Ross' Guide to Bogotá, the Untameable Andean Capital of Cool

La Candelaria & Centro · 10show on map ↑

The Centro is a great place to visit, not a place to stay. Lots of culture, lots of history, lots of cobbled streets — the museum and historical centre of the city. Aside from Prudencia, it's not where you'll find the best food in Bogotá, but if you're visiting for the first time you will invariably end up in La Candelaria. So see the best sights, and get back up north.

• Casa del Rey Colombian barbecue Google Maps ↗ Colombian barbecue in a stunningly converted colonial house. It is where I got married — but it's also just a great place for a Sunday lunch with family. Check whether they have events on, too: I've been to a few fun DJ nights there.
• Donceles High-end Mexican Google Maps ↗ New, and I haven't tried it yet — but it's getting a lot of good hype, and I'm intrigued by high-end Mexican food in this location, in the Centro.
• Prudencia Wood-fire tasting menu · lunch only Google Maps ↗ For my money one of the two best restaurants in Colombia. Only open at lunch, with a five-to-seven-course menu. It's not cheap, but it is incredible. The chef, Mario, is one of a kind: he cooks everything con leña — over a wood fire — and the quality of the produce is superb. It is a world-class restaurant, and I can't recommend the experience enough.
• Delhorno Bakery Google Maps ↗ A bakery with probably the best quiches I've tried in Bogotá.
• MAMBO — Museo de Arte Moderno Art & culture Google Maps ↗ The modern art museum. Worth checking out if you're into museums — although only if you're into museums.
• Museo Botero Art & culture Google Maps ↗ Botero's works alongside his personal collection — Picassos and Dalís included — in a beautiful colonial house in La Candelaria. Free to enter, with a nice coffee shop at the back.
• Museo del Oro Art & culture Google Maps ↗ Go — but please don't leave thinking some pieces of gold from hundreds of years ago are the epitome of Bogotano culture. The living version is on the walls and in the galleries.
• Plaza de Bolívar Art & culture Google Maps ↗ The main square of Bogotá. Nothing to write home about, but it is the centre of the city.
• Monserrat Spa Spa — steam rooms, sauna, hydrotherapy Google Maps ↗ Strange, in that it's a full spa underneath a hostel — frequented mainly by older Colombians who live locally. Three different flavoured steam rooms, a sauna and a hydrotherapy setup make it a great place to decompress for a couple of hours.
• Monserrate Outdoors & play Google Maps ↗ The one tourist activity that you just have to do in Bogotá. If you're okay at the altitude and haven't suffered since arriving, I recommend hiking up and taking the cable car down. If you can't or don't want to hike in the morning, still take the cable car up: the view at the top is spectacular, and the air is very pure.

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La Macarena · 4show on map ↑

• La Monferrina Fresh handmade pasta · La Macarena Google Maps ↗ Probably Bogotá's best place for fresh handmade pasta. It's not fancy, it's just very good. Don't go when you're already full.
• Plaza de La Perseverancia Market food hall Google Maps ↗ Fun: lots of different food stalls selling lots of different variations of Colombian cuisine. Lots of ajiaco, Bogotá's traditional dish, but also some very good comida costeña — including an encocado de mar from Mama Luz, who has a famous stand there. It's busy, but it moves quite quickly, and it's worth checking out if you're looking for local cuisine.
• Bar Bruno Small bites & drinks · La Macarena Google Maps ↗ I haven't been yet, but I really want to. It looks stunning, for small bites and drinks in La Macarena — and it complements La Monferrina, across the road, very well.
• Matorral Librería — La Macarena Bookshop Google Maps ↗

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Chapinero Alto & Zona G · 45show on map ↑

Chapinero Alto — especially between Calle 53 and Calle 65 — is the gem of Bogotá. The coolest people live in the neighbourhood and the food is the most creative. On a sunny afternoon there is no better place in the world to be, and you can live an entire life in a ten-block radius and be incredibly content. It's not a place for a family, although everybody has a dog or a cat — it's a place for cool 20- and 30-somethings. I don't see myself leaving for the foreseeable future.

