Cartagena de Indias is a fascinating city. In 1984 UNESCO declared it a Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and it is not very difficult to understand why. Walking through the squares and streets of "La Heroica", entering to contemplate the beauty of its cathedrals, or sitting to watch the sunset from its walls, is a unique experience in which the highest colonial architecture is combined with the incomparable beauty of the sea. Caribbean.  

The city was founded on the beach in 1533, intended as a strategic point for trade routes between Europe and America. Today, half a millennium later, Cartagena is the capital of the Colombian department of Bolívar, and has become one of the main political and economic centers of the region: the Canal del Dique -the country's main river route-, its port Maritime is the fourth busiest on the continent, and is crossed by the Troncal del Caribe —the most important land route in northern South America.  

However, and despite all the development that Cartagena has experienced throughout its five centuries of history, the best way to get to know the city is still walking. So at school Nueva Lengua We have designed this tour of the Historic Center so that you can take advantage of your stay in the city while discovering its main points of interest and practicing your Spanish to the maximum. 

Tour of the Historic Center of Cartagena 

1. Nueva Lengua: 

En Nueva Lengua we want to be the home of our students during their visit to Colombia. Therefore, in addition to classrooms and other academic areas, the school house in Cartagena has accommodation spaces. And it is that the headquarters of Nueva Lengua It could not be better located: it is located in Callejón Ancho, in the heart of the traditional Getsemaní neighborhood.  

When Nueva Lengua decided to open its doors in Getsemaní two decades ago, this area of ​​Cartagena was in decline. Like the walled city, the neighborhood had been founded in colonial times, but it had been relegated for many years and was not taken into account by the locals nor was it part of the traditional tourist circuits.  

Today, quite the contrary, Getsemaní is recognized as the main artistic district of the city, to the point of that coming to Cartagena without walking through Getsemaní is the same as never having been. In Nueva Lengua We feel proud to have been part of the social and cultural renaissance of Gethsemane, and that is why our walking tour of the city could not begin in a different place than this one.  

2. Church of the Holy Trinity: 

Leaving the school, one block on the left, we arrive at the Plaza de la Trinidad. By day, the main attraction of the Plaza is the church, which opens its doors to hundreds of faithful and tourists who visit it daily; at night, urban culture takes over the space, and the streets are filled with artists who animate the atmosphere with music and dance. Surely when you arrive you will not want to leave there, but don't worry, the tour is just beginning. 

3. Centennial Park:  

To get to our next stop we will have to leave Getsemaní by Calle de la Sierpe. You will recognize it very easily: it is a curved street, with cobbled walls, full of graffiti and murals on both sides. A show for lovers of street art.  

At the end of the street, you will see a place like a forest in the middle of the pier and the colonial houses. It is the unmistakable Centennial Park. As its name indicates, this park was built to commemorate 100 years of Colombian Independence, and since then it has brought together countless artists on its benches and gardens: from musicians and storytellers, to mimes and poets.  

Cartagena is also a city that has always attracted lovers of history and literature. Here one of the main battles between the Spanish army and the legendary English pirate Sir Francis Drake took place, and the incredible novel Love in the time of cholera, by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, takes place among its streets. Would you believe us, then, if we told you that these and many more stories remain alive inside Centennial Park? Every day, from very early, the booksellers of the city raise their towers of books there, and although new ones can be obtained, the greatest attraction are the second-hand books, true jewels in which the treasures of the history of this city are kept. city.

4. Clock Tower:   

In front of the main gate of the Park, looking towards the sea, you will see three large arches, and on top of them, a tower. It is the Clock Tower, the emblematic building of Cartagena. Before the construction of the Tower, this place was the arrival point for the boats and trains that connected the city with the rest of the country and the world. Today, converted into a pedestrian area, it is the gateway to the "Corralito de Piedra".  

After taking the inevitable photo under the central arch, with the clock on top and the palm trees on the sides, it is time to enter the Walled City. 

It is very likely that, at this point in our journey, with the Caribbean sun and a couple of books under your arm, you want to take a break; If that's the case, you're in the right place. When you cross the Tower you will find the so-called "Portal de los dulces", a place dedicated to the preparation of traditional sweets from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia: cocadas, alegrías, caballitos, muñequitos de leche, as well as desserts made with the most varied local fruits and flavors, such as pineapple, papaya, coconut, plum, corozo, mango, medlar, zapote, among many others.  

