Tourist Attractions

“Medellín will surprise you from start to finish”

Many are the reasons that make Medellín a top quality tourist destination. Being the city of “eternal spring” is, in its own right, reason enough. Its topography – a valley surrounded by mountains – together with its spring-like climate and the “Paisas”, its characteristically warm and friendly inhabitants are two other reasons. Being a great cultural center and hometown to many a world renown artist like Fernando Botero, whose sculptures grace many squares around the city, are two other good reasons.

Medellín stands out as a permanent venue for symposiums and congresses. The city has been honored as host of events such as XIII Spanish-Language Academy Association Congress in 2007, the Organization of American States General Assembly in 2008, and in 2009, the Inter-American Development Bank's Annual Meeting. In 2010 site of the IX Juegos Suramericanos (South American Games). And then, in 2011, the city will be one of the venues for the World Youth Cup (U-20) tournament.

Well-known fairs, like Colombiatex and Colombiamoda, as well as cultural events such as the International Tango Festival, the International Poetry Festival, the International Jazz Festival, and the Book Fair all hold their yearly appointments in the city. Likewise the city is an important destination as a shopping and fashion center, for business, and for health-seeking tourists.

Medellín is the city of the Flower Fair and Silletero Parade, and the traditional Christmas lights display. The city boasts a modern public transportation system with the Metro and its feeder lines Metrocable and Metro Plus, newly refurbished roadways, two bus terminals, and two airports, one for regional flights, the other a modern international airport. The Parks and Library, gateways to knowledge, to enjoyment and to creative leisure time, are a symbol of a new and transformed Medellín.

When you walk through the streets of Medellín your senses are heightened. The mornings bring a frolicking sun that, later, as it sets over the western mountains, paints house and hillside of red as it dissolves sky and mountain into night. And you can be sure that the “Paisas”, steady in their traditions and thriving in their Medellín below, will always keep their arms open to make you feel at home.