• Afluente Creative fine dining Google Maps ↗ I struggled with Afluente at first because of the name, which to me implied wealth and affluence. But on trying it I was blown away by its creativity. It's very near the top of my list for high-end creative dining in Bogotá right now, in 2026.
• Café Bar Universal Bistro Google Maps ↗ Just a world-class bistro. I always try to get the whole fish, which is for sharing between two or three people, but the steak frites are probably the best in Bogotá. The place is impeccable: good music, good vibes, good natural light during the day and nice low lighting in the evening. Great for a date, great for a business meeting.
• Flora Italian-inspired pasta Google Maps ↗ A stunning restaurant that would fit in well in London or New York. The menu is relatively simple, but everything is exquisitely well done. Not Colombian at all, and not traditional Italian — just a delicious Italian-inspired pasta restaurant.
• Ganzō Modern Chinese Google Maps ↗ Modern Chinese with really good music — there's a whole scene. You need to make a reservation, and try to go earlier: people at the first sitting tend to stay, so tables don't free up for the late second one.
• Helados Clemente Nitro ice cream Google Maps ↗ The in-vogue ice cream: nitro-frozen, then dipped in a chocolate bath so it sets into a shell, which is very cool. Good ice cream, good people, good flavours, good vibes.
• Híbrido Bakery, brunch & lunch Google Maps ↗ Founded during COVID by a pastry chef from Leo, the fanciest restaurant in the city, and grown into a real neighbourhood spot — in an unassuming house that is bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. High-quality breads, but also very high-quality brunch and lunch dishes.
• Insurgentes Taco Bar Eat Google Maps ↗ Such a cool location, with great music in the evening — come for the vibe. The fried avocado tacos are still very good, but these days I actually prefer the camarones al diablo, and the fried cauliflower with avocado.
• Mesa Franca Eat Google Maps ↗ Best group dinner in Bogotá, and for my money one of the two best restaurants in Colombia. The tostadas de atún are my all-time favourite — expensive, but 100% worth it. Make a reservation online, and order a cocktail with viche.
• NANA Omakase sushi Google Maps ↗ The best sushi I have had in Bogotá, and probably in Latin America. Omakase style, incredible quality. Get the tuna menu, and try to go on a night when they do the filleting of the tuna, which you pay extra for. Not cheap, but phenomenal — and still better value than you'd get in the US.
• Pizza BarVi Pizza & vinyl DJs Google Maps ↗ Tasty pizza, but it's more about the vibe: there's usually a vinyl DJ playing while you eat. A great spot for a date, or a one-on-one catch-up with a friend.
• Salón Tropical Caribbean-coast Colombian Google Maps ↗ The Caribbean-coast sibling of Café Bar Universal, from the same group. A great place to take people visiting Colombia who want a sense of Colombian cuisine that isn't Andean mountain food like ajiaco — it's real costeño food, very well done. Lots of live music, which is a great vibe. Quite expensive, and quite loud, so I only go occasionally — but it's fun.
• Salvo Patria Eat Google Maps ↗ Salvo Patria holds a special place in my heart as one of the reasons I moved to Colombia — I first tried it in 2016. The menu blends inventiveness with a warmth and comfort you don't typically find in Colombian high-end restaurants. Always get the agnolotti.
• Sauvage French-Colombian kitchen Google Maps ↗ A creative kitchen in Quinta Camacho with French-Colombian influences. It's not as fancy as some of the other high-end spots — a good place for a casual creative dinner rather than a fancy creative dinner.
• Seim Seim Colombian-Thai Google Maps ↗ New in 2026: Colombian-Thai fusion from the chef behind Mesa Franca. Right now it's my favourite place to get a group of friends together for really good food and drinks in a really good atmosphere. The papaya salad and the wonton soup are mind-blowingly good.
• Selma Mediterranean bistro Google Maps ↗ Chef Álvaro Clavijo's restaurant that I actually prefer to El Chato, his more renowned, award-winning one. Selma is Mediterranean-inspired. It's not cheap, but it's very, very, very good: creative, with good cocktails. A great place for a date, or for a just mind-blowing meal in Bogotá. I can't recommend it enough.
• Wu Dumplings & Beer Dumplings Google Maps ↗ A hole in the wall, and nothing fancy, but delicious dumplings — and a great change of pace from some of the other spots I recommend.
• Atlas Wine bar Google Maps ↗ The coolest wine bar in the neighbourhood, and where the in crowd tends to hang. If you can't get a table, people spill over into the bars next door, or across the road at Lele, which is also a good aperitivo bar. Atlas recently expanded, and it's just a whole scene.
• Bikinis Cocktails & small plates Google Maps ↗ Still relatively new, and the more hip one with the in crowd. Stunning aesthetics, by the same people behind Café Bar Universal. They do full food, but I recommend it for drinks — a great place for a cocktail and small bites.
• Cocodrilo — Café Bar Vichería Drink & dance Google Maps ↗ One of my sleeper hits in the neighbourhood. You have to cross the Séptima and brave Parque de los Hippies, but the bar has really good vibes on a Friday or Saturday night. Don't go too early: go after dinner but before going somewhere else — 10pm onwards. Good music, a place to dance or to sit down with a cocktail. Have a viche-based one.
• Fantasma Jazz club Google Maps ↗ New York-style jazz in Bogotá — and I think they almost pull it off. Definitely the best place to see jazz in the city. Good cocktails, and I've enjoyed the steak tartare. They do flamenco nights on Wednesdays, which is fun, and most Fridays it's the house band, who are very talented.
• FRANC Wine bar Google Maps ↗ My wife's and my local wine bar. It's almost as cool as Atlas — maybe just as cool — but slightly more casual. On Saturdays they have a DJ, and the vibes are always on point. It's in front of the park, a great place to catch the last of the sunlight and the start of the evening in Chapinero Alto, and the service is really friendly. The food is just okay, but the drinks are great.
• Jardín — Tragos y Pasteles Cocktail garden Google Maps ↗ Just a cool spot, with cool people. A semi-industrial vibe, but in the back garden of an almost English-Tudor-style house — you feel transported away from the city when you go in. Good creative drinks, and a great place to go earlier in the evening, before dinner or before your after-dinner plans.
