Old City Plazas

A distinctive trait of Latin American culture is community plazas and Cartagena’s Old City keeps up with the best of them. While the Old City has tons of them, I’ll talk about a few highlights.

The first plaza or square you’ll likely encounter is Plaza de los Coches. Formerly a slave-trading post, the scenic plaza now boasts beautiful Spanish colonial buildings, a statue of Pedro de Heredia, horse-drawn carriages for hire, restaurants and bars, and El Portal de los Dulces, a portal to sweets across from the Clock Tower Gate where sweets vendors, under the arches of the buildings sell coconut, milk, and guaya candies, pastries, and fruits.

Just beyond Plaza de los Coches to the north is Plaza de la Aduana, the customs square where I saw folks—students and medical—from organizations set up tables and information booths.

Plaza de San Pedro Claver is the next plaza. Actually, it’s west of Plaza de los Coches and borders Plaza de la Aduana. It was one of the most remarkable and pleasant plazas in Cartagena. When I entered, I immediately noticed a large, brick, popular plaza surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings. My touristy curiosity immediately shot up and I photographed like nobody’s business.

The three-story San Pedro Claver Church sits at the far end of the square and dotted throughout the square are a series of metal, modern statues of Colombian citizens. These statues heightened the charm and experience of being in San Pedro Claver Square. Scattered throughout the square—in front of the church, around and on top of the statues, everywhere—are an army of pigeons. There are peddlers and vendors in the square who have bird feed, fruits, and drinks for sale.

Just north of Plaza de la Aduana is Plaza de Bolívar, where the Palace of Inquisition (Palacio de la Inquisición) museum resides. Bolívar Square is fairly small compared to Plaza de San Pedro Claver. Bolívar Square is surrounded by important buildings: the Palacio de la Inquisición, Historical Archive, and the Government Palace.

The physical square is primarily made of Parque de Bolívar, a really great the place to hang out. The park is lined with benches, lush trees and plants, pigoens, and food and drink vendors. The central point of the park is a statue of Simon Bolívar. It’s a great place to wind down, take stock, and people watch after visiting the Palacio de la Inquisición.

Plaza Santo Domingo
Adjacent to and just north of Bolivar Square on Calle 35 is Plaza Santo Domingo. What’s special about this plaza is that it is the place for meals. Fantastic restaurants surround the plaza and outdoor seating is the norm. At night, the entire plaza is packed full of tables, servers, musicians, and eaters like myself.

Plaza Majaqua
This plaza is in the San Diego area to the east of Centro. It’s a nice plaza to get away from the Centro crowd and relax. It’s close to Juan Valdez Cafe (on Calle 36) and is made up of Parque Fernandez Madrid. I took a break here after climbing up the fortress wall, Santa Catalina Bastion, near Plaza de las Bovedas and bought a tinto cafe (a shot of coffee) from one of the locals in the park.

Plaza Cervantes
Plaza Cervantes is outside the Clock Tower Gate and sits at the north end of Camellón de los Mártires in La Matuna. Besides the statue of Cervantes, the Spanish novelist who penned Don Quixote, I visited this area several times because Banco Popular bank is there!