Travel Blog: The reappraisal of Medellin
The famous British news agency The Guardian, states that Medellin became over the years one of the most desirable travel destinations in the world.
Medellin turned itself from one of the most dangerous cities on Earth into one of the most fascinating as a travel destination. The city creatively reinvented itself as one of Colombia´s most surprising cities to visit. Read about other of our recommendations here.
We do have to admit that there was a time in which it was better not to visit Medellin. That would be in the late 80´s and early 90´s, when notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar was controlling the city. His death in 1993 left the city in confusion and chaos but this served as the perfect opportunity to rebuild the image and reputation of the place from scratch. Moreover, the history of Pablo Escobar and his loyal bandits provided interesting stories and places to visit for tourists. So, partly thanks to Medellin history, travelers are finding their way as well.
Nowadays the vibrant city of Medellin is claimed by many Colombians as the ideal place to live. It offers interesting history, great night life, fascinating museums and open air statues from the hands of world-famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Additionally, there are excellent restaurants, a year-round mild climate, fashionable hipster neighborhoods, and gorgeous lush mountains in the surroundings. Medellin is a hotspot for graffiti art lovers, just like Bogota. (You can read more about Colombia´s graffities here.)
The green mountains enclosing the city can be visited by taking the famous cable car, called Metrocable, all the way up into the green natural parks. Initially, the Metrocable was implemented as a complementary transportation service to accommodate the least developed suburban sectors of Medellin. The city recently won the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize for this initiative. This prize honors “outstanding achievements and contributions to the creation of livable, vibrant and sustainable urban communities around the world”. For those especially interested in wildlife and nature, we recommend to read more about Casanare!
Another interesting detail for tourist is that Medellin has beautiful surroundings. You cannot miss out on going to the colorful village of Guatapé and the rock of Peñol. Both are charming and unique places that allow you to not only enjoy the city life but also its more rustic and authentic surroundings. Adrenaline seekers can opt to go on a tandem paragliding flight that offers spectacular aerial views on Medellin.
It will be safe to say that Medellin speaks to all types of tourists because of its great variety of sights and activities. We listed the top five things to do in Medellin in this blog.
As The Guardian concludes, we can finish by saying that Medellín is definitely not the most dangerous city in the world. It’s not even the most dangerous city in Colombia. But it’s almost certainly the most interesting and innovative one, in spite of Medellin history,
Discover all the fascinating aspects of Medellin with Lulo Colombia and book your trip here: “Medellin, the city of eternal spring”
To read The Guardian´s full article, click here