• Kinder Club Nightclub Google Maps ↗ Maybe the premier nightlife destination in Bogotá on a Friday or Saturday night. It is everything right about Bogotá nightlife: a massive venue with just impeccable vibes across its different ambiences, from techno to 80s music. I can't recommend it highly enough.
• La Sala de Laura Drink & dance Google Maps ↗
• Lele Aperitivo bar Google Maps ↗ A good aperitivo bar across the road from Atlas — where people spill over to when Atlas is full.
• Paradisco — Bar de Escucha Speakeasy listening bar Google Maps ↗ My favourite speakeasy and my favourite place to end a night in Zona G. It's above a wine bar; the music taste is very eclectic, but there's always a good vibe. There's a cover. And upstairs they now have a speakeasy within a speakeasy: Petit Comité, the cocktail spot of Tom Hydzik, barman and part of the founding team at Mesa Franca — just insanely cool, and my favourite place to finish the night in the area.
• Petit Comité Speakeasy cocktail bar Google Maps ↗ A speakeasy within a speakeasy, upstairs from Paradisco: the cocktail spot of Tom Hydzik, barman and part of the founding team at Mesa Franca. Just insanely cool, and my favourite place to finish the night in the area.
• Ruda Speakeasy cocktail bar Google Maps ↗ A speakeasy cocktail bar inside the production kitchen of Álvaro Clavijo's restaurant group — the people behind El Chato, Selma and now Lady Mei. Creative cocktails, a simple menu, an industrial vibe, good drinks. For a casual but cool night.
• Siga Wine, cocktails & food Google Maps ↗ A quintessential Quinta Camacho spot for wine, cocktails and food — although I typically go there more to drink than to eat.
• Sur Vermutería Argentine bar — negronis & choripán Google Maps ↗ An Argentine spot with a variety of negronis, choripanes and other Argentine delicacies. Good vibes, good music, a local hangout — nothing fancy.
• Theatron Drink & dance Google Maps ↗ Theatron is an experience — there are no other words for it. I recommend it for the more adventurous straight people, and definitely for anybody who's gay. It is a unique place in Latin America, maybe in the world, and it's so big you could get lost in there. The Iglesia del Perreo is a sight to behold. I won't ruin the surprise any more than that.
• Almendro Pastry shop Google Maps ↗ My favourite pastry spot in Chapi Alto, especially on the sweeter side. Jorge catered the desserts at my wedding, and his pastel de nata is better than ones I've had in Portugal. Recommended for afternoon coffee and pastries — the medialunas are delicious too.
• Árbol del Pan Bakery Google Maps ↗ Has a lot more soul than MASA. It is clearly a passion project of its owner, and it has thrived over the eight years I've been in Bogotá — expanding to two locations, and a bigger space for the first one. The quiche is amazing, the croissants are the best in Bogotá, and I love the granola they make in-house.
• Diosa Café Café Google Maps ↗ Around the corner from Florindo: a coffee or a chai, and a cookie.
• Libertario Coffee Roasters Coffee & bakeries Google Maps ↗ A very pretty place to have a coffee and read a book. Not a co-working coffee shop — but it's very good coffee, in a beautiful environment to enjoy it over a chat with a friend.
• MASA Bakery-café Google Maps ↗ The quintessential modern Bogotá hangout spot: good bread, a clean, minimal aesthetic, and nothing that will blow you away, but everything's very good. Just a nice place for breakfast or lunch. I buy a lot of my bread there.
• Suculenta — Pan y Vino Bakery & brunch Google Maps ↗ Another good bakery, alongside MASA and Árbol del Pan — and probably the better brunch location of the three. Tasty, tasty baked goods.
• Tropicalia Coffee — Quinta Camacho Coffee & bakeries Google Maps ↗ My favourite coffee shop in Bogotá, voted No. 1 in South America's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2025 — and ninth in the world. It's a coffee shop for the mainstream rather than for real coffee nerds, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they have an incredible coffee program: you can consistently get some of the best coffee in Colombia here, and enjoy delicious food, in one of their two beautiful locations — where you can work, meet, or read a book.
• Quebrada La Vieja Cloud-forest hike Google Maps ↗ My wife's and my favourite hike — we regularly go twice a week. Important: you can only get in in the morning, with a reservation that you make through the Bogotá water company's site. Once you're in, there are three different paths from the main intersection, and the Alto de la Cruz route, if it's open, is stunning — my favourite regular hike in Bogotá. It's closed on Mondays — and on the Tuesday, if Monday was a bank holiday. My favourite days are Wednesday and Thursday: fewer people, and the La Virgen and Alto de la Cruz routes are open. If you don't want to sign up ahead, you can pay an entry fee to do Las Moyas instead: a different hike, open to anybody with no reservation, also stunning, but challenging. Reserve your slot — Caminos de los Cerros Orientales ↗
• Florindo Neighbourhood florist & gallery Google Maps ↗ Set on one of the loveliest two-block radiuses in the whole city. The combination of flowers, gallery and neighbourhood vibes makes Florindo a wonderful stop — which I'd pair with a coffee or a chai and a cookie from Diosa, around the corner.
• NADA Bookshop & local art Google Maps ↗ The edgier, more progressive side of Colombia, with a lot of local books and art. A great place to peruse and get a sense of Bogotá's more creative subcultures — and a good place to shop for a gift.
• Santo & Seña Bookshop & vinyl Google Maps ↗ Probably the coolest bookshop-slash-vinyl shop in the neighbourhood. Worth visiting just for itself, to browse and see the space — and they have a little gift shop too if you're not specifically book shopping.
• Four Seasons Casa Medina Stay Google Maps ↗ Reasonably priced compared to Four Seasons elsewhere in the world, so it's more accessible — and it is a stunning building. It's what I'd recommend for anybody looking for real comfort in Bogotá, which isn't necessarily a comfortable city.
• HAB Hotel Stay Google Maps ↗ For the younger crowd — 20- and 30-somethings who want to have fun, eat well and maybe go out in Chapinero.
• Hotel Casa Legado Stay Google Maps ↗ I haven't stayed here, so I can't vouch for it myself — but I've heard very, very good things. An English-style building in a quiet neighbourhood that's still central to everything. On the luxury stack it probably sits between the HAB and the Four Seasons.

