Medellin is a fascinating place. Less than 30 years ago, it was the “Murder Capital of the World.” You couldn’t walk down the street in the city center without risking getting shot. But today, you’d never know it. With a year-round perfect climate, incredibly friendly locals, and fantastic dining scene, it feels more like a traveler’s paradise. The best way to learn about the city’s transformation is to take a Medellin walking tour.
Real City Tours offers a phenomenal walking tour of the downtown area. Along the way, you’ll learn about the city’s history from its earliest days through the drug war and up to today. You’ll learn about paisa culture. And you’ll get to see some of the top attractions in Medellin too.
The Real City Tour follows the free walking tour model. This means you pay nothing upfront. But if you’re satisfied with the experience at the end, you should tip your guide however much you think the tour was worth. (Details at the end of this post.)
In short, Real City Tours offers the best Medellin walking tour. This is the one activity you can’t miss when you visit Medellin, Colombia. In fact, it’s one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had — and I’ve done free walking tours everywhere from Bucharest to Windhoek! In this post, I’ll cover what to expect from your tour and a few practicalities to make it more enjoyable.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I receive a percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you, which helps me keep this site up and running.
Starting your Medellin walking tour: Booking and meeting point
In order to join the Real City Tours walk around Medellin, you need to book in advance. Bookings open 36 hours before the tour. You can book online here. There are a few different departure times each day.
I recommend signing up for your Medellin walking tour on your first or second day in town. The tour will help you get oriented with the city center. You’ll be able to explore feeling 100% safe with your guide and group at your side. And you’ll get some great tips from your guide about where to eat, drink and hang out during your time in Medellin.
On the day of your tour, you’ll meet your guide at the Alpujarra Metro Station. If you’re staying in El Poblado, its just a few stops north. Allow 15 minutes to get there. Finding the tour isn’t hard — just look for the big crowd of gringos and the handful of guides in red shirts.
You’ll stand in line and sign in by showing a confirmation of your reservation. Then, the staff from Real City Tours will break you into a smaller group. Even though they often take 75+ bookings for each tour, no individual group is larger than 25. And you won’t see the other groups again until the end of the tour.
Beginning of your Real City Tours Medellin tour: Get to know your guide
Once you meet your guide and your group has all arrived, you’ll walk a little ways outside the metro station and find a quiet corner to sit down in. Here, your guide will ask everyone to introduce themselves. Then they’ll begin the tour by telling you a bit about themselves.
All the guides with Real City Tours are native to Medellin. My guide, Milo, had grown up there and was extremely proud of his city. So he started the tour with a personal story — how as a small child, he’d been walking home from school one day and found a body in the street — a victim of the drug war. This was a dark time in Medellin’s history. But today, the neighborhood where he grew up has a library, easy access to the city center on the Metrocable, and a radical reduction in violence.
So how did Medellin go from being one of the most dangerous cities in the world to what it is today? This is the subject of the first part of the Medellin walking tour.
Before your guide dives into the history, they’ll start with a couple of ground rules. Most notably, your guide will never say Pablo Escobar’s name in public. Escobar is still such an emotionally charged figure in Colombian culture that simply overhearing his name can cause passersby to engage in an argument or fight.
However, you are welcome to ask questions about the harder parts of Medellin’s past. You just have to choose your language carefully. And if a local does decide to challenge you or your guide, Real City Tours’ policy is to ask them to share their opinion so guests like you can hear all sides of the story.
The history lesson
After the initial meet-and-greet, the first part of your tour involves a 20-minute discussion of the history of Medellin.
Your guide will start by explaining the term paisa — the name for people from Antioquia, the department that Medellin is in. They’ll walk you through how Medellin was isolated for most of its early history, due to the large mountains surrounding it. But in the 20th century, the coffee trade took off and Medellin became a major business center.
Then the drug trade came to Medellin. The city was home to notorious kingpin Pablo Escobar, who wreaked havoc on the city. Bombings were common. Murders were a daily occurrence. Even after Escobar’s death, the violence continued.
So the government stepped in and began several massive public works projects, starting with the Metro system. Not only do the trains ferry passengers around the downtown, but the ingenious Metrocable links the poor barrios in the mountains to the city center. This has led to a drastic reduction in crime as people have access to better jobs outside of their neighborhoods. Additionally, the city invested heavily in public education and architectural design to repurpose former sites of horror into public spaces. The Medellin walking tour takes you to many of these locations.
