Getting out of the city

Living in Medellin for a month was a great experience but sometimes the city gets to be a bit hectic. There are a couple spots to go to get out of the city for the day or even a few short hours in the afternoon to relax. Arvi park is an amazing place to escape the city that includes a fun ride with some great views.

Medellin is the only city in the country with a metro system, and they are so very proud of it. They do not allow eating or drinking on the metro and there is no graffiti on the trains, which is very different from most of the other public transport we have experienced elsewhere. The metro trains also connect with two cable car lines that connect the communities high in the hills surrounding the city. They are quite a cheap way to see the whole of the city, from high above, in a short amount of time.

Arvi Park itself is free to enter after taking the metro and cable cars up and out of town. The journey takes about twenty minutes to get to the top and away from the city. There is a small village up there as well with several small restaurants and bars as well as handicrafts for sale. With quiet trails through beautiful forests, it’s hard to believe the big city is only a few minutes away. A great way to spend the day is to take a picnic up and relax for the afternoon.

Another one of our favourite places to go to escape the city is the Botanical Gardens, right in the centre of the city. Just one block from a metro station, the beautiful gardens are also free to enter. We saw three large lizards, turtles, birds and plenty of cats. Not sure why there are so many cats in the gardens but they seem to enjoy it. Medellin’s Botanical Gardens are another fantastic way to spend an afternoon with few signs that you are actually in the heart of the city.

There is also free wifi all throughout the gardens as well as two restaurants to keep you fuelled so you can easily spend an entire day. Bring a picnic and blanket as well as a book or your laptop and spend the afternoon in this walled park in the middle of the city.

Medellin quickly became one of our favourite cities.