A small, arty barrio on the hillside just north of La Candelaria — galleries, bohemian restaurants and cafés on steep, leafy streets, near the bullring and central park. Central, characterful and a touch safer and calmer than the old town; the base for travellers who want art, good food and easy access to both the historic core and the north.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
€50–110
typical per night in Colombia
The sensible middle
Typical prices for Bogotá — neither steal nor splurge.
Where it sits
The circle is La Macarena and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- Monserrate17 min walk1.4 km
- The Gold Museum17 min walk1.5 km
- Plaza Bolívar24 min walk2.0 km
- The Botero Museum25 min walk2.0 km
- La Candelaria old town25 min walk2.1 km
- Colombian coffee12 min taxi3.9 km
- Ajiaco & Colombian food30 min taxi9.9 km
- Usaquén & its Sunday market30 min taxi9.9 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 6.A graffiti street-art tour — Bogotá has one of the best street-art scenes on earth, and a walking tour of La Candelaria's murals is one of the city's highlights — huge, brilliant works of protest, indigenous pride and pure imagination, with the stories of the artists and the city behind them. Eye-opening, free-to-tip and a brilliant way to read modern Colombia off its walls. Don't miss it.
- 9.Paloquemao market — Bogotá's great central market — a riot of colour and smell where the city buys its food, its dawn flower market a spectacle in itself, and the fruit section a chance to taste dozens of weird and wonderful tropical fruits you've never heard of. Go early with a guide or a curious appetite; a vivid, sensory plunge into everyday Colombia, and a paradise for food-lovers.
- 12.The Sunday Ciclovía — Every Sunday and holiday, Bogotá closes 120 km of its main avenues to cars, and the whole city comes out to cycle, skate, jog and stroll — a joyful, world-famous celebration of car-free streets, with free exercise classes and food stalls along the way. Rent a bike and join in; it's one of the loveliest, most local things you can do in the city, and utterly infectious.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to La Macarena; flights via Google Flights.