These suggestions are based on what I like most about the City. I'm Colombian but, have never lived in Bogota. The City is big and I am sure there are many other things to see and do.
When people ask me what I like to do when I go to Colombia, I always say I can't stop going because of the food, shopping, and dancing. Most of my family lives in the US, so my trips are basically just to visit my friends. I've met a lot of people that think Colombia is in the middle of a jungle, and that there is nothing interesting to see, do, or buy. When I moved to the US, I used to get very upset when people would make jokes about Pablo Escobar. Finally they ask me about Shakira when I say I'm from Colombia.
My favorites things to bring back are inexpensive handicrafts and earrings, leather products, 18 K gold jewlery, emeralds, inexpensive silver jewelry, and Coffee. Shopping for clothes is also great since sereval European brands have their factories in Medellin. I specially love
naf-naf,
americanino,
chevignon,
diesel. My boyfriend is now a number 1 fan of the Colombian brand
Arturo Calle. This is a huge men's clothing store with very good quality items at low prices. I also love buying underwear and bathing suits. The quality is very good and the designs are very unique. I mostly buy from
Touche, but there are other brands that are very well known like
Onda de Mar and
Agua Bendita. The prices are a little high, but I've had some of these bathing suits for over 10 years and they still look good. The sizes are not big, and the have very little coverage just like brazilian bikinis.
La Zona T, Calle 82 Cra 11. This is my favorite area of Bogota. It is call "La T" because of 2 pedestrian streets that intersect and form a T. This area is surrounded by 3 upscale malls: Andino, Atlantis Plaza and El Retiro. The Hard Rock Cafe is located in Atlantis. My favorite jewlery store,
Pequenas Indulgencias, is located in El Retiro. Andino is also a great mall where you can find all of the brands that I recommend.
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| La T |
Usaquén: Carrera 7, Calle 119. This area is located in the north end of the City. It used to be a town outside of Bogota, but the City grew so much that it took over and it was added to the City. Usaquen still has the original town's church and plaza. This area looks beautiful especially during christmas. The main square is surrounded by many nice restaurants and bars. I particularly love Cafe Amarti and Bogota Beer Company. One of my favorite restaurants from Cali "El Arca" has a location a few blocks from the plaza. On Sundays, the Usaquén flea market is the best place to shop for handicrafts.
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| Uzaquen's Square |
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| Usaquen |
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| Usaquen |
Hacienda Santa Bárbara: Carrera 7 No. 116 - 05. This was an old hacienda and it became a mall. This is only a few blocks from Usaquen.
Unicentro: Carrera 15 between Calles 120 and 127. Another shopping mall worth visiting if you are close, but most stores are already in the "T".
Parque de la 93:
Calle 93 between Carrera 11 and 13. A trendy section of Bogotá with clubs and restaurants.
Monserrate: Going to the
Cerros (mountains) to see the church and also to have a panoramic view of the City. You can take the
Funicular (train) or a
Teleferico (cable railway). At the top of the hill there is a chuch, a restaurant, and a small craft's market. I have only been to Monserrate once and I was dizzy in the teleferico, but the train looked 10 times worse!!
http://www.cerromonserrate.com/
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| Entrance to the Teleferico station |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Photo Credit: Andi Perullo |
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| Monserrate from the Botero Museum |
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