The most colourful spots in Cartagena Old Town

By The Married Wanderers On March 10, 2020

Colour walls, beautiful doors, flower covered balconies and thousands of people from all over the world. We have put together this post to show you all the most colourful spots in Cartagena Old Town for you to wander and enjoy. Cartagena pronounced “cartahenna”.

Abaco Libros y Cafe

This is the most popular street to take a photo that is “so iconically Cartagena“! The best way to find this vibrant street is to put the coffee shop (also a great place to go) in your Waze: ‘Abaco Libros y Cafe’. We took this shot early in the morning with our tripod as it’s usually very busy.

We really recommend waking up first thing and going to wander this street without all the crowds and scorching sun! End off your already perfect morning by popping into the bookshop for a cuppa.

Local sellers, crafters and fruit carriers

If you think the walls are dreamy, the local people of Cartagena are twice as interesting and vibrant and wonderful. Take time to have a chat with the wonderful stores sellers, crafters or fruit carriers within the town.

These women in particular (as seen in many an Old Town photo), have made a business for themselves in charging tourists to take photos with them. We personally think, good on them!! Their traditional wear is beyond beautiful and if they have to stop to be photographed or to take selfies with strangers everyday then of course you must respect their terms. Don’t approach them (waste their valuable time where they could be earning money) if you are not prepared to pay them. #bossladies

Old Colonial Doorways

Have you even been to Cartagena if you haven’t snapped a shot under one of the colourful colonial doorways? The doors that have iguana door knockers symbolise the homes that belonged to the colonial high society.

Wander through all the alleyways and doorways along the outskirts of the old town. Such as Calle 37.

The main city streets are definitely where you will find some of the most colourful spots in Cartagena Old Town. Our favourite backdrops were the large burnt orange walls found just outside the main town’s cathedral.

Old Town Walls

Sunset on the Wall

Sunset cocktails on The Wall Restaurant is a must. The one night we got there too late and couldn’t get a table so go early!

We also really enjoyed walking around the the old town wall and visiting Cafe Del Mar.

Colourful Spots in neighbouring town, Getsamani

Just a 10 minute walk away is the neighbouring town, Getsamani. We would say this is the more “vegan/arty/backpacker” area if that makes any and all the sense. We were so happily shocked by Getsamani and how vibrant and vibey it was!

This famous flag-filled street is called ‘Calle San Andres‘ (Carerra 10).

We ate lunch at an amazing vegan restaurant called ‘Cafe Stepping Stone’. We’re not vegans and we literally died for their food!!

Below is the Plaza Trinidad – where you will find incredible wall murals and much needed refreshments.

In the photo above, if you walk down the road in the direction of where Rudolph is looking (beer in hand), then you will find some of the most creative graffiti work that stretches across an entire street.

If you’re a photographer, art enthusiast simply a lover of colour – then this whole town is pure paradise!! Getsamani also offers cheaper accommodation compared to staying within the Old Town Walls – so it’s perfect for backpackers!

Cartagena Travel Tips

How long do you need?

This is a personal question but here’s our thoughts. Colombia is SO BIG so we would say – add this to your list but make time for the other spots too! One or two days should be fine! We stayed 4 days and kind of wished we had used some of this excess time lengthening our jungle stay in Minca !!

We also visited other very colourful towns such as Salento and Guatape which were much smaller and each so unique. If you’ve done one colourful town you have definitely not done them all!!

There are island excursions you can do from Cartagena. We researched these islands and they seemed quite busy and perhaps crowded. We personally decided that if we were going to do a Colombian island we might as well do the very best (which was ‘Providencia Island’ – probably one of our favourite islands in the whole world)!

Affordable Accommodation in Cartagena Old Town

We stayed within the old town of Cartagena at Maloka Boutique Hotel. The room cost for two people in a twin room with a shared bathroom was 50 US per night. We really wanted to stay within the walls of the old town so that we could walk around happily at night!

The Local Food

We love eating local (it’s also much cheaper)! We ate this dish often while in Cartegena and it costs roughly 15 000 COP / 4 USD. There are alot of these smaller “plastic-chair” restaurants in-between the really expensive ones – definitely worth a try :)!!