BOGOTá IN ONE DAY: THE BEST ROUTE

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Day 2: Bogotá in one day: the best route

A route by Bogotá in one day It is the planning we have for today, although we have to confess that the idea was to start the day a little later, especially after yesterday's flight to Bogotá. But nothing is further from reality and it seems that the jet lag has affected us and since 4 in the morning we are wide-eyed, so we decided after working for a while, take the opportunity to have breakfast early in the room, since The Grace Hotel, our accommodation in Bogotá next nights, has no restaurant service, although we do not miss it for anything after seeing the incredible breakfast they serve us and the professional service they offer client.

Breakfast at The Grace Hotel

A few minutes past 8 when we decide that the time has come to start the route through Bogotá asking for an Uber that by 11000COP will take us from the Chapinero Alto area, where we are staying, to La Candelaria which is the first point we want to visit on the route today by Bogotá in one day.
But during the journey we pass through the funicular entrance of the Cerro de Monserrate, one of the places we want to visit tomorrow, but seeing that today the day is very clear, we make a quick change of plans and tell the driver to leave us here to be able to make this visit, something that also makes us reduce the cost of the trip to 8900COP by being closer than La Candelaria.

Monserrate Hill

Known for being one of the places to visit in Bogotá, the Cerro de Monserrate is visible practically from the entire valley of Bogotá and from its top, at 3150 meters, you can see on the clear days the Nevado del Tolima in the volcanic massif of the Los Nevados National Natural Park.
In addition to the climb, which you can do on foot, by funicular or by cable car, and during which you will have incredible views, another of the things you can not miss is the Church of the Fallen Lord, one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in The city and the country.
And of course, we recommend you to do the Viacrucis, which will not take you more than 30 minutes and will allow you to explore the area, even seeing some hummingbird.

Views of Bogotá from the Cerro de Monserrate

Schedule Cerro de Monserrate: Monday to Saturday: 6:30 am to 12am (midnight). Last sale at the box office: 9pm or until the capacity limit is reached / Sundays: 5:30 am to 10pm. Last sale at the box office until 8pm or until the capacity limit is met.
Funicular schedule and price: Monday to Friday: 6:30 am to 11:45 pm / Saturday: 6:30 am to 4pm - 12000COP (one way) - 21000COP (round trip) / Sunday and holidays: 5:30 am to 4:30 pm - 6500COP (one way) - 12000COP (round trip)
Schedule and price Cable Car: Monday to Saturday: 12pm to 11:30 pm 12000COP (one way) - 21000COP (round trip) / Sunday: 10:30 am to 16:30 pm 6500COP (one way) - 12000COP (round trip). Holidays there is no service.

Monserrate Hill

Tips to climb the Cerro de Monserrate

We leave you a series of tips to visit the Cerro de Monserrate:

Do not forget that when you climb the Cerro de Monserrate you will be at 3170 meters, an altitude that your body will probably notice, so it is important to take it easy and not make many efforts.
The most advisable thing is to climb after being one or two days in Bogotá, which is 2600 meters above sea level, so that your body has adapted. We did not do so since seeing that the day was clear, we prefer not to leave it for the next day. In doing so we were hydrated and we tried not to make any extra effort so that our body did not tire excessively the first day we were in the city.
We choose to go up by funicular as it starts from very early in the morning and so you can get up early in the day. Although we were during the week we have read that on Sundays, being cheaper, it is usually very crowded, so we believe it is more advisable to go on a weekday.
Another option is to climb in the afternoon, to see the sunset, which we were told, if the sky is clear, it is wonderful.
Remember that you can also walk up or down but keep in mind that the trail opens from 5am to 1pm to climb and from 5am to 16h to get off, the price is 6000COP and for what we have read, the tour is quite demanding.
Between the ascent, the visit and the descent, by cable car or funicular, it counts approximately 1: 30-2 hours of visit.
In addition to the viacrucis, the church and the views, on the Cerro de Monserrate you can find a couple of restaurants and in the area behind the church, a small craft market.

Church of the Fallen Lord

After doing the viacrucis and walking around the area, when it is 10 in the morning we leave the Cerro de Monserrate, after enjoying unique views of the city and decide to walk to the next point of the route by Bogotá in one day, which is the Journalists Park and is 1 kilometer from the hill.

