Medellín design-driven

At the end of August, I wanted to visit Colombia before returning to the Netherlands. I’ve been there before, and it was a lovely country to visit. The flight from Bogota to Aruba lasts only one hour and thirty minutes, and the trip is good. After stepping over in Bogota, then it is a two hours flight to  Medellín. I love the city, culture, and food. The first thing I saw in the area of Medellín and Poblado is that there is a lot of construction work in the Poblado area, and you can see that the city is rising and growing.

The neighborhood is a lovely area to visit. The restaurants and places made me think of Berlin, and it is a mixture of ancient and modern architecture, vintage, pleasant botanical atmosphere and famous places that you can visit, and the food is excellent.
In this area, you can feel the design driving energy in architecture and urban surroundings.

These include Helsinki, Medellín, Tbilisi, Cape Town, and Toronto – all locations which writer Fleur Rollet-Manus claims are “design-driven cities that are probing even further, questioning existing methods, finding solutions and striving for social change using the medium of design.” This helpful article I find in the Suitcase magazine and I can say this positive feeling is what I had visiting Medellín for the second time after years.

Poblado

The week I stayed at Hotel Madeiro, and it is in a perfect location in the heart of Poblado. It is within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and nightlife: friendly staff and a perfectly clean and friendly hotel. I have read the tips through Tripadvisor, and it helped me a lot to find this excellent hotel in a good location. The car parking is secure and direct below the hotel, and breakfast is good and has a jacuzzi and a sauna on top. You also have rooms with a private jacuzzi in the room.

The next day I went to Guatapé, it’s a beautiful place, two hours driving with the car. Traffic in Medellín is fast, and you have to be sure where you are going. The trip to Guatapé is worth it with a rental car, and the scenery and the environment are magnificent.

Parque Arvi

The other day I went to Santa Elena in the mountains above Medellín, and it’s nice to go to the Parque Arvi lake. The area is green, and you will be in the middle of nature. There are possibilities for mountain biking and hiking, and here the climate is fresh and perfect for outdoor activities.

One of the lessons I learned when leaving Arvi Park is to think further than Google Maps or satellite navigation since the shortest route is not always the best route. When leaving Arvi Park, the map on my phone sent me directly down the mountain into Bario Santo Domingo at the end of the day, while night fell. I can say that it was an experience to go deep into a local neighborhood of Medellín when the evening falls. Next time it’s good to make a plan before leaving and check with local people if the route is a good idea. The ‘fasted’ journey is not always the best route.

Visiting places in the city of Medellín is better to take a taxi from the hotel, to be honest, this is a perfect form of transport. At night, when you are in Poblado, it is safe and comfortable to leave the hotel and walk to the restaurants or bars that are near the area. A great shopping center and close to Poblado is El Tesoro Shopping Park, and you can go in a taxi from the hotel.

Nice restaurant to visit in Medellín

One of my favorite restaurants for lunch is Burdo Tragos Y Comida. It is a beautiful modern restaurant with good food and a friendly atmosphere. At night and during the day, it is also to visit: The Charlee and sees the beautiful landscape of Medellin. The other day I ate at the restaurant Clandestino, and at night it is pleasant to visit Gusto if you like to go out and enter the activity.

The Charlee, Medellín Design Driven

The art museum of Antioquia is a must. The pieces of art by Botero and other artists are beautiful to visit and are inspiring to see all the parts of art. The Museum of Antioquia is a museum of contemporary art. Their collections and exhibitions reveal how the people of Antioquia and Colombia, have been represented in art and how they see the world: objects connected to the past and present of the society that created, preserved, researched and disseminated them to be better understood.

I made a compilation of videos of the artist’s impressions to give you a good view of the museum, but to have a good experience; you have to visit the museum.

Medellin is a city that is reinventing and transforming urban living.

There are five public areas around the libraries surrounded by beautiful greenery that was designed by architect Alejandro Echeverri to give a positive change to Medellin’s prominent urban challenges.

Medellín is a beautiful city, and since the last time I was there in 2013, it is changing very fast in a positive way. The people are friendly, the weather feels like spring with the cool breeze of the mountain and the right sun, the food and drinks are not expensive, and they taste delicious. There are so many things to undertake and explore in Medellín.

I find Colombia a fascinating country, and the only risk is that you do not want to leave.

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