48 Hours in Cartagena's Walled City: The Plan We'd Text You
By Townhouse Cartagena ·
Quick answer
Two days is enough for the Walled City if you stop trying to see all of it. Day one: the free Museo del Oro Zenu on Plaza de Bolivar (Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9am-2pm, closed Monday), lunch, a long flat nap through the worst heat, then the city walls at Baluarte de Santo Domingo for sunset. Day two: sloths and iguanas in Parque del Centenario in the morning, our rooftop pool in the afternoon, then Getsemani and Plaza de la Trinidad after dark, where the street food carts and performers set up. We're on Carrera 7 in San Diego, so every one of those is a walk, not a taxi.
Two days sounds short. It isn't, as long as you stop trying to tick off the whole city and accept the one rule everybody learns the hard way: you do not walk around Cartagena between noon and three. The heat wins. Locals know this. Plan around it and 48 hours is plenty.
We're at Carrera 7 #36-88, in San Diego, inside the walls. That matters for a plan like this because almost everything below is a walk from our door rather than a taxi you have to negotiate. Getsemani is the only stretch where you'll want to think about the hour you're heading back.
Here's what we'd send you, in the order we'd send it. Live Cartagena the way we do: slowly in the afternoon, loudly after dark.
Day one: the old stuff, then the walls
8:30am
Breakfast with us, then out before the heat
9:30am
Museo del Oro Zenu, Plaza de Bolivar
11:00am
Wander the streets between Plaza de Bolivar and San Diego
12:30pm
Lunch, then horizontal
5:00pm
The walls at Baluarte de Santo Domingo
8:00pm
Back up to our rooftop
Day two: animals, water, and Getsemani after dark
8:30am
Parque del Centenario
10:00am
Ask what Chef Pedro is doing with the catch that day
