2 Best Sights in Medellín, Colombia

The Antioquia Museum contains a collection of 188 paintings and sculptures by native son Fernando Botero. Known for depicting people and objects with a distinctive "thickness," Botero donated part of his personal collection to the museum (the bulk of his gift went to Bogotá). The plaza out front completes the Botero circle, with 23 sculptures dotted between trees, benches filled with chatting locals, and two fountains designed by the artist as well. The museum also offers a grand overview of Colombian art, with salons dedicated to pre-Hispanic, colonial, Republican, and contemporary art. There are free tours in Spanish daily, which take in both the museum and the works in the plaza. English-speaking guides are available, but tours have to be organized at least two days in advance.

This small concrete plaza, the city's nucleus since its construction in 1680, is overwhelmed by the city's elevated train, at this writing, the only one of its kind in Colombia. