Parks and gardens in Medellín, an experience that will enchant you.
It doesn’t take much effort to be captivated by the “City of Eternal Spring”. As soon as you arrive in Medellín, the green landscape floods everything. With its charming mountain climate, the city delights us as we wander unsuspectingly through Medellín’s parks and gardens. This tourist destination is a favorite of thousands of people who come to enjoy the culture of Antioquia to take the best of this land.
To enjoy the network of parks and gardens of Medellin, we invite you to know first of all the Ciudad del Rio Park. This park has been built to recover an area that was once industrial and now stands within a space adorned with native trees, as a residential area. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, from what was once a gray area has been born a large space full of green areas.
Water fountains, a skateboard track, sandboxes and children’s areas with swings, a climbing wall, mazes and other places to practice sports, make this park a special place to visit. It is located near the Museum of Modern Art of Medellin and you can enjoy the best fast food of the place in different “food trucks” or sit in a restaurant in the area to share with the friendly locals.
Visit Medellin’s parks and gardens: The Botanical Garden
To encounter all the plant and flower species of the Antioquian region in a single tour, we recommend you visit the Botanical Garden of Medellin “Joaquin Antonio Uribe”. This “living museum” was created with an educational and scientific function for the general public, which is not only a refuge for various species of vegetation, but also a research center for the conservation of these species.
This environmental treasure, located in the heart of Medellín, blends into ample architectural spaces that are worth visiting. The José Jerónimo Triana Orquideorama is the most representative stage of the Botanical Garden. Delicately built among boulders, orchids, palms and ferns, the beauty of the structure’s design will amaze you. You can also visit the JAUM Herbarium, the Andrés Posada Arango Library, the Patio de las Azaleas, the In Situ Restaurant and the open-air Sura Theater. This beautiful park is also a place full of cultural and social activities of all kinds. For more information you can visit
If you want to be a child again and relax with a unique experience that costs you nothing, the Barefoot Park is your next destination. Sponsored by Empresas Públicas de Medellín for citizens to get rid of the stress of everyday life, it is located in the center of the city, very close to the Interactive Museum, the Plaza Mayor, the Intelligent Building and the Metropolitan Theater. The tour begins in a forest of guaduas, where the guides will encourage you to take off your shoes to walk among stones, grass and sand. The tour ends at the water fountains that will give you a feeling of relaxation and well-being.
Another interesting destination among Medellín’s parks and gardens is the Bosque de los Enamorados and the Zen Garden. There are also reading aloud activities, book exchanges and handicrafts with recyclable materials. It is a privileged space to share with the family, relax and learn.
What parks will I find in Medellín?
If you want to go hiking and you are a nature lover, you can’t miss Arví Park. To start an ideal adventure, you can access it via Metrocable (Telesferico), a journey through the air that will surprise you. You can also get there by land. This beautiful park offers several trails with different levels of difficulty, which you can also travel by bicycle enjoying the beauty and richness of the unique landscape. Among orchids, bromeliads, anthuriums, different species of trees and countless streams, the Arví Park keeps a special richness of variety of bird species, which makes it perfect for bird watching activities.
Berrío Park is another of the traditional parks and gardens of Medellín. It is a park full of Medellin’s political history. Strategically located in the center of the city, this traditional park known as one of the oldest, witnessed numerous political activities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was the main square of the city and once was also the market area. Since 1990 one of the main stations of the Medellin Metro has been located near it, bearing its name. Nearly one hundred thousand people walk through the park every day, making it a reference point for locals and foreigners who take advantage of their meetings to get together over a good cup of coffee.
In the park you can see a monument to Pedro Justo Berrio, an influential politician of the nineteenth century. At that time, the most important and influential families of the city lived in the square. Since then, the plaza has survived several fires and has been transformed into a financial center.
Today the Medellin Stock Exchange, the Bank of the Republic and the Constaín Building, among others, border the park. Other attractions that you can find nearby are the Candelaria Church built in 1649, which with its unique beauty stands as a Minor Basilica and the sculpture of Master Botero “Torso de Mujer”, popularly known as “La Gorda de Botero”.
The Presbítero José Luis Arroyave-San Javier Park and Library has been operating since 2006 in the San Javier neighborhood in the Comuna 13 of Medellín. It was built with the new concept of Library Park to banish the violence that prevailed there, and to generate a cultural development center that today produces numerous fruits of peace. It was built to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the sector and to promote access to culture for everyone. This beautiful library designed by Javier Vera Londoño has been widely awarded for the beauty of its design and the work it performs as a generator of progress and peace. There you can find large green areas, a toy library, internet rooms and places that encourage study.
The Parque de las Luces or Plaza Cisneros is a very nice place to rest while touring the city center. Three hundred light towers are lit every night to recreate a forest. This is a very frequented place that becomes a must-see if you go to Medellin.
Finally, you can’t miss the Los Salados Ecological Park, located 45 minutes from Medellin, in El Retiro, Antioquia. This beautiful park was renovated by Empresas Públicas de Medellín in order to achieve a healthy coexistence between the environment and the people who visit it. Thus, while the community has fun, they learn about environmental and ecological education. This place has also become a tourist and sports reference in the region.
As you can see, Medellin is a city that offers a wide range of places where you can enjoy and share with the environment, with history and especially with the paisa people, warm and friendly people who will make your stay in Medellin a wonderful experience that you will want to repeat. For this reason, you can not miss visiting the various parks and gardens of Medellin.