Journalists Park

This park, located between the Cerro de Monserrate and the neighborhood of La Candelaria, is famous since during the 1960s, it is the place where journalists and poets who worked in the different media buildings that were in area.
Here is also the temple of Bolívar, in which you can see a sculpture of Simón Bolívar.

Journalists Park

After this brief stop in Bogotá in one day, we continue the route entering La Candelaria, one of the most emblematic places of the capital and one of the places that you can not miss on a route through Colombia that passes through Bogotá.

Recommended travel cards
If you do not want to pay commissions when withdrawing money from ATMs in Colombia and always have the current exchange, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Revolut card and the BNEXT card to get money and save all commissions. All are free and also with Bnext they will give you 5 euros.
You can find much more information in the post of the best cards to travel without commissions.

La Candelaria, one of the places you cannot miss on the route through Bogotá in one day

Known for being the colonial neighborhood of Bogotá, this network of colorful streets is one of the places you cannot miss in the city and we would even dare to say, one of the first you should visit to understand What does it mean for the history of the city.
Packed with colonial-style houses, some more restored than others, all give an image full of color, which is mixed with the cheerful local crafts and restaurants that dot streets that are a delight to walk around.

In spite of that, it is important to know that this area is not the most advisable to walk at night, or at least they told us, so in case you want to go out in the area after sunset, it is advisable not Bring valuables and ask at your accommodation if there are any areas to avoid.

La Candelaria

What to see in La Candelaria

Within the neighborhood of La Candelaria there are many important points that we recommend you not to miss, including many of the best known and tourist places in Bogotá.

Funnel Alley

If you want to enjoy the street art of Bogotá you can not miss a walk through this narrow street in the neighborhood of La Candelaria, known for its examples of street art. Although in the whole neighborhood you can see samples of this art, it is in this street and in the Plaza Chorro de Quevedo where some of the best known and most famous examples are concentrated.

Callejón del Embudo, one of the places to see in Bogotá in one day

If you want to take photos, we recommend you to come in the morning, which is the quietest moment since from noon there are usually more tourists and organized groups that make tours around the area such as this Guided tour of the La Candelaria neighborhood, highly recommended If you want to know the history and details of the neighborhood.

Chorro de Quevedo Square

At one end of the Callejón del Embudo we find the Plaza Chorro de Quevedo, which they say is the place where the city of Bogotá originated. This event is also shared with the Primada Cathedral, since there are few who say that it was really in it that the city began to be created.
Whatever the origin of Bogotá, what you can not do is miss this place, in which we recommend you sit in one of its banks and enjoy life only, while watching the transfer of street vendors, street performers and Come and go from the premises in the small white church that decorates one of the corners of this charming square.

Chorro de Quevedo Square

Despite what we said before this area is not the most advisable to walk at night, we must also say that they told us that it is one of the most lively, next to the Funnel Alley, when the sun goes down. We do not verify it, but we are sure that it is so and that doing it with common sense, there is no reason for anything to happen.

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Botero Museum, another stop in Bogotá in one day

Belonging to the museums managed by the Bank of the Republic, next to the Mint and the Art Collection and Art Museum, the Botero Museum is for us, another of the essentials that you can not miss in Bogotá.
With two floors, this museum you can see a selection of Fernando Botero's extensive work, in which paintings and sculptures that the artist himself donated to the city stand out.
In addition to these, in several rooms you can also see works by Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Miró and Dalí, among others.

Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Saturday: 09am to 19pm / Sunday: 10am to 17pm / Tuesday closed.
Price: Free

Botero Museum

Mint

Located next to the Botero Museum, in the same complex, we find this museum that houses a large collection of numismatics as well as an art collection that includes pieces from the pre-Columbian era.
We only visited several rooms since we did not have much time and we preferred to visit the rest of the places we had pointed out of the route. Bogotá in one day.

Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Saturday: 09am to 19pm / Sunday: 10am to 17pm / Tuesday closed.
Price: Free

Mint

Art Collection

In the same location as the previous two, this art collection is another one belonging to the Bank of the Republic and consists of 800 pieces distributed in several rooms in which works by Colombian artists, including two paintings by Luis Caballero.
As in the previous one, we made a quick visit, since we prefer to dedicate the time we had to the Botero Museum and the rest of the places we wanted to see in La Candelaria.

Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Saturday: 09am to 19pm / Sunday: 10am to 17pm / Tuesday closed.
Price: Free

Stroll through the neighborhood

At this point and before going to eat, we recommend you stop at the Juan Valdez cafeteria, where you can have a coffee from this famous franchise and also take advantage of the free Wi-Fi they have to check all the places you have already visited or remain to be seen on the route by Bogotá in one day.
And how could it be otherwise, another recommendation is to stroll through the neighborhood of La Candelaria, losing yourself in the streets, without a map, to enjoy its colonial architecture, color and street art, which are the real protagonists of the neighborhood.
Remember that if you want to get to know Bogotá in a closer way, it is highly recommended to book a free tour of Bogotá, considered one of the best free tours in Bogotá.

La Candelaria, one of the places on the route through Bogotá in one day

After the walk and being in this area of Bogotá, you can not miss eating at Puerta Falsa, one of the most famous restaurants in Bogotá, where we order ajiqco, sausages, orange juice and soursop juice for 51000COP. Everything great! Keep in mind that there are usually a lot of people although the rotation is quite fast, so if you don't want to wait long, it is important to come first. You cannot pay by card.

False Door Restaurant

After eating and following the route of Bogotá in one day, we approach Plaza Bolívar, the nerve center of the city, where we spend more than 30 minutes enjoying the atmosphere and the hustle and bustle that seems to never stop in this city.

Plaza Bolivar

Known for being the meeting point for tourists and locals, Plaza Bolívar is another place you can not miss in the city. In addition to enjoying the atmosphere that invades the square at any time of the day, you can not miss a walk without forgetting to make a stop at the statue of Simón Bolivar, which was the first public monument of the city, and in the Shrine Chapel, which is today the only colonial building left in the square.

Plaza Bolivar

Primada Cathedral

With neoclassical architecture, the Primada Cathedral is for many the place where I think Bogotá for being here where the first mass was celebrated after its foundation although as we mentioned earlier, some historians say that it was held in the Plaza Chorro de Quevedo.
With 4 different structures before which we can see today, which disappeared for different reasons, including a bad foundation and an earthquake, the cathedral that we can see today has practically no ornaments, so it is not too much lucida, although in one of the chapels you can see the tomb of Jiménez de Quesada, founder of the city.

Mass hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 12pm / Sunday: 10am, 12pm to 13:30 pm
Price: Free

Primada Cathedral

After the visit to the Cathedral we approached Casa Nariño and the Santa Clara Museum, which being Monday is closed and we will visit tomorrow, but we want to leave you in this post, as it enters into the places to see in La Candelaria on a route by Bogotá in one day.

Nariño House

Located in the southern part of Plaza Bolívar we find Casa Nariño, a neoclassical building, which is the Presidential Palace. Although you can visit, for this you must send an email or make the reservation through its website, we decided to stay only with the external vision, that the truth is not very wide, since it is quite covered and also, due to the situation Current policy, with the stoppages of the last days, is also heavily guarded by the police.

Nariño House

Santa Clara Museum

Built between 1626 and 1629, Santa Clara is next to the church of San Francisco, one of the oldest churches in the city. It is currently a museum, managed by the Government, and we assure you that it is one of the most recommended visits in Bogotá.
Inside, incredibly ornate, you can see in addition to the explanations of the church and its evolution, a nave of a vault, with an incredible ornamentation in which different religious paintings stand out.

Hours: Tuesday to Friday: 09 am-17pm / Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 16pm
Price: 3000COP

Santa Clara Museum, another stop in Bogotá in one day

It's 6 in the afternoon when after taking a walk on race 6, one of the liveliest streets in Bogotá and walking around the most central area of the city, taking the opportunity to buy a Claro SIM card, which we talked about in the previous post, when we take an Uber that for 10000COP takes us to The Grace Hotel, where we rest a while after the route by Bogota in one day, at 7:30 p.m. approach the Cantina y Punto Restaurant, where we order two different taco specialties, chorizo casserole, juice and beer for 100000COP with which we enjoy a dinner that recharges us energies for tomorrow, continue with the route for Bogotá.

We leave you a map with the route we have done today through Bogotá in 1 day, which includes the Cerro de Monserrate and the La Candelaria neighborhood.