Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [127]
Progress attracted both Colombians from other regions and foreigners, mainly from the US, Germany, Italy and the Middle East. This, in turn, gave the city an injection of foreign capital and accelerated its growth. It also brought about the city’s cosmopolitan character.
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Orientation
Barranquilla’s limits are marked by a ring road, Via Circunvalación. The city center (where the town was originally settled) is along the Paseo Bolívar, close to the river. Most of this sector, especially the area between the Paseo and the river, is inhabited by wild street commerce – it’s actually one vast market stretching to the water like a flattened hillside shantytown.
About 3km to the northwest is El Prado, Barranquilla’s new center, and the most pleasant district of the city.
The bus terminal is about 1km off the southern edge of the city, beyond Vía Circunvalación. The airport is still further south.
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Information
Cappucino.com ( 358 4465; Carrera 48 No 72-65; per hr COP$1500; 7:30am-7:30pm Mon-Sat) Internet cafe.
HSBC (Carrera 52 No 72-131; 8-11:30am & 2-4pm Mon-Fri) ATM.
Panamanian consulate ( 360 1870; Carrera 57 No 72-25, Edificio Fincar 207-208; 9:30am-noon & 2-4pm Mon-Fri)
Servientrega ( 356 0527; Calle 70 No 52-63; 8am-11:30am & 2-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-12:30pm Sat) Post office.
Tourist office (Comité Mixto de Promoción Mixta del Atlántico; 330 3864; Vía 40 No 36-135; 8am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri) The tourist office is in the Antiguo Edificio de Aduana, a healthy hike southeast of El Prado. It has lots of info, but staff aren’t champing at the bit to help.
Venezuelan consulate ( 360 6285; Carrera 52 No 69-96; 8am-noon Mon-Fri)
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Sights
The two areas you might want to visit are the city center and El Prado. They are just a few kilometers apart, but a world away from each other.
The city center is cut in two by Paseo Bolívar. Halfway along is the mock-Gothic Iglesia de San Nicolás (cnr Paseo Bolívar & Carrera 42), worth entering for its main altarpiece and pulpit.
El Prado is cleaner, greener and safer than the center. Calle 72 is the district’s principal shopping street, lined with restaurants, shops and supermarkets. Strolling around, you’ll find some architectural relics from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the time when El Prado began to develop. Note the buildings in the Islamic-influenced Moorish style – you’ll find some of them on and just off Carrera 54. Include a visit to the following attractions, most of which are in El Prado or its vicinity.
The modern Catedral Metropolitana (cnr Calle 53 & Carrera 46) was completed in 1982. Don’t be put off by its squat, heavy, somewhat bunkerlike exterior – go inside. The interior features a number of large stained-glass windows spanning all spectrums of the kaleidoscope in the sidewalls and over the main entrance. It’s beautiful.
Barranquilla is home to a few worthwhile museums if you need to kill a day here. The confusingly named Museo Romantico ( 344 4591; Carrera 54 No 59-199; adult/child COP$5000/free; 8:30-11:30am & 2-5:30pm Mon-Fri) is actually a museum of the city’s history, featuring exhibits relating to Barranquilla’s past. Just down the road is the tiny Museo de Antropología ( 358 8488; Calle 68 No 53-45; admission free; 8am-noon & 2:30-5pm Mon-Fri), on the 1st floor of the building of the Universidad del Atlántico, which displays a small collection of pre-Columbian pottery from different regions, including pieces from the Calima, Tumaco and Nariño cultures. The Museo de Arte Moderno ( 360 9952; Carrera 56 No 74-22; admission COP$5000; 3-7pm Mon, 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) fills its space with rotating exhibitions from its larger permanent collection, which includes nationally renowned painters like Fernando Botero.
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EL GRAN CARNAVAL
Every year, bustling Barranquilla takes off four