Cartagena
A world heritage site, Cartagena de Indias is a city where history is palpable in its walls, its Spanish colonial architecture and impressive military and religious monuments that harmoniously combine with broad beaches, exotic islands nearby and the pleasure of an encounter in bars, cafes, restaurants or discos.
As well as being the most important tourist centre on the Colombian Caribbean coast, Cartagena is one of the most important centers for business meetings, summits, conventions and artistic and cultural events in the Latin American Caribbean.
It has complete facilities for holding such events, an international airport, a conventions center equipped with all the facilities of modern information technologies, expert tour operators and organizers of congresses, complemented by excellent hotels of varied styles and for all budgets.
We invite you to discover the magic of the Caribbean, the gaiety of our people, the magic of the colonial architecture and the historical evocation of our city, which awaits you with open arms.
History
Founded in 1533 by the Spanish conqueror Don Pedro de Heredia, Cartagena de Indias is privileged for its history and geography. It rapidly became the jewel in Spain’s crown, the beginning and end of the Galleon Route between the Iberian Peninsula and the New World. To defend it from the constant attacks of corsairs, buccaneers and every kind of freebooter, the most imposing circle of walls and fortifications in South America was erected.
The colonial villa developed between the XIV and XIX centuries, with an architectural richness in civil, religious, military and governmental buildings that bear living witness to the city’s exciting history.
Cartagena de Indias was also the first province to become independent from the Spanish Crown on November 11, 1811, which is celebrated every year with colorful fiestas.
The city
Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO, Cartagena de Indias is Colombia’s premier tourist center, a first-class port on the Caribbean and an international venue for summits, conventions and congresses, and for diplomatic, governmental, industrial and business meetings.
A series of factors combine to make Cartagena de Indias unique: the colonial villa contrasts with the impressive modern buildings of the Bocagrande sector and its location on the Caribbean has 19 kms of beaches within the urban area. In addition, we have exotic islands whose surrounding waters are the perfect venue for doing water sports. The cultural richness that the city provides is simply incomparable. Here you can have a close encounter with art and come across sculptures located in the squares or enjoy multiple events of this type that take place in the city, together with a local population of a Caribbean flavor — lively, warm and very hospitable.
Hotels
Cartagena de Indias has an excellent hotel infrastructure of 3.484 rooms and 7.133 beds in different categories of hotel and for all budgets and tastes. You can find quiet hotels located in modern cloisters and colonial houses situated in the historical center of the city, duly remodeled with all the comforts of modern living and to the highest hotel standards. There are also imposing modern buildings situated on the sea front of the tourist sector of Bocagrande and the visitor can enjoy warm and fun hotel resorts located on the beach.
Cuisine
The experts affirm that eating is a pleasure for all the senses. If this premise is correct, Cartagena de Indias offers visitors an experience that is most appreciable. You can enjoy local dishes inspired by the tradition of the sea and of a port city, infused with Caribbean flavor of fruits such as coconut, mango and plantain, interlaced with an international cuisine that is enriched by Italian and Arabian immigrants.
However, this is not all — perhaps more important is where you can enjoy these dishes; on a romantic bay-side pier or on a bastion or colonial square in the open air and surrounded by monuments, or perhaps in a beautiful old house that has been remodeled, or on the beach, or if you prefer, you can enjoy fast food served in a modern ambience. The options are multiple and the international experience is ample, but the one constant feature is that at every place where the dish is served, it is served with a large dose of excitement.
Convention centres
Cartagena de Indias is an ideal for holding meetings, congresses and conventions. The city has a modern Conventions Center with 19.185 m2 of construction and a capacity for 3.500 participants, equipped with cutting-edge technologies and communications, where important summits and conventions are held at the highest diplomatic, political, governmental, industrial and business level, such as the XI Summit of Non Aligned Countries, meetings between Latin American Presidents, international business macro rounds, and important congresses and conventions of the most relevant companies and economic sectors in the modern world. In addition, some of the hotels provide salons with capacities that vary between 40 and 1.500 participants.
