Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [192]
Armenia Hotel ( 746 0099, 1 800 097 8080; www.armeniahotelsa.com; Av Bolívar No 8N-67; s/d/tr COP$198,000/241,000/343,000; ) The best hotel in town, the Armenia has nine floors built around a vaulted interior atrium with a glass ceiling. The rooms have carpet and guadua furniture, and of course cable TV and minibar. The lobby restaurant has live music everyday at lunch and dinner. Price includes breakfast. Ask for a room with a view of the neighboring Parque de la Vida.
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Eating
There are plenty of cheap eats in the center during the day. At night and weekends, head north to the Portal del Quindío – there are budget eats in the food court and numerous good midrange options clustered nearby.
La Fonda Antioqueña ( 744 1927; Carrera 13 No 18-59, piso 2; mains COP$10,000-15,000; 8am-6pm) A block from Plaza de Bolívar is this fine paísa restaurant. It serves traditional fare, including bandeja paísa, and on weekends, sancocho. There are good views of the countryside from the 2nd-floor perch. Be sure to try mazamorra, a typical Zona Cafetera drink made of cooked corn with a guava bocadillo (sweet), served with a splash of milk.
La Fogata ( 749 5501; Carrera 13 No 14N-47; mains $15,000-35,000; restaurant noon-1am Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) This fine restaurant is one of the best in town. It does good steaks and seafood, and the menu offers a few twists, like bistec de caballo (horse steak) and vuelve a la vida, a fish soup rumored to be an aphrodisiac. The restaurant sits on a triangular property not far from CC Portal del Quindío – look for the manicured bushes outside. The point of the triangle is an attached cafe-bar, open Monday to Saturday from 5pm to midnight, that serves gourmet cocktails (COP$15,000).
El Solar ( 749 3990; restaurante-elsolar@hotmail.com; Km2 Via Circasia; mains COP$17,000-26,000; noon-midnight Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun) Just a few hundred meters from the zona rosa is this top-notch grill restaurant with the funky decor. Kids’ bikes, umbrellas and empty wine bottles dangle from the ceiling, and bamboo shoots creep in from the outside. Friday night is a big night here, when there’s live music and beer prices double after 8pm. Afterward walk 200m downhill and take your pick of half-a-dozen discos.
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Drinking
Armenia has a lively bar scene, although not as good as Manizales or Pereira. Your best options are in the zona rosa.
Maria Juana ( 749 5185; Km2 Via Circasia; 8pm-3am Fri & Sat) A groovy bar with a downstairs lounge space, outdoor patio and live music shows from 11pm. At closing time there are plenty of taxis to take you back to Armenia (COP$12,000 to COP$15,000).
Guitarra y Rumba ( 749 3422, 749 5179; Km2 Via Circasia; 8:30pm-3am Thu-Sat) Has a big disco space and cover band every night.
For a drink with a rowdy student crowd, try La Habana ( 745 0054; Calle 12N No 14-39; 10am-2am Mon-Thu, to 3am Fri & Sat), just outside the gates of the Universidad de Quindío. For a quiet beer on the main plaza, the Mirador de la Plaza Taberna ( 744 9183; 7am-3am Mon-Sat, to 10pm Sun) also serves espresso and has photos of Armenia before the earthquake.
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Getting There & Away
AIR
Aeropuerto El Edén ( 747 9400, 747 5707) is 18km (COP$15,000 by taxi) southwest of Armenia, near the town of La Tebaida on the road to Cali. Avianca, EasyFlight and Aires offer service to Bogotá. Easyflight and ADA fly to Medellín. A new runway was under construction at the time of writing, and international airport status applied for – flights from Miami are expected in the future.
BUS
The bus terminal ( 747 3355, 747 5705; Calle 35 No 20-68) is 1.5km southwest of the center and can be reached by frequent