The best things to do in Bogotá begin with the summit views at Monserrate, the gold galleries at the Museo del Oro, and the streets of La Candelaria. At Colombia Desk, we plan trips and stays for foreigners, and we plan two to three days for this list (our count from the opening hours, not an official figure).
Because the city sits at roughly 2,600 meters, we keep the first day flat and centered on indoor museums before tackling the mountain. The Museo Botero and the Sunday Ciclovía cost nothing.
The Best Things to Do in Bogotá, Ranked
Prices are in COP. USD figures use the official rate of COP 3,174.67 per dollar, published on Datos Abiertos Colombia for 17 to 19 October 2026. Paid entries in the city run from about USD 4.70 to USD 12.00.
| Rank | Attraction | Area | Price for Foreign Adults | Hours and Closed Days | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerro de Monserrate | Summit at 3,152 m | COP 35,000 round trip Mon-Sat ( | Mon-Sat 6:30 am-10:00 pm; Sun 5:30 am-5:00 pm; Holidays 6:30 am-5:00 pm | City overlook; visit on a weekday afternoon for the sunset. |
| 2 | Museo del Oro | Parque Santander (Cra 6 with Cl 16) | COP 21,000 (~$6.60); Free on Sundays | Tue-Sat 9:00 am-6:00 pm; Sun & holidays 10:00 am-4:00 pm; Closed Mondays | Free English tours Tuesday to Saturday at 11 am and 4 pm, no booking. |
| 3 | La Candelaria Walking Tour | La Candelaria | Pay-what-you-want (tip in cash) | 3 hours; start times not published on the listing | Three-hour walk via La Concordia market, Parque Santander and Plaza de Bolívar. |
| 4 | Museo Botero | La Candelaria | Free admission | Open daily except Tuesdays; last entry 1 hour before closing | A collection of 208 donated artworks located in La Candelaria. |
| 5 | Museo Nacional de Colombia | Not covered here | COP 15,000 (~$4.70); Free Wed 2:00-5:00 pm & last Sun of month | Tue-Sun generally 9:00 am-5:00 pm; Closed Mondays | Free every Wednesday 2-5 pm; the same fares cover Casa Museo Quinta de Bolívar. |
| 6 | Graffiti Tour Bogotá | La Candelaria | Pay-what-you-want (listing suggests about USD 10) | Daily departures at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm | Tip-based graffiti walking tour departing from Chorro de Quevedo. |
| 7 | Usaquén Flea Market | Usaquén | Free to browse | Sundays 9:00 am-6:00 pm per municipal guides | Sunday-only stalls; the hours are from a 2022 Alcaldía guide and may have changed. |
| 8 | Sunday Ciclovía | Citywide | Free | Sundays and holidays 7:00 am-2:00 pm | 141.46 km of connected roads open to cyclists, runners and walkers, with free mechanic checks. |
| 9 | Jardín Botánico de Bogotá | Engativá | COP 38,000 (~$12.00) | Hours not published on the 2026 fare notice | Botanical garden in Engativá; fares rose from 29 July 2026. |
| 10 | Plaza de Mercado Paloquemao | Paloquemao | Bouquets from COP 3,000; empanadas COP 1,500 (October 2024 press prices) | Flower market daily 3:30 am-1:30 pm; general market hours not published | Go early on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, the busiest flower days. |
| 11 | Quiebracanto | Santa Fé | COP 20,000 cover (~$6.30) | Wed-Sat 7:00 pm-3:00 am | Salsa bar in Santa Fé; see our Bogotá nightlife guide. |
| 12 | Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá | Zipaquirá | COP 125,000 (~$39.40) basic foreign adult | Daily 9:00 am-4:40 pm | A salt cathedral 180 meters underground; covered fully in our day trips from Bogotá guide. |
Monserrate for Mountain Vistas
The peak of Monserrate rises to 3,152 meters above sea level.
Visitors ascend the mountain via funicular railway or cable car. Round-trip fares are COP 35,000 Monday to Saturday and on holidays, dropping to COP 21,000 on Sundays. A one-way ticket costs COP 21,000, while seniors aged 62 and older pay COP 29,500 Monday to Saturday and on holidays, and COP 16,500 on Sundays. Operating hours run Monday through Saturday from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm, Sundays from 5:30 am to 5:00 pm, and holidays from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm.
