Thanks to Colombia’s new-found safety, La Candelaria is safe to explore during the day. It is the oldest part of Bogota and was built by the Spanish to be the capital of their growing South American Empire, simply because the climate here is closest to Spain’s, or so I’ve been told. It is the tourist hub of Bogota, featuring colonial buildings and churches, trendy restaurants, bars and shopping. Wind your way through La Candelaria to Plaza Bolivar, the government center of Colombia. You’ll feel like you have been transported to one of the great capitols of Europe – until you notice you are standing next to a llama. The Primada Cathedral dominates the square, along with the city hall, the Colombian houses of congress, and the supreme court.
When considering what to do in Bogota, there are a number of free walking tours available. Be sure to give a generous tip at the end of the tour. I chose to follow my love of counterculture with the graffiti tour. Street art is one of the defining features of Bogota. My trendy tour guide, Anna, was a street artist herself who researched the political language of graffiti in college, so she had some serious street cred.
She took us on a journey through La Candelaria and the surrounding city, pointing out famous artworks along the way. She helped point out the political statements in the art by explaining the various culturally significant images found hidden in the art. It was fun to learn about the technical skills required to quickly create beautiful murals with nothing more than a brush and a spray can. For the rest of my stay, I couldn’t help but admire the graffiti hidden under bridges and plastered across highway walls.