6 Best Things to Do in Bogota, Colombia (2026 Guide + Safety Tips)
Your trip will most likely start in the capital and I recommend spending a few days exploring as it is a great place to fight the jet lag and get used to your first time at altitude. Many travellers skip Bogota and fly straight to Medellin or Cartagena but we spent 3 days here and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, especially as I do not usually love big cities.
In this guide I have shared my best things to do in Bogota and how I would fit them into a 3 day Bogota itinerary. I have also covered how to get around, what you need to know before visiting and where to stay in Bogota for the first time.
Bogota
6 Best Things to Do in Bogota
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1. Food Tour
One of my favourite things to do in Bogota is the Beyond Colombia Free Food Tour. We actually never planned to do this tour but the friends we met on the same company’s FREE walking tour wanted to go so we decided to join them. I am so glad we did because it ended up being such a fun way to spend the afternoon and was my favourite thing I did in Bogota!
The tour takes you around local markets, restaurants and street stalls to try different Colombian foods. We had empanadas, coffee, different corn based foods, some VERY questionable fruit flavoured ice creams made from fruits found in the Amazon and even capybara. The capybara actually tasted fine but I could not get past the thought of eating one of those cute giant rodents!
The best thing about doing this tour as soon as we arrived in Colombia was that it helped me work out which Colombian foods I actually liked for the rest of our trip (although I am a foodie so I liked pretty much everything). The guide also took us into tiny local restaurants that I probably would not have dared walk into based on how they looked from the outside (fellow travellers who have had food poisoning can probably relate lol). The food turned out to be amazing and we also got to chat with some of the locals selling the food and learn a bit about what we were trying.
The walking tour is FREE and you just pay for the food you choose to try plus a tip for your guide at the end. You do not have to buy something at every stop so you can spend as much or as little as you like. We spent around £29 between the two of us including our tip and I thought it was really reasonable considering how much food we tried. The guide also made sure there were vegetarian options for anyone who did not eat meat.
I recommend reserving your place online but we saw people turn up without a booking too.
2. Gold Museum (Visit the Museo del Oro)
This was my first time seeing anything from Colombia’s pre Hispanic cultures so I found the way they created the faces and almost doll like pieces really interesting, even if some of them were slightly creepy lol. I also loved seeing how they made such detailed pieces from gold.
Bogota was also right at the start of our 9 month trip around South America so everything like this was still completely new to me. If you have already spent months travelling around South America you might feel differently. It is a bit like travelling around Europe and eventually feeling like you have seen enough churches or travelling around Asia and reaching your limit with temples lol. They are still impressive but you do not necessarily need to visit every single one.
We spent around 1.5 hours walking around the museum and reading about the different pieces. Some of the information is available in English while other signs are only in Spanish but we still found it easy to see everything without a guide. It was busy when we visited but never so busy that we had to queue to see anything.
One of the most famous pieces inside is the Muisca raft which is connected to the legend of El Dorado. There are thousands of other archaeological pieces throughout the museum too so even if you are not normally a massive museum person I think it is worth visiting while you are in Bogota.
Entry currently costs COP 10,000 and it is FREE on Sundays. You can check the official Museo del Oro website for the latest opening hours and ticket information.
Pro Tip: The Gold Museum is closed on Mondays so make sure you factor this into your 3 day Bogota itinerary.
3. Cerro Monserrate
The views from Cerro Monserrate were easily the best I saw in Bogota. I will be honest I did not think Bogota was the prettiest city while walking around at street level but seeing the whole city from above completely changed the view. At more than 3,000 metres above sea level you can see just how massive Bogota actually is.
Jet lag had us wide awake at 4am for our first couple of days so we decided to make the most of it and get the first cable car up to Monserrate. It ended up working perfectly because it was soooo quiet when we arrived, by the time we were heading back down it had already got much busier so I really recommend getting one of the first cable cars if you can.
You can normally reach the top by cable car, funicular or by hiking. The funicular was not running when we visited so we took the cable car both ways. I did not personally hike the trail so I cannot comment on what it is like but after getting out of breath just walking up some of Bogota’s hills I was very happy with my cable car decision (the altitude is not for the weak lol).
There is a church, restaurants and food stalls at the top. We did not go inside the church but obviously I found time for food and tried this little fried corn or potato thing that looked about the size and shape of a cookie. I still have no idea exactly what it was but it was 10/10. We also had a look around the markets selling the usual tourist souvenirs like keyrings and postcards etc. I would not recommend buying anything up here though as we found it more expensive for the same things you could buy back down in the city.
You can check the official Cerro Monserrate website for the latest cable car, funicular and hiking trail opening times and prices.
Pro Tip: It was also colder at the top and I kept my jumper on the entire time and even wore a coat so bring an extra layer even if it feels warmer when you leave your accommodation.
4. Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira is one of the most popular day trips from Bogota. I did not personally visit this one as we only had 3 days in Bogota and chose to spend our time exploring the city instead but as it is such a popular attraction that I wanted to include it as an option if you have more time.
The cathedral is built underground in a former salt mine in Zipaquira around an hour outside Bogota. Inside the cathedral you will find huge underground chambers and crosses carved into the salt with different sections telling the story of the Stations of the Cross.
You can visit independently using public transport or book a day tour from Bogota if you do not fancy figuring out the buses yourself. If I had an extra day in the city this is probably the day trip I would have added.
5. Plaza Bolivar
Plaza Bolivar is the main square in Bogota’s historic centre and you will probably naturally end up here while exploring La Candelaria. We only spent around 10 minutes having a look around before carrying on but our free walking tour also brought us back here later.
The square is surrounded by some of Bogota’s most important buildings including the cathedral, Capitol and Palace of Justice. You learn about the history of these buildings on the walking tour so if you are planning to do the tour anyway I would wait and visit the square with your guide rather than going out of your way to see it. There are also loads of street vendors around the square and this is where we tried canelazo which is a hot alcoholic Colombian drink that was nice for warming up in the cold Bogota weather but was also unbelievably strong!
It can get busy here so this was one of the places where I made sure to keep my belongings close and stayed aware of what was around me. Our walking tour guide also specifically told us to be careful with our belongings while we were here so it was not just me being paranoid lol.
6. Street Art Tour
You cannot really explore La Candelaria without noticing the street art on every wall. We saw loads of murals just walking around the area but if you want to learn more about the stories and meaning behind them then the Beyond Colombia Free Graffiti Tour is one of the tours I really wanted to do.
We had planned to do the tour but the friends we met on the free walking tour were doing the food tour instead and we wanted to go with them so we ended up missing this one which I am still gutted about. We only had 3 days in Bogota so unfortunately we did not have time for both. Considering the food tour ended up being my favourite thing we did in Bogota I cannot complain lol.
The graffiti tour takes you around La Candelaria to learn more about the murals and the stories behind them including how the art connects to Colombian history, politics and everyday life. If I had another day in Bogota this would be the first thing I would add.
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What is Next?
Ultimate 3 Week Travel Itinerary
We actually spent 5 weeks in Colombia as we attended a local Spanish school in Medellin for 2 weeks. If you are planning to just travel then I recommend 3 weeks. 3 weeks gives you enough time to see the main highlights without using up all your annual leave days. This guide breaks down our exact daily route and transport tips so you can copy our itinerary easily before you arrive.
Where to next?
I am always planning my next trip and sharing everything I learn along the way. If you would like to follow my travels through 44 countries and beyond, join me on social media. From places I loved to the things I would probably do differently next time, I share honest travel advice to help you plan your own adventures. I would love to have you along for the journey.