The Monserrate schedules page says transport runs by funicular only from September 13 to October 23; the page does not print the year, so check it before you go. The basilica is open Monday and Wednesday through Sunday from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Tuesdays from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
For active travelers, an outdoor pedestrian footpath is managed by the city’s recreation institute, IDRD, per the Monserrate schedules page. The trail permits uphill hiking daily between 5:00 am and 1:00 pm, with downhill clearing by 4:00 pm, but closes every Tuesday. Pets and children under one meter tall cannot access the walking path.
Because the summit sits more than 500 meters higher than the city center, do not hike the trail on your first day in Colombia. Take the funicular in the late afternoon on your second or third day, catch the sunset over the city, and ride back down before nightfall.
Museo del Oro and Historic La Candelaria
Spend your first day here, because the Museo del Oro, the Museo Botero and the Museo Nacional are all indoors.
The Museo del Oro, run by the Banco de la República, stands at Parque Santander on the corner of Carrera 6 and Calle 16. Admission for foreign visitors is COP 21,000 from Tuesday to Saturday. Entry is free for all visitors on Sundays, as well as for children under 12 and adults over 62. The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Sundays and holidays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It closes every Monday, including holiday Mondays. Free guided tours in English run Tuesday through Saturday at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm without advance reservations. Audio guides rent for COP 8,000.
The Museo Botero, at Calle 11 No. 4-41 in La Candelaria, is free and open every day except Tuesday, with last entry one hour before closing. According to Wikipedia, it opened on 1 November 2000, the year Fernando Botero donated 208 works to the Banco de la República: 123 of his own and 85 by other international artists. It sits in the bank’s Manzana Cultural with the Museo Casa de Moneda and the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU).
The Museo Nacional de Colombia sets its fares under Resolución 2137 of December 26, 2025. Foreign adults pay COP 15,000, ages 13 to 17 pay COP 10,000, and ages 6 to 12 pay COP 5,000. Foreign children aged 5 and under and visitors 60 and over enter free. Galleries are generally open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The museum offers free admission to all visitors on Wednesday afternoons from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and on the last Sunday of every month.
To explore the neighborhood streets, book a pay-what-you-want free walking tour in Bogotá through Guruwalk. Gran Colombia Tours, as listed on Guruwalk, guides this three-hour route starting from Plazoleta Chorro de Quevedo. Guides carry yellow umbrellas and lead groups through La Candelaria, Plaza de Mercado La Concordia, and Plaza de Bolívar. Alternatively, their free graffiti tour Bogotá departs the same fountain daily at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. This graffiti tour lasts two and a half hours. On the walking tour you pay what you want, in cash, at the end; the graffiti tour listing suggests about USD 10.
Keep your visit to La Candelaria during daylight hours. UK government travel advice, summarised in our Bogotá safety guide, reports armed robberies of tourists in the neighborhood. Leave the district by rideshare app before dark.
A Sunday in Bogotá
The Ciclovía de Bogotá operates every Sunday and public holiday from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. The municipal program opens 141.46 kilometers of connected roads to bicycles, runners, and pedestrians. Along the route the city runs free bike mechanic checks, riding and skating lessons, and health points.
North of the center, the Usaquén flea market runs at Calle 119 with Carrera 6a, with a section at Calle 120 with Carrera 4a. The Alcaldía’s 2022 market guide lists Sunday hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. In central Bogotá, the San Alejo flea market also operates along Carrera 7 No. 24-70 on Sundays and holidays from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.
The Museo del Oro is free for everyone on Sundays. A free ticket must still be collected inside. Monserrate reduces its round-trip transit fare to COP 21,000 on Sundays, though transit closes at 5:00 pm. The Museo Botero remains open on Sundays and is closed on Tuesdays.
