CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA - DECEMBER 12: Tourists walk along the colorfully painted colonial houses in the ... [+]
Cartagena is a great city for a weekend visit. It’s a relatively short flight from the United States with many direct options from major cities. The city is famous for its tropical climate year-round, colorful architecture and great cuisine. There are plenty of high-end and more budget-friendly hotels to choose from and with its highly walkable old city, it’s a very easy city to navigate. I recently spent a weekend there, here are my highlights of the city.
Stay
Casa de Alba is a renovated colonial mansion in the center of Cartagena’s walled city that can be booked in its entirety for a big group or family. If the whole property isn’t already reserved, you can book individual rooms, which is what I did when I visited. I had a sprawling suite with a large bathroom and massive closet area, so if you like to bring a lot of outfits, this is the right hotel for you. The hotel has a lot of old-world charm and quickly transports you to a bygone time once you enter its walls.
The ground level pool is the focal point of the property and is surrounded by long hanging vines making it a beautiful place to sit, relax and go for a swim. My room came with a balcony overlooking the pool and was the perfect spot to eat an al fresco breakfast. Breakfast is a nice mix of fruit, eggs, pastries and my favorite, caldo, a bouillon type of soup with chicken. A really nice touch at this hotel is that after a day of sightseeing and exploration you can come home to an an Aperitivo, a few bites and a cocktail around 6 pm. Also make sure to spend some time at the hotel rooftop which overlooks a cathedral.
Balcony breakfast at Casa de Alba.
Eat/Drink
When I asked Andres Diaz, my Colombian friend and one of the masterminds behind NYC restaurant and nightlife destination Her Name Was Carmen he told me that I absolutely had to have the crab nachos at Harry’s Bar at the Hotel Charleston Santa Theresa. Since it’s not really a Colombian dish, I was surprised by his recommendation but of course, I obliged. Now I can see why I had to try it — it’s rich, flavorful and a sophisticated take on a bar food classic. It’s also super filling so keep that in mind if you still have dinner plans after. Alma is a restaurant that came highly recommended to me, in particular for its great décor and friendly service. There are lots of great hearty dishes to try there, for example cazuela (a large soup with meat and corn), beef churrasco or seafood pasta. If you’re in the mood for a good cocktail head to Carmen for a fun nightcap. Their lulo mojoitos are absolutely worth trying, especially if you’ve never had the lulo fruit before. Another tropical concoction is their Catrina cocktail made with mango and passion fruit liqueur, Alacran silver tequila, orange and almond syrup. The drink has a nice kick to it and will prime you for potential night out later.
Shopping
St Dom is a famous and chic place to shop in Cartagena where you can stock up on bags, accessories and clothes that feature the city’s signature fun and colorful style. I also stocked up on a lot of colorful perfect for the beach or the beach party dresses at Kia San Lorenzo. There was a lot of variety of colors and the salespeople showed me many different ways that dresses could be worn. The pieces were perfect for my stay in Cartagena and also worked equally well when I went to Mykonos and Santorini a few weeks later.
Even though I had a chance to get a good glimpse of Cartagena, I felt like there was still a lot to do, see and most importantly eat. I’ll definitely be back in this seaside city.
