2 / 5 - One review
How to get there
Four hours from Bogota by plane
When to go
From November to April
Minimum stay
One day
Filo Cartagena (Colombia)
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Flickr cc Luz Adriana Villa
Practical information on Filo Cartagena
Reviews of Filo Cartagena
A slave port of the Spanish Empire, Cartagena de las Indias' fortress and its walled city, with its colonial architecture, are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
My suggestion:
Wander around exploring the city, and try to avoid all the tourists! Though the bay at Cartagena is stunning, the horse-drawn carriages for tourists and the menus written in foreign languages give the place an artificial, holiday-postcard feel.
My review
The role played by slavery in the history of this coastal city is evidenced by its large slave market-place, its stately houses and its fortress, which is the best preserved in South America.
Despite its atypical ambiance and its timeless feel, I did not enjoy visiting this city at all. The stark contrast between Cartagena's surface appearance, with everything bright and gleaming to attract tourists, and the city's suburbs (Filo Cartagena), which are poorer, and neglected by the public authorities, made me feel particularly ill at ease. Furthermore, the mass tourism that has developed here has brought with it beach pollution, the ubiquitous presence of cameras, and has led to every new visitor being subjected to the hard sell. Because this is actually a very beautiful city and therefore worth visiting, my advice to you would be to make a trip here but not to stay over.
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Flickr cc Luz Adriana Villa
89 travelers' photos