5. Saint Peter Claver:    

Having recharged our energies, our next stop is the church of San Pedro Claver. And it is impossible to talk about Cartagena without referring to this saint of the Catholic Church. Since its establishment as a port for the Spanish Crown, the city became an important commercial center of the New World. By then, slavery was a normal part of the trade, and consequently, hundreds of African slaves arrived in Cartagena, mostly as labor for the construction of the city itself.  

It is also no secret to anyone that the conditions in which these people arrived and worked in America were, to say the least, subhuman. And Saint Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest, was not indifferent to this situation. He called himself a "slave of slaves" and dedicated his life to working for this community and seeking to be dignified and respected in his condition.

For this reason, Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1888, and since then his remains, which remain in the church that bears his name, have been declared religious relics.  

The church of San Pedro Claver is, then, a religious sanctuary and an art museum that houses historical pieces that portray the life of the priests and the black during the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in colonial Cartagena. It is truly a journey back in time to be able to visit this place and enter the former slave rooms, today full of priceless artistic works, available to be visited by all of us. A must on our tour.  

6. St Catherine's Cathedral:    

Our path through the streets of the Historic Center of Cartagena now leads us to the central square of the city: the Plaza de Bolívar. It will be very easy to recognize it, because in the middle stands a monument in honor of the liberator of Colombia. This space also has an additional attraction and that is that, unlike the rest of the squares in the Walled City, the one in Bolívar has fountains and gardens, which stand out beautifully among the cobblestones that dominate Cartagena's architecture.  

On one side of the square is the Palace of the Inquisition, the former court of the Catholic Church, today converted into a historical museum. There, among other things, are exposed some of the artifacts that were used as methods of punishment and torture in cases of people accused of witchcraft. But also tools and other elements that have been preserved from those early years of the city.  

A fact that many people do not know about Colombian cities is that they all have at least one square named after Simón Bolívar, which is always the main square. In the case of Cartagena, being a colonial city, its main square is also the site of its main church: the Cathedral of Santa Catalina de Alejandría. If you see it open when you pass by, take advantage and enter so that you can see firsthand its imposing pillars and the spectacular main altarpiece that heads it: an artistic and ecclesiastical treasure without equal. 

7. Santo Domingo:    

Despite being the main Catholic temple in Cartagena, the Cathedral of Santa Catalina is not the most famous; that position, without a doubt, is taken by the Convent of Santo Domingo. Several reasons make this church the most visited in the city.  

First of all, there is its size, because although the rest of the churches on our tour are not small, this one is especially large. Having been a convent of the Dominican order, the temple was also used as a home and seminary, thanks to which it has a spectacular altarpiece and stone sculptures inside, as well as large rooms and gardens at the back.  

Second, its beautiful square. The Plaza de Santo Domingo is surrounded by some of the tallest buildings in the Walled City, a fact that allows it to be provided with shade most of the day, and that makes it one of the favorite spaces of the people from Cartagena to sit down for a drink and enjoy the musical groups that meet there daily.

Nor forget neither Get your camera ready, because the Plaza has on one side the famous sculpture of "La Gorda Gertrudis", an inevitable character in any visit to Cartagena.  

8. A toevening in the walls:    

to close this walking tour in style, we will leave the Plaza de Santo Domingo crossing the Callejón de los Estribos, a path that leads fromirectly from inside the Corralito de Piedra to its wall. In colonial times, the purpose of the wall was to serve as protection against maritime attacks. In order to be able to move the cannons and military units easily, their engineers decided to build large bulwarks on top of the wall.  

Several centuries later, the wars against privateers and buccaneers are now a thing of the past, but the bastions remain there, facing the beach, more alive than ever. Its privileged location —by the sea, facing west— Gives the bastions a show natural incomparable: the beautiful sunset of the Caribbean Sea. The best way to appreciate it in all its splendor is to arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 in the afternoon, and settle in one of the bars and restaurants on the wall, with a juice or a drink and the breeze from the beach.  

Study Spanish in Cartagena de Indias 

Art, history, literature, architecture, gastronomy... Could this city really be missing something?  

If something has been demonstrated with our tour, it is that the cultural wonders of Cartagena are surprising. But even more surprising is that, even after everything we've seen, the city still has more to offer. 

The only way to live the experience in its entirety is by living it in your own flesh, that's why at school Nueva Lengua We articulate the teaching of Spanish with immersive tourism, through the best and most exciting cultural activities. We have a staff of professional teachers with experience in ELE (Spanish as a foreign language), who together with our house in Getsemaní will make your stay in Cartagena a first-class experience, so that you can practice your Spanish with the greatest comfort and have fun while maximum.  

Check the activities that we organize in Cartagena, or write to us at info@nuevalengua.com to meet our Spanish courses and cultural immersion In colombia.