Finally, your guide will go into a discussion about current views on Escobar. Some Colombians still see him as a positive figure — almost a Robin-Hood-esque symbol. After all, he did invest in poor communities across the country. However, many people from Medellin will tell you that the media’s glorification of Escobar (through TV shows like Narcos) has contributed to seeing him in a more positive light through inaccurate portrayals.
Parque de las Luces and the Library
During Medellin’s darkest period, Plaza Cisneros in the city center was a popular meeting point for drug dealers and robbers. It was dangerous to walk around day and night.
Most cities trying to clean up their act would either install a massive police presence in such a place, or reconstruct it entirely. But not Medellin. Instead, the city government opted to install 300 light poles in the center of the plaza. Today, it’s known as Parque de las Luces — the Park of Lights.
Locals and foreigners alike can now safely enjoy the plaza throughout the day. It’s no longer a haven for violent crime. However, like most of central Medellin, it can get dodgy after around 8 pm — so I’d recommend visiting on your Medellin walking tour just to be safe.
At one end of the plaza is the city’s massive central library. It hosts regular exhibitions and special events and has become a cultural hub for the community. You’ll go in for a few minutes and check it out (while also taking a restroom break).
After you visit the library, you’ll stop for your second history lesson. This time, your guide will take you through how the Colombian government has sought to combat the drug trade — and how those profiting from it have stymied those efforts. While the country has made incredible progress, most Colombians aren’t optimistic that the violence will end until North America reduces the demand for cocaine.
A Medellin walking tour stroll down Carabobo Street
After exploring a little more of the architecture in the area, your free Medellin walking tour with Real City Tours will continue to Carabobo Street — or, translated into English, “Stupid Face Street.”
This is where the history lesson ends and the topic of the tour shifts more to culture. Namely, shopping culture. You’re in the heart of Medellin’s counterfeit-products district, where people come from all walks of life to pick up knockoff designer goods.
Carabobo Street is a pedestrian-only zone. It’s pretty crowded — be careful with your belongings, as pickpockets work this area. Street vendors hawk lemonade, ice cream and other treats as you walk.
After about five minutes, you’ll reach the Palacio National. This building was designed by a European architect and looks like it should be something important. But in reality, it’s another mall. You’ll go inside for another restroom break. The coffee shop in the center of the first floor has good beans from local farmers, and if you order politely you’ll get a discount!
As you walk around central Medellin with your free walking tour group, you’ll notice many people coming up to say hello and welcome you to their city. This is typical — remember to always be polite back, even if you don’t speak any Spanish. And if someone affectionately yells “gringo” at you, respond by calling them “paisa” — you’ll definitely get a laugh!
The role of religion in Medellin
The next stop on your walking tour is a small church in an otherwise unremarkable plaza. But you’re really here for what it represents.
See, the plaza that the church occupies is one of the most popular places in Medellin for people looking for sex workers. Their clients frequently come straight from the church to employ them. (Male, female, or gender-fluid, it doesn’t matter — you will definitely be propositioned while roaming around here. Remember to be polite and just say “no gracias!”)
It’s a strange mix; the most religious place in the city being a gathering place for so many sleazy men. But as your guide will explain, once Colombians go to confession, all their guilt about their bad behavior goes away.
Take a peek inside the church for a look at its gorgeous architecture. If you’re not a church person, don’t worry — one of the best places in the city to buy bunuelos (fried pastry snacks) is in this plaza as well. Your guide can point you to it.
Botero Square: Sculptures from Medellin’s favorite artist
Renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero was born and raised in Medellin. Today, the city maintains a huge collection of his sculptures and paintings — mostly depicting very round people and objects. The biggest collection of public works is in Botero Square, which your Medellin free walking tour will stop at next.
Along the way, you’ll pass a couple notable churches. Look out for the building — now the Palace of Culture — that looks halfway like the Palacio National and halfway just like any other cement construction. The architect who designed the Palacio National began building this as well, but the people of Medellin became outraged that an outsider was being brought in. They said they could do better. In the end, they abandoned the fancy design — but they’re even more proud of the final product as an honest representation of the city.