Markets and Green Spaces
The Jardín Botánico de Bogotá is situated in the Engativá district on Avenida Calle 63 # 68-95. Under municipal tariffs updated in 2026, foreign admission is COP 38,000. Foreign seniors over 60 pay a reduced Tropicario-only rate of COP 27,000.
At Plaza de Mercado Paloquemao you can walk the flower and food stalls; the figures below come from an October 2024 Pulzo report, so expect higher prices now. The market’s flower section operates daily from 3:30 am to 1:30 pm, with peak vendor activity on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Vendors display roughly 800 flower varieties, with small bouquets starting from COP 3,000. Market food stands serve several dishes:
- Empanadas for COP 1,500.
- Plates of calentado for COP 15,000.
- Bowls of ajiaco, mondongo, or fish sancocho ranging between COP 20,000 and COP 25,000.
Parque Simón Bolívar suits families with children. The public park covers roughly 910,000 square meters of green lawns, three children’s playgrounds, and a 10-hectare boating lake, operating daily from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm. The Maloka interactive science museum on Carrera 68D # 24A-51 opens daily from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, with tickets sold until 4:00 pm. Detailed planning for these venues is covered in our Bogotá with kids guide.
Beyond the City Center
The Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá sits 180 meters underground, and our day trips from Bogotá guide covers its tickets, hours and transport. The same guide covers Guatavita, Villa de Leyva and Chingaza.
What a Day Costs and How to Get Around
On a weekday, one foreign adult pays COP 71,000 for three sights: the Museo del Oro (COP 21,000), a Monserrate round trip (COP 35,000) and the Museo Nacional (COP 15,000). At an official exchange rate of COP 3,174.67 per US Dollar, that full day of sightseeing costs approximately USD 22.40.
| Sightseeing Line Item | Cost in COP | Cost in USD (at TRM 3,174.67) |
|---|---|---|
| Museo del Oro Ticket (Foreigner) | COP 21,000 | ~$6.60 |
| Monserrate Round Trip (Mon-Sat) | COP 35,000 | ~$11.00 |
| Museo Nacional Foreign Adult Ticket | COP 15,000 | ~$4.70 |
| Combined Baseline Sightseeing | COP 71,000 | ~$22.40 |
| TransMilenio Bus Fare (Single Ride) | COP 3,550 | ~$1.10 |
| Quiebracanto Salsa Bar Cover Charge | COP 20,000 | ~$6.30 |
Altitude is a primary physical constraint during your first 48 hours. Bogotá sits at approximately 2,600 meters (8,600 feet) above sea level, and Monserrate reaches 3,152 meters. CDC guidance, as cited in our Bogotá with kids guide, notes that acute altitude illness becomes a medical risk above roughly 2,450 meters sleeping elevation. Children are just as susceptible to altitude effects as adults. Visitors should avoid alcohol and limit strenuous physical exercise for the first 48 hours. Schedule indoor museums like Botero and the Museo del Oro on day one, and save the climb up Monserrate or vigorous cycling along the Ciclovía for later in your stay.
The TransMilenio bus system costs COP 3,550 a trip and is fine by day if you are not carrying bags; after dark, order an app car.
The US Department of State rates Colombia Level 3 (“Reconsider travel”) in its advisory issued March 31, 2026; Bogotá is outside the Level 4 areas. Bogotá’s Alcaldía warns of taxi robberies known as “paseo millonario”, so order rides through an app, especially after dark.
For dining, browse our picks in the best restaurants in Bogotá guide, or consult our Bogotá neighborhoods guide to choose between staying in Chapinero, Usaquén, or the historic center.
Who Should Pick a Different Plan
This urban itinerary does not suit travelers seeking a coastal destination. If you prefer to visit Cartagena, our Cartagena attractions guide outlines that destination. If you are choosing between cities, see things to do in Medellín.
We would move Monserrate down the list if the funicular-only period ran past 23 October, and the Museo del Oro down if it dropped its free Sunday entry. Until then, base yourself in a neighborhood like Chapinero or Usaquén, schedule your downtown museum tours for weekday mornings, and dedicate Sunday to the Ciclovía and the Usaquén flea market.
To have our team design your travel itinerary, book private transfers, or coordinate housing, reach out via our contact page.