Bogota
Bogota stands at the center of Colombia, up on a plateau where the clouds touch the city around lunchtime. You walk the streets and notice empanada sellers arguing about the price of cornmeal, which seems to change with the weather. There is a long queue at the Museo del Oro, but someone says the real treasure is the hot chocolate served with cheese at a tiny cafe nearby, a combination that never fails to surprise. Taxis sometimes get lost, but the drivers know the shortcuts through alleys full of murals. Afternoon thunderstorms may leave you stranded under a bus stop, chatting with locals about the best ways to avoid soggy shoes. People say the best hotel in Bogota hides in plain sight, but ask three people and you'll get four directions. The traffic sings its own song, and jaywalking is an Olympic sport. Bogota teaches you patience, or at least how to laugh at rain-soaked socks.
Local weather in Colombia
SPRING
mild & temperate
SUMMER
mild & temperate
AUTUMN
mild & temperate
WINTER
cool
Accommodations in Bogota
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Travel destination popular things to do or visit in Bogota and searching for the best hotel in Bogota
Start at La Candelaria, where a man with a parrot on his shoulder once tried to sell me a map that was upside-down. You can visit the Botero Museum and see paintings that look like they ate too much breakfast. Some visitors try to climb Monserrate in flip-flops, but the mountain prefers sneakers and a slow pace. The city buses, called TransMilenio, rush by like red centipedes, occasionally stopping for confused travelers who never seem to know which door to use. Street performers juggle fruit at traffic lights, and sometimes the fruit wins.
For coffee that tastes like a hug, tiny shops in Chapinero serve brews that make you forget jetlag, or most things. Zona Rosa has music that starts at dusk and ends whenever the last person leaves, which may be breakfast time or just before. The best hotel in Bogota, according to a taxi driver I met who claims to have slept in all of them, is the one with pillows soft enough to muffle the sound of morning traffic. If you lose your way, just ask someone with a smile, and if they answer in Dutch, you’re probably not in Bogota anymore. Typos happen, the weather changes, but the city keeps spinning, like a top that refuses to fall over.
Other cities around Colombia
These popular destinations have a lot to offer for you next holiday or city break.
