2 Best Sights in The Caribbean Coast, Colombia

Plaza de la Aduana

Centro
Cartagena has always opened its doors to visitors, and most have passed through this plaza. While it now hums with tourists and idling bicycles, in previous centuries the hubbub rose from arguing traders and customs officers or rapping boots as soldiers paraded or ran in frantic defense. Cartagena's most expansive square, it is bordered on one side by the impressive Casa de la Aduana, (the Customs House), now the city hall. In the evenings, the square is particularly pleasant as the colonial arches and balconies are lit up, and often a lone trumpeter sets up near the statue of Christopher Colombus, playing tunes that add to the romantic ambience for which Cartagena is so loved.

Plaza de Santo Domingo

Centro

The eponymous church looming over the plaza is the oldest in the city and a contrast to the plaza's generally festive and bustling atmosphere. At night the area is particularly attractive as it fills up with tables from surrounding bars and restaurants. A popular, eye-catching landmark since 2000 is Colombian artist Fernando Botero's large bronze Gertrudis, a sculpture of a plump, naked woman. Don't pass by the Iglesia de Santo Domingo: built in 1539, the church has a simple whitewashed interior, bare limestone pillars, a raised choir, and an adjacent cloistered seminary. Local lore says the bell tower's twisted profile is the work of the Devil, who, dispirited at having failed to destroy it, threw himself into the plaza's well. For a fee you can take an audio tour.

Plaza/Square
Calle Santo Domingo and Carrera Santo Domingo, Cartagena, Bolívar, 130001, Colombia