We spent seven weeks in the state of Antioquia, Colombia, primarily in Medellin, with shorter visits to Pereira and Retiro. “That is long enough to become a paisano,” one man said, kindly. Of course it is not, but it is long enough to repeat one’s steps and see the same people on the same corner. It is long enough to become a regular customer of the woman who sells avocados from her cart and the man who sells mangoes and plantains. And that is the first thing I recommend you do, even if your time is short:
1. Support a local vendor.
2. Almuerzo Find a comfortable cafe that serves a menu del dia for lunch, M-F. You will know you are in the right place if groups, wearing the same shirt or work tags, are putting tables together and enjoying each other’s company. This way, you can have an inexpensive and delicious lunch and be part of the daily life of the city. We found two places and alternated. It made us feel—if not like paisanos—at least not like strangers.
Metro Station Medellin
3. Use public transit. Ride the Metro in Medellin and the intercity bus in Retiro. Both are intimidating at first, so give yourself time. The Metro can be tricky to get to on foot. There is a safe way that doesn’t require dashing across a busy street, but it takes time to figure out. The tickets can be complicated because the machines don’t always work. When you do get a card, put ample money on it. Avoid rush hour, or plan to go the opposite direction of most working people. The Metros are clean, and the people are kind, especially if you’ve got some age on you, as I do.
The buses around Retiro in the countryside will pick you up and drop you off anywhere, but that takes a little learning to communicate. Find another person to wait with, and sit up front so you can communicate with the driver where you want to get off. Cost varies as well. These things are intimidating, but worth it for the opportunity to witness many acts of daily kindness as people take care of each other on the bus. Children, elders, people with disabilities, and anyone with packages will be helped without fanfare. Ayudantes hold arms, backpacks, and babies. I got used to strong arms making sure I landed safely into a seat and the street: a good feeling. 
4. Visit the Botanical Garden in Medellin. It is free, but be ready to show your ID. Plan to spend hours there. There are two lunch places, one fancy, the other Colombian/affordable but still pretty in atmosphere. Enjoy the exquisite flowers, birds, iguanas, people-watching, and walking on flat, wide, safe paths. This is one of the few places in Medellin that provides freedom of movement for people in wheelchairs. The circle is about 1/2 mile. Stay the afternoon and get your miles in. On the day we went, there was a large yoga class in the center of the garden, a stiich-and bitch group sitting on the ground, knitting and exchanging gossip. An extended family played a two-team game, adults and little ones against teenagers. Photographers followed girls in peacock gowns.
5. The Modern Art Museum in Medellin has a long tradition of collecting art that speaks truth to power. The older exhibits upstairs provide much history, and the recent exhibits make acute comments on immigration, the climate crisis in the Amazon, genocide, inequality, drug wars, and US intervention.
6. Ride the Metrocable cars in Medellin and Pereira. They are not for tourists but are part of the Metro system, connecting mountainside communities with city centers, quickly and without clogging the streets. They will give you a birds-eye view of the mountainside neighborhoods. Medellin and Pereira’s class divide is represented by those whose homes scrape the sky and those whose dwellings hug the mountain. There are also people living in scrap housing, on the streets, and in hovels along the river. The mountainside communities look precarious from afar, but from the metro cable cars, you see roads, stores, playgrounds, schools, soccer fields, and construction. Everywhere, you see people fixing roads and building housing. Hired teams and individuals are working to better their neighborhoods. On the cable car, you will ride with people who live in these communities.
View from Metrocable in Medellin
7. Join the open streets walk on Sundays. Medellin closes streets on Sundays and holidays, and people come out and walk or ride bikes. The streets are safe for wheelchairs, too. It is organized, with two directional lanes and people directing traffic at intersections. It is a liberating experience for everyone, and the vibe is celebratory.
Open Streets Medellin
8. If you are in Pereira, visit Salento in the coffee region. This is the most touristy thing we did. We did not do any of the many Outdoorsy tours available, nor did we visit a coffee finca. You might want to do those. You might want to stay a few days. We were just there for a few hours. We wandered the streets, enjoyed the walk up and down the mountain, the incredible views at the top, and good food.
9. In Retiro, have lunch in the main square, where you can watch the activities for hours. Our host in the countryside, five miles out of town, said, “Retiro has every kind of restaurant at every price. And he was right. We loved the exhibit on 1the 00 Faces of Retiro at the cultural center. Walking the steep hills of Retrio, make sure to stop to enjoy the views when you reach a high point.
10. Hike up the hill to the Los Salados church, near Retiro. You can get a ride up, but climb if you are able.
11. Go to Church in Retiro if it suits you. I say this as an agnostic Jew. The Chapel in Retrio, with its wide-open door, its side seating, and people coming and going, is a perfect place for those seeking solace. I didn’t listen to the service, just rose and sat with the others, as directed. I sat on the side and watched the outside go by through the open door. I cried. It was a healing hour, my best experience ever in a house of worship.
12. Visit Antioquia University in Medellin. It has a museum with incredible paintings, an anthropology hall, and a photo exhibit that examines the origins of La Violencia in 1962. After you visit the museum, hang around for a while. Have lunch at one of the outdoor cafeterias and soak up the atmosphere that feels like a relatively stress-free student existence. Take photos of the murals and other political expressions. For this retired adjunct history professor, the University felt like an academic home I never had. You may also enjoy the gardens and easy walking.
Antioquia University
13. Visit the Cementerio San Pedro in Medellin. We came here after hearing a special on Colombian National radio about labor leader Maria Cano. We never did find her stones, but we got to enjoy the quiet and beauty of this spacious, quiet place with views of the mountains, next to one of the most chaotic neighborhoods of Medellin. Outside, the world rocked and rolled. Inside, all was serene. The columbariums are three stories high with steps. Loved ones tended the boxes or sat to grieve.
14. Visit the Botero Museum and the plaza. It is right off the Metro. You will pass through a gauntlet of street merchants selling everything from snacks to jeans. The first fat sculpture is just feet away. This is a tourist place, but 1/2 the tourists are Colombian. Everyone plays with the statues, posing in front of them. The museum of Botero works is worth the minimum cost. You can see the painitng ot Pablo Escobar being captured.
And that is as close to Pablo Escobar as we got. I don’t recommend visiting the Escobar Museum, but then, I don’t visit plantations in the United States unless the lives of enslaved people are a central subject. We avoided most of the rich-guy mansions in Europe, and I couldn’t wait to get out of the sultan’s palace in Istanbul. Gaping at the pillage of those who get rich off the suffering of others is not entertainment for me.
If you visit Comune 13, read this first.
Fountain Antioquia University
15. Please visit the Casa de la Memoria, which I wrote about here. It focuses on La Violencia for the last fifty years, but that is only one chapter of many decades of struggle in Colombia. As Professor Max Yuri Gil Ramirez, Director of Political Studies at the Universidad de Antioquia, put it:
16. If you are from the United States, tell your government to stop bombing fishing boats in the Caribbean region and threatening Colombia. That is not how we stop drug trafficking to the United States. Tell your representatives to spend that money on therapies and assistance for those caught up in addiction. Tell them to leave Colombia and all of Latin America alone. Otherwise, we have no right to visit and enjoy these beautiful lands.
This essay about a visit to Colombia in November 2025 to January 2026 is part of a series. In October 2023, my spouse, David, and I sold our house in Minneapolis, MN. USA. Since then, we have been traveling the world. I write a blog about each place, with a historian’s eye and an internationalist lens, wondering how memory can liberate the present.