Medellín
A valley city in the Colombian Andes, where gondolas and outdoor escalators climb the hillsides, Botero's giants fill a square downtown, and El Poblado sets the pace after dark.
- Arrival
- José María Córdova, Rionegro · MDE
- To the city
- About 20 to 30 minutes by car
- Private jets
- FBOs at MDE; Olaya Herrera in town
- Best time
- July to August
The city
Cable cars, bronzes and a mountain tunnel.
Medellín fills a long green valley about 1,500 metres up, with its barrios climbing the slopes on either side. Metrocable gondolas have tied those districts to the city since 2004, and in Comuna 13 a chain of outdoor escalators opened in 2011 to carry residents up and down the slope.
Afternoons stay close to 28 °C in every month, and the year moves between wetter and drier spells, with July and August the driest. El Poblado is the liveliest district for dining and late nights, and the Túnel de Oriente, opened in 2019, has brought the international airport within half an hour.
- Plaza Botero Twenty-three monumental sculptures by Fernando Botero outside the Museo de Antioquia, on 7,000 m² of open square.
- Comuna 13 Outdoor escalators zigzagging up a steep barrio, opened at the end of 2011.
- Metrocable Gondola lines that lift over the rooftops of the hillside districts, part of the public transport network since 2004.
Arriving
Two airports, one above the valley.
International flights land at José María Córdova, at Rionegro, east of the valley and 2,141 m up, with a runway of 3,557 m. Some 11.8 million people passed through it in 2023. Olaya Herrera, the original city airport of 1932, still operates in the valley itself.
- Bogotá 40 min
- Panama City 1 h 00
- Miami 3 h 15
- Los Angeles 7 h 15 long-range jet
- Munich 12 h 15 long-range jet
When to go
July to August.
At this altitude the afternoons hold at 27 to 29 °C all year. Rain sets the rhythm: two wet peaks, around April and again from October to December, with more than 240 mm a month, and a drier spell in July and August, near 55 mm.
- 28° J 141
- 28° F 149
- 28° M 251
- 28° A 300
- 28° M 239
- 28° J 87
- 29° J 56
- 29° A 53
- 28° S 115
- 27° O 276
- 27° N 327
- 27° D 244
Where to stay
In El Poblado, and in the hills beyond.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Elcielo Hotel & Restaurant Twenty-eight suites behind screens of articulated metal round a planted atrium, with a seventeen-course tasting menu downstairs.
- Marquee Medellín Minimalist rooms with Art Deco touches, two penthouse suites, Italian cooking at Abbiocco and a bar on the roof.
- Cannúa Lodge Rooms and cabins of bricks made from the estate's own earth, on a slope above the San Nicolás valley, with a permaculture garden.
Where to dine
Where to book in El Poblado.
No MICHELIN guide covers Colombia. Sambombi is on the extended list of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025; Elcielo and Carmen are fine-dining picks of Colombia One.
- Sambombi Bistró Local Latin America's 50 Best, No. 98 Seasonal Medellín
- Elcielo Colombia One, fine dining Colombian tasting menu Elcielo Hotel, El Poblado
- Carmen Colombia One, fine dining Contemporary Colombian El Poblado
Elsewhere in Colombia
More reasons to come.
- Cartagena Balconies heavy with bougainvillea, inside the old ramparts.
- Rosario Islands Coral islands an hour by boat from Cartagena.
- Bogotá The capital at 2,600 metres, the Botero museum and the old quarter of La Candelaria.
- Salento Coffee farms, and the tall wax palms of the Cocora valley.
- Santa Marta The oldest city in Colombia, with Tayrona national park next door.
Flying to Medellín?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.