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West of Av Caracas: Teusaquillo, 7 de Agosto & San Felipe · 9show on map ↑

• Chichería Demente Colombian smoked-meat parrilla Google Maps ↗ A Casa del Rey-style parrilla: a cool building and a good, meat-heavy menu of smoked meats — Colombian style, not US barbecue style.
• Fritya Arepas de huevo Google Maps ↗ Not a fancy location at all — but probably the best arepas de huevo you can get in Bogotá. With meat, or ask for it without meat and with two eggs inside, and have it with the ají and the avocado; I like it with the pineapple sauce. A greasy, greasy, delicious way to start your day: an off-the-beaten-track breakfast for the more adventurous Bogotá visitor.
• Plaza de Paloquemao Eat Google Maps ↗ The best produce market I've visited anywhere in South America. Spend a morning discovering fruits you never knew existed, then sit down at one of the little bars inside and wash the new flavours down with an avena — or a mid-morning beer, as the vendors do.
• Trattoria de la Plaza Old-school Italian · 7 de Agosto Google Maps ↗ Almost a speakeasy: you go up stairs that look very uninviting, only to find a wonderful gem of a restaurant. The streets around the 7 de Agosto market are actually very restaurant-dense, and this is my favourite of them. Old-school Italian. I get the chicken parm.
• KB Gallery & bar Google Maps ↗ A gallery-cum-bar with a very cool vibe, and the house itself is just cool. They usually have DJs on Friday and Saturday nights, and there's a karaoke room you can rent, which is great for a big group. It pairs really well with Club de Tejo 76 for a night in San Felipe.
• Teatro Colsubsidio Theatre & concert hall Google Maps ↗ A subsidised theatre that actually puts on some really good shows. I've seen live jazz here: very cheap, and very high quality.
• Club de Tejo 76 Outdoors & play Google Maps ↗ Tejo is Colombia's explosive version of cornhole. A fun night in San Felipe is playing tejo here, then going for drinks at KB. Recommended.
• Park Way Linear park & neighbourhood · La Soledad Google Maps ↗ A neighbourhood and a vibe more than a specific location: a linear park you can walk along, with restaurants and bars on either side. A really good mix of people, between Bogotá's intellectual crowd and the student crowd — it's near the Universidad Nacional. Slightly less preppy than Chapinero Alto, with spots of similar quality.
• Matorral Librería — Teusaquillo Bookshop Google Maps ↗