The historical attractions provide these kinds of events with impressive venues for social meetings in squares, on walls, beside monuments or on beaches — your closing parties will be simply unforgettable.
Nightlife
In Cartagena de Indias the night is an accomplice for all tastes. For those who want a peaceful atmosphere there are cafes and bars located in the historical centre and the Bocagrande sector, some on bastions in the open air, others on historical squares, others on exotic quays and opposite the sea, ideal for chatting and playing charades.
For the lively, Cartagena de Indias has many discotheques and bars, many of which recreate a colonial ambience, mixing lounge, salsa, hip-hop, merengue, tropical-techno and other Caribbean rhythms, including champeta, a genre inspired by African music and which is firmly rooted in the city. You could also enjoy spots specializing in electronic music or enjoy a fiesta in an old ruin with all kinds of laser shows and well-known international DJs.
Shopping
While enjoying a quiet walk around the walled town or the Bacagrande and El Laguito sectors, you can enter endless stores where you can buy anything from clothing by famous designers, antiques, pre-Hispanic objects, objects relating to the sea, or products made from high-quality leather, to the famous Colombian emeralds, beautifully worked and set, along with coffee, another of the country’s insignia products, and beautiful handicrafts, 100% hand made in different materials, textures and for different uses.
Souvenirs can be found on every corner and you can take back home any of the many products sold in the stores to keep the excitement of the city alive in your memory.
Attractions
Being bored is unknown in Cartagena. You can enjoy a trip around the city in an open-sided bus accompanied by a live music group, a romantic trip in a horse-drawn carriage to the accompaniment of a glass of wine, enjoying a day- or night-time stroll through the colonial center, a trip by boat at sunset that reminds one of the era of pirates, a game of tennis or mini-golf, water sports such as fishing, diving, windsurfing or skiing in beautiful and safe areas, or simply getting a tan on the beach while you enjoy a beer or coco loco.
After a 40 minute crossing on a pleasant mini cruise, you reach a beautiful and exotic archipelago of transparent and multicolored waters where you can go diving.
Here you will find one of the most beautiful aquariums in the Caribbean on the island of San Martín de Pajarales. You can admire numerous species and enjoy the spectacle of trained dolphins. Eco-tourism is another attraction: you can visit spacious botanical gardens with a rich variety of Caribbean flora, on some specialized farms you can observe the behavior of reptiles such as crocodiles and serpents, and at Totumo Volcano you can enjoy a healing medicinal mud bath.
For all these activities, the city has a number of tour operators and travel agencies that design your tours in accordance with your wishes.
Events
The city is constantly graced by famous visitors attending some important events in Cartagena de Indias: the Film Festival that attracts a variety of stars such as Danny Glover, Mick Jagger or Jane Chaplin, or the bullfighting season that is graced by world famous bullfighters such as Colombia’s César Rincón or July.
Also the recently inaugurated Race of the Stars with the presence of Juan Pablo Montoya, Adrián Fernández, Marc Gené and other stars of Formula One and Formula Kart racing, the National Beauty Contest, and the November Fiestas, among so many other events at different levels, make the city a place much visited by well-known figures from all over the world, such as ex President Bill Clinton who came on two occasions.
Port facilities
Cartagena de Indias has the most important container port and tourist quay for cruise ships on the Colombian Caribbean coast. The geographical location and natural conditions of the bay favour the docking of large ships. The access channel has a depth of up to 41 meters, which permits ample and secure operations throughout the year. The terminal has 9 berths.
Airport facilities
Cartagena’s “Rafael Núñez” International Airport has a 2.600-meter runway at sea level and provides sufficient capacity for modern long-range aircraft to operate without difficulty. There is space on the docking platform for eleven aircraft and an open skies policy for charter flights.