Stamped!

The City of Eternal Spring

Medellín architecture

Medellín was once labeled the world's most dangerous city in the early 1990s during Pablo Escobar's reign of terror. Today it is celebrated as one of the world's most remarkable urban transformation stories. The city won the Urban Land Institute's Most Innovative City award in 2013 for using architecture, infrastructure, and culture to reconnect its hillside comunas to the city center. The outdoor escalators built into the steep hillside neighborhoods of the Comunas remain one of urban planning's most cited interventions.

  • 5Landmarks
  • 1972Oldest · Jardín Botánico de Medellín
  • 14 mTallest · Parque de las Luces
  • 4Architects

Before you go

  • Fly intoJosé María Córdova International Airport (MDE)

    José María Córdova International Airport is the primary airport serving the Medellín metropolitan area and the second busiest in Colombia. It is located in the mountains above the Aburrá Valley, and its high altitude approach through mountain terrain makes landing here one of the more technically demanding in South America. A metro cable car system (Metrocable) connects the airport area to the city below.

  • CurrencyColombian Peso ($)
  • LanguageSpanish

    Colombian Spanish as spoken in Medellín (the Paisa dialect) is known for being particularly warm, expressive, and lyrical. Paisas (people from the Antioquia region) are famous across Colombia for their entrepreneurial spirit and distinctive accent. The local expression 'parce' (buddy/friend) and creative diminutive use give Paisa Spanish its distinctive affectionate tone.

  • Getting aroundMetro & Metrocable

    Medellín's metro is the only heavy rail metro system in Colombia and a source of immense local pride — Medellín residents famously keep it immaculate, treating it as a symbol of the city's transformation. The Metrocable gondola system extends transit to hillside neighborhoods that were previously cut off from the city center — a literal and symbolic connection of all parts of the city. The Tranvía de Ayacucho tram line supplements these in the east.

5 landmarks in Medellín

  1. Pueblito Paisa

    Cerro Nutibara, Medellin, Antioquia

    A replica of a typical Antioquian village built in 1978 atop the Nutibara Hill, offering panoramic views over Medellin's urban valley. The whitewashed church, town hall, and colonial-style houses represent the idealized Paisa village that was the origin point of the coffee-farming culture that spread through Colombia's interior.

    Built
    1978
    Style
    Antioquian colonial replica
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Cultural heritage & viewpoint

  2. Parque de las Luces

    Calle 44, La Alpujarra, Medellin, Antioquia

    A public plaza featuring 300 illuminated columns, each 14 metres tall, that create a spectacular light show after dark in the center of Medellin. Built as part of the city's urban transformation program in 2006, it replaced a formerly dangerous area with a civic cultural space.

    Built
    2006
    Architect
    Juan Manuel Pelaez Freidel
    Style
    Contemporary urban installation
    Height
    14 m (46 ft)
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Public cultural space

  3. Metrocable Medellín

    Linea K, Acevedo Station, Medellin, Antioquia

    The world's first urban cable car system integrated into a city's public transit network, launched in 2004 as part of Medellin's urban transformation strategy to connect hillside comunas to the city center. The cables rise 400 metres over the densely packed neighborhoods.

    Built
    2004
    Architect
    Various (urban systems)
    Style
    Contemporary infrastructure
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Public transit system
  4. Plaza Botero
    Photo: SajoR, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Plaza Botero

    Carrera 52, Calle 52, El Centro, Medellin, Antioquia

    An open-air sculpture gallery in central Medellin featuring 23 monumental bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero, Colombia's most celebrated artist. Botero donated the works to his native city in 2000, and the plaza has become one of Latin America's great public art spaces.

    Built
    2000
    Architect
    Fernando Botero (sculptor)
    Style
    Neoclassical urban plaza
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Public sculpture garden
  5. Jardín Botánico de Medellín
    Photo: Jorge Láscar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Jardín Botánico de Medellín

    Calle 73 No. 51D-14, Medellin, Antioquia

    A 14-hectare botanical garden founded in 1972 at the heart of Medellin, containing over 600 plant species and the Orquideorama — a spectacular open-air wooden structure modeled on a forest canopy. The garden serves as one of the city's most-visited green spaces.

    Built
    1972
    Architect
    Plan B Arquitectos (Orquideorama)
    Style
    Modern biomorphic (Orquideorama)
    Stories
    1
    Today
    Public garden & events venue

More cities in South America

Stamp all 5 in Stamped!

Fly through Medellín in photoreal 3D, take its 10-question quiz, plan your days and earn a passport stamp at every landmark. Free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on theApp Store