Your guide will give you a few minutes to wander around Botero Square to look at all the different sculptures. Then, you’ll gather for a group photo in front of one of the sculptures.
San Antonio Park and the Peace Bird
Your Medellin walking tour is coming to an end. You have one final stop — and it’s the most fascinating of all. You’re going to visit San Antonio Park, the site of Botero’s famous Peace Bird sculpture.
Before taking you into the park, your guide will give you a chance to ask any random questions you have about Medellin. Where’s the best coffee? Good craft beer/brewery tours? Vegetarian food? How to buy football tickets? Which Metrocable line to ride for the best views? This is your chance to get a local’s take on how you spend your time in Medellin!
Then, your guide will explain the history of where you are right now. In the spring of 1995, San Antonio Park hosted a large outdoor concert. Over 500 people attended. During the show, a terrorist’s bomb went off, killing 30 people and severely damaging a sculpture of a bird by Fernando Botero.
In the aftermath of the bombing, the government wanted to remove the damaged sculpture. But Botero refused. Instead, he offered to make a new bird to stand side-by-side with the damaged one, as a symbol of the city’s rebirth. The city took him up on his offer and the two sculptures are still there today.
San Antonio Park is the one place you’ll visit on your free walking tour of Medellin that isn’t entirely safe to wander around on your own. Stay with your guide the whole time you’re there, and keep your valuables in front of you.
End of your Real City Tours walk through the Medellin city center
Your guide will finish the tour with one last speech. Many people wonder how Medellin’s locals have kept such a positive attitude despite all the violence in their city. Your guide will explain the paisa attitude toward living life to the fullest. It’s a great end to a fantastic overview of Medellin’s tragic history and transformation.
Finally, your guide will help hail taxis for anyone who wants one, and walk with the rest of the group back to the San Antonio metro station. From here you can visit one of the restaurants or bars nearby (there are lots of good ones), or hop on the metro back to El Poblado.
Be sure to tip your guide before you depart!
Practicalities to make the most of your walking tour of Medellin
If you’ve just finished reading about the Real City Tour and you’re excited to book, great! Below are a few practicalities to know before you go.
How long is the Medellin walking tour?
The Real City walking tour takes between 3.5 and 4 hours — usually on the longer end of that range.
I know, that sounds like a really long time. Most city tours you pay for don’t last that long! But trust me, it’s worth every minute and you won’t be bored at all.
Your guide will stop a few times throughout the tour for you to use the restroom, pick up a snack, or stop for a coffee. The time flies by. The one thing to note is if you take the afternoon tour, it will start to get dark by the end. So make sure you know your way back to your guesthouse or hostel.
How much should you tip your guide?
Since Real City Tours is a free walking tour, your guide will expect a tip at the end. And they will definitely have earned it, as I’m sure you’ll agree after you go.
Make sure you bring enough cash for a decent tip. Most people tip around 30,000 COP per person. If your budget doesn’t allow or you didn’t enjoy the experience, you can tip less. Of course, if you had a great time, your guide will surely appreciate more!
What should you bring?
The most important thing to bring on your walking tour of Medellin is a good pair of walking shoes. The weather may be warm, but after four hours on your feet you won’t want to be wearing flip-flops!
Bring your camera or phone to take pictures with, and a little bit of money for tips and snacks along the way.
Additionally, be sure to pack an umbrella. It rains frequently in the afternoons in Medellin. The rain never lasts very long, but you won’t want to get soaked while walking around.
Finally, don’t buy bottled water — bring a reusable water bottle. You can drink the tap water in Medellin!
After your Medellin walking tour with Real City Tours, you’ll surely agree that this is one of the most incredible cities you’ve ever visited. Don’t miss out during your trip through Colombia!
Did you love your walking tour with Real City Tours? Consider booking their Barrio Transformation Tour (NOT to Comuna 13) or their Exotic Fruits tour as well. Both get great reviews!
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I love free walking tours! I especially like to start my trip with them because the insight helps me get orientated in a new city. Thanks for mentioning that the water is drinkable, I would have never known that!
I loved our guide at Real City Tours! 🙂 Medellin is absolutely wonderful and Colombia is honestly one of my favorite countries! Hope I get to go back soon