
What to see in Medellín
Entering Medellín already let’s you know that this is a vivid, economic and cultural city with an interesting background. But reducing this background to the biography of Pablo Escobar, would not honor the city in any way. There is much more to discover. I must say, I haven’t done much in Medellín. Which might have had something to do with my business of using the fully equipped kitchen and visiting a shop with locally produced vegan shoes.
Architecture
There are several interesting buildings reaching from old Cathedrals to modern blocks of materials forming a composition. Of the churches the Catedral Basilica Metropolitana and the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria are the more known. Other interesting buildings are the Casa de la Musica, Universidad de Antioquia and the Hospital Universitario San Vicente. The Plaza de Cisneros is another strange example of a modern form of building public space.
Art
Most well known is the Museo de Antioquia (18’000 Col$/5.7 Us$), which shows a permanent exhibition of Fernando Botero, as well as his own art collection that he contributed to the museum. This is the first art museum in South America that seems to have a concepted exhibition (aka. a curator) I visited. I was really happy to find a storytelling and confrontation of artworks that started to communicate. Until now it was normally more a mix of what they have, but not in this museum. In front of the museum there is the plazoleta de las esculturas with replicas of some of the most famous Botero sculptures.
The Museum of modern art of Medellín has temporary exhibitions of contemporary and modern art and is located between the center and el Poblado.
Culture
A tour through the Comuna 13 is definitely worth it. There is also some street art.
If you don’t want to spend time and money for that you can also take the teleferico that glides over the quarter. Make sure to go by daylight and it is not recommended to get off except at the beginning and the end of the route.

I stayed in the Casa Natural which is located in the Laureles quarter, a calm area. The kitchen was great. But this is not the hostel for meeting people. I had no contact at all, not even talks with the staff.

