in the morning you can see how the square starts to wake up when the locals sit on the stairs of the church or on one of the terraces that surround the square to spend the hottest hours in the shade of the trees.

Trinity Square

When you get here, don't just stay with the vision of the square and the church. We recommend you to surround it, paying special attention to the buildings, which are a perfect sample of the colonial cities that are located by the sea, with their outstanding colors and their music always playing in the background.
We assure you that this point is one of the liveliest in the city and one of the best if you want to contemplate the true life of Cartagena de Indias and on Sundays, from 20:30 to 21:30 you can enjoy free Zumba classes.

Route through graffiti

As it happens in Bogotá, street art is a very important part of Cartagena de Indias and in this case, this is embodied in Gethsemane. Although our recommendation is that you walk through the neighborhood without a fixed direction, so that you can surprise yourself as you find them, we leave you a selection of places where you can find the best samples so you don't miss any.

  • La Sierpe Street
  • San Juan Street
  • Trinity Square
  • Holy Spirit Street
  • 29th Street

Graffiti in Gethsemane

Gethsemane Streets

As with graffiti, in this Cartagena de Indias in two days, dedicated to the Getsemaní neighborhood, we want to leave you some of the ones we believe are essential so that you can take an image of the unforgettable neighborhood and do not miss any of the most scenic and photogenic.

Narrow Alley, one of the places to visit in Cartagena de Indias in two days

This is one of the most famous streets of Gethsemane and Cartagena de Indias. As they have done in many cities of the world, they have covered one of their umbrella streets and in this case, they have done it in the Narrow Alley, a pedestrian street, which does not stand out precisely for its architecture, since in this neighborhood they are few colonial houses that you can see, but that have been able to supply street art and ornaments in the sky of its streets. Something they have achieved and very well, since we are practically all travelers what we ended up here at some point in our route through Cartagena in 2 days.

Streets of Gethsemane, places you cannot miss in Cartagena de Indias in two days

If you want to take a picture without people, we recommend you go between 7:30 and 9 which is when there are less crowds. From that time, it will be practically impossible to get a photo in which a tourist or local is not seen walking.

Holy Spirit Street

Next to the Narrow Alley we find the Calle del Espiritu Santo which is another of the most photogenic in the neighborhood. Here you can find a street covered with flags, which is also one of the most photogenic in the neighborhood.

Holy Spirit Street

27th Street

Not long ago, this street, at the height of the Raza Mulata bar, which has one of the most beautiful graffiti in the neighborhood, was adorned with flags with the flags of each country. Although during the day it looks spectacular, it is at night, with the lighting, when it shows its most spectacular face.

7th street in Gethsemane

Other streets and areas that you cannot miss are the ones mentioned below. Some are repeated, since in addition to standing out for being beautiful, they have prominent graffiti somewhere on the street.
Something to keep in mind is that both graffiti and street ornaments are not permanent and in many cases they are changing, so as we have commented on several occasions, the best thing about Cartagena in two days is that you walk through the Getsemaní neighborhood with the predisposition to let go and surprise you.

  • Trinidad Square
  • San Juan Street
  • The serpent
  • Holy Spirit Street
  • Tripita and Media Street
  • Tortuga Street
  • Guerrero Street

Gethsemane

Plazoleta del Pozo

This is another point that you can not miss in Gethsemane, which is also known as the place that supplied water to all the residents of the neighborhood thanks to the well that is still preserved in the central part of the square.
In addition to this, you can see several sculptures that adorn the square and some streets of the neighborhood.

Plazoleta del Pozo

Arrived at this point in Cartagena de Indias in one day, it is probably time to take a break. For this, we recommend you go to the Plaza de la Trinidad and sit on a terrace to have a coconut lemonade, one of the most famous drinks in Colombia, which consists of mixing lemonade with coconut, what is vice!
After this stop to cool down, you can go to one of the most recommended restaurants in the neighborhood.
We ate at DiSilvio, a highly recommended Italian, where we ordered a pizza, Alfredo pasta plus crostini, beer and water for 71500COP.

DiSilvio

After eating, our proposal for Cartagena de Indias in two days is to visit the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas, where you can arrive by taxi by 8000COP. Keep in mind that at this time of day it is usually very hot, so it is important to hydrate yourself or in case you do not want to take photos without people in Gethsemane, reverse the order of visits and do this first thing in the morning.

San Felipe de Barajas Castle, another place to see in Cartagena de Indias in 2 days

The Castle of San Felipe de Barajas is another place to include in this route through Colombia for free.
Considered as the most important fortress built by the Spaniards, the castle began to be built in 1657, on the top of the hill of San Lorenzo, and later, in 1762, expanded to become a castle that could never be assaulted due to its Good defense.

San Felipe de Barajas Castle

The visit will take you about two hours and if you want to know the whole story, it is advisable to take the audio guide for 10000COP. In addition to the historical interest, the views of the city from the highest part are spectacular.
Remember that most of the route is done under the sun and the temperatures are high, so it is important to bring enough protection and water.
Hours: 8h-18h
Price: 25000COP

Views of the city from the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas

Old Shoes Monument

Located very close to the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas is the Monument of the Old Shoes, work of Lombana that represents a tribute to the poem "To my native city" by Luis Carlos López.

Old Shoes Monument, another place to see in Cartagena de Indias in two days

If you have extra time, you can add to the route through Cartagena de Indias in two days the visit to the Convent of the Popa, where you can go by taxi for about 50000COP. This convent is located on the highest hill in the city 150 meters away and was founded by Augustinian parents in 1607.
In addition to the interest of the place, the panoramic views of the city are excellent. In the end, due to lack of time, we didn't go, but we think it can be a good option if you have that extra time.

Gethsemane, one of the places to visit in Cartagena de Indias in two days

Tips to visit Gethsemane on the route through Cartagena de Indias in two days

We leave you some tips and recommendations to visit Getsemaní, the trendy neighborhood of Cartagena de Indias.

As we have said on several occasions, we recommend staying in this neighborhood if you want to enjoy the tranquility of the place and the charm, but at the same time be close to the historic center. We opted for Casa Venita Hostal Boutique which turned out to be a very successful accommodation option in Cartagena de Indias.
In addition, staying in the neighborhood will allow you to go out early in the morning to walk its streets, when there is practically no one to take pictures without people and walk quietly.
Remember that the historic center is less than 10 minutes walk, so you will be in the heart of the city without having to endure the crowds that usually cram the streets or the vendors that are usually in the most central area of ​​the city.
Whenever you can take advantage of the night to go around the area, as it is one of the liveliest in the city, especially the Plaza de la Trinidad, where we recommend you sit on one of the terraces to enjoy the atmosphere.
Another option to enjoy a special night is to book this Cruise with dinner in Cartagena.

Gethsemane

After the route through Gethsemane in Cartagena de Indias in two days, we recommend you go to the Celele restaurant, another of the most recommended restaurants in the city, in which we ordered some syrup empanadas as an entree, eggplant and mussels as the second most dessert water and wine for 175000COP. Excellent!

Celele Restaurant

If you have more days in Cartagena de Indias it may be advisable to do any of these excursions to the surroundings:

Excursion to Playa Blanca
Excursion to the Island of Enchantment
Excursion to Santa Marta and Barranquilla
Excursion to the Rosario Islands
More excursions here

Gethsemane

We leave you the important points to know Cartagena de Indias in two days.

Day 13: How to go to Santa Marta in Colombia

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Video: Cartagena Colombia in 3 days (March 2024).