The historical centre of Bogotá is called
Candelaria, if you come by TransMilenio
Then get off at the Las Aguas stop. This
zone is a seat of the most important museums, like The Museum of Gold, of
Independence, The Coin Museum, The Botero Museum, and Military Museum. In the
Simon Bolivar’s Square there are located buildings of the highest importance in
the state. One of them being the Presidential Palace, that is guarded by La Guardia Presidencial, special police
force to secure the building. The access is controlled and everyone is obliged
to show the contents of their bags or rucksacks. It was quite an intimidating
experience as the guards carried long rifles and grenades.
Patrolled street of the Presidential Palace
Palace of Justice |
Primary Cathedral view |
In the Bolivar Square there are other buildings, such as the National Capitol -Colombian Congress, Liévano building – Mayor’s seat, The Primary Cathedral of Bogotá, Palace of Justice, Museum of the Independence. Within the zone there is also the Mexican – Colombian Cultural Centre located, that offers expositions of the modern Latin American art and temporary expositions, during our visit there was a Contemporary Cuban Paintings exposition.
We were not able to enter the Gold Museum,
as it is closed on Mondays (!) and we arrived too late to see the Museum of
Independencia.
Botero Museum opening hours |
One of Botero's paintings "La Playa" |
The Candelaria concentrates a good number of little restaurants, which serve typical Colombian food or sweets. We were tempted by a Cocolada, a kind of biscuit, which consists of a roughly grated coconut flesh mixed with passion fruit and sugar. Worth mentioning is the cafeteria “Juan Valdez”, which is similar to Starbucks, but national, supports local producers and serves only Colombian coffee. We have also tried empanadas with cheese, which are served with different sauces: guacamole, tartare, spicy pepper, lemon, pink sauce (ketchup & mayo) and a kind of spicy vinaigrette. Delicious!
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