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Cartagena
City in coastal northern Colombia

Cartagena

Cartagena, known since the imperial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea.

Plan a trip to Cartagena→From Barranquilla

Cartagena's past role as a link in the route to the West Indies provides it with important historical value for world exploration and preservation of heritage from the great commercial maritime routes. As a former Spanish colony, it was a key port for the export of Bolivian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. The city's strategic location between the Magdalena and Sinú rivers also gave it easy access to the interior of New Granada and made it a main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s.

Get in

Getting to Cartagena

  1. 01
    Rafael Núñez International Airport
See

Worth seeing

Cartagena has several faces; one of a dirty, sprawling Caribbean metropolis, in Bocagrande the one of a massive "hotel ghetto" and finally the old town with its well-polished face of a once affluent colonial city. Cartagena's main attraction is its historic old town surrounded by the city wall. Main entrance is the Clock Tower Building.

  1. 01
    Plaza de los Coches

    From Camellon de los Martires you pass through the historical city gate Puerta del Reloj, the gate of the clock, onto the triangular square Plaza de los Coches, the place of the carriages.

  2. 02
    Plaza de la Aduana

    Next to the former, there is another beautiful triangular square, Plaza de la Aduana, surrounded by impressive arcaded buildings.One of these is Casa del Premio real, the house of the Spanish viceroy.

  3. 03
    Convento & Iglesia de San Pedro Claver

    Named after Pedro Claver (1580-1654), a Spanish Jesuit who worked for 40 years for the rights and the wellbeing of the slaves in the city.

  4. 04
    Museo Naval del Caribe

    In a former Jesuit college right behind the convent.

  5. 05
    Plaza de Bolívar

    Some blocks inwards there's the Plaza de Bolívar with an equestrian statue of the liberation hero.

  6. 06
    Palacio de la Inquisición
Do

Things to do

Nearby coral reefs, powdery beaches, impressive mangroves, and waterways complement the historic and urban beauty. Chiva Bus. afternoons, evenings. Chiva Bus is a must do fun activity in Cartagena. If you've visited Cartagena for even a day you've undoubtedly seen the open air, colorful buses going through the city loaded with people having fun, drinking and enjoying the loud beat of local music.

  1. 01
    Raíces: Spanish & Culture
Eat

Where to eat

Cartagena features a rich fusion cuisine, combining ingredients and methods of the New and Old worlds, as well as of the original African, Arabian and other legacies of its inhabitants. Eating set menu lunches and dinners in local restaurants called 'corrientes' costs around COP$6,000.

  1. 01
    Torre Fuerte

    Cra.

  2. 02
    Restaurante Espiritu Santo

    Cl.

  3. 03
    Punto Tropical

    Cra.

  4. 04
    Restaurante 1595

    Cl.

  5. 05
    Pollo

    Cl.

How locals move

Getting around Cartagena the local way

  • Get inCartagena is an important port for charter boats between Colombia and Panama.
  • Go nextMany colectivos passing by the India Catalina can let you just at their door for COP$1,500.
  • Go nextTake a bus for COP$1,600 (March 2013), from India Catalina (Avenida Venezuela), if you get off of the bus at the end of the ride you can rent a canoe which brings you to a nice beach (Playa de Oro) passing trough lagoons and mangroves – pay for the boat once you are back.

From Wikivoyage: Cartagena (Colombia), CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.