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Nogal, Virrey & la 93 · 10show on map ↑

• Attic & Keller Mediterranean gastrobar Google Maps ↗
• Antenna Bar & club with a roof deck Google Maps ↗ A recent discovery of mine, and my other go-to in the Zona T. A slightly younger crowd, in their twenties, but the music — at least in my experience — leans towards the 80s, which is a good vibe. Great roof deck and very cool decor.
• El Coq Bar & club Google Maps ↗ One of my two go-to spots in the Zona T for a night out. El Coq has always been good on a Thursday night. It draws people from all over the city, because you're in the Zona T — but it's still a cool spot, not super mainstream.
• Azahar Coffee — Parque 93 Coffee & bakeries Google Maps ↗ A wonderful coffee shop for business meetings, or just for working in a light, airy environment with good coffee. If you're in the 93, go to Azahar, not Libertario.
• Tropicalia Coffee — Nogal Coffee & bakeries Google Maps ↗ My favourite coffee shop in Bogotá, voted No. 1 in South America's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2025 — and ninth in the world. It's a coffee shop for the mainstream rather than for real coffee nerds, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they have an incredible coffee program: you can consistently get some of the best coffee in Colombia here, and enjoy delicious food, in one of their two beautiful locations — where you can work, meet, or read a book.
• Las Moyas Mountain hike Google Maps ↗ If you don't want to sign up ahead for a hike, you can pay an entry fee to do Las Moyas: open to anybody, no reservation, you just need to buy entry. It's stunning, but challenging.
• Parque de la 93 Outdoors & play Google Maps ↗ The principal destination for high-end shopping and restaurants in Bogotá. It's also the most exclusive business area in the city — so it's not cool.
• Parque El Virrey Outdoors & play Google Maps ↗ Just a lovely place to go for a walk — a classic urban park.
• Calle de los Anticuarios Design & artisan shopping street Google Maps ↗ Not a plan for young people looking to have fun. What it is: some of the best eclectic artisan goods made in Colombia — clothes, furniture, art and handmade pieces. They're expensive, but they're beautiful. A place of high-end taste, and a lovely street to walk down.
• RPM Records Shop Google Maps ↗

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Usaquén · 8show on map ↑

Historically a town outside Bogotá that was subsumed by the city's growth, Usaquén retains a town-like vibe. The Sunday market is the highlight: if you're looking for a plan on a Sunday, look no further than walking the market and enjoying good food in Usaquén.

• El Mediterráneo by Andrei Mediterranean Google Maps ↗
• La Mar Peruvian cebichería Google Maps ↗
• Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar Rum bar Google Maps ↗ My go-to cocktail spot in Usaquén. A rum bar, with lots of different preparations for all tastes. A great date-night spot.
• Colo Coffee — Usaquén Coffee & bakeries Google Maps ↗ Probably the most impressive location for a coffee shop in Bogotá. Beautifully set up, indoor-outdoor, very verdant, with a lot of plants. You see the roasting, and the coffee is high quality — you can't go wrong.
• Tourist Coffee Specialty coffee roaster Google Maps ↗ Run by a Q grader, and my old supplier of roasted beans for my restaurant. Probably the best coffee shop in Bogotá for a coffee nerd: lots of exotic profiles, and well-trained baristas.
• Lumina Cinema & cultural district Google Maps ↗
• Santa Ana – La Aguadora Mountain hike Google Maps ↗ A classic Usaquén hike. As with Quebrada La Vieja, you sign up through the water company's site. Reserve your slot — Caminos de los Cerros Orientales ↗
• Mercado de las Pulgas de Usaquén Shop Google Maps ↗ A huge artisan market every Sunday in a lovely neighbourhood that was its own town until Bogotá swallowed it. Ciclovía + brunch + the Usaquén flea market is a Sunday plan that is very hard to beat.

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Further west · 2

• Jardín Botánico Outdoors & play Google Maps ↗ It has a stunning tropicario, which replicates the environment of the Amazon and is well worth your time. Outside the main enclosed buildings, the grounds themselves are nothing to write home about, but very pleasant to walk around, and it's pretty cheap. The botanical gardens — or Simón Bolívar, the main central park — are well worth half a day, but not if you're strapped for time.
• Salitre Mágico Amusement park Google Maps ↗ A real recommendation, believe it or not, for anyone looking for a bit of a thrill while in the city. Surprisingly good roller coasters, inside the city limits: you can be in and out in two or three hours with the kind of adrenaline rush that's hard to find inside a megacity.

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Day trips out of the city · 3

• La Picadería Boozy brunch · north of the city Google Maps ↗ The best boozy brunch outside the city, in a stunning house set against the mountains to the north. Good food, better location. A great weekend spot.
• PedroSimón Comedor Restaurant · Sopó Google Maps ↗ The best restaurant in Sopó. If it were in the city it would have many accolades; out in Sopó it is underappreciated — and therefore cheaper, always available, and very good.
• Restaurante Oriente Destination restaurant · Guatavita Google Maps ↗ A destination restaurant in Guatavita, only open on weekends and festivos. Phenomenal food — what you would imagine from a high-end country pub in the British countryside, set against the Guatavita reservoir. Expensive, but worth the detour.

Nothing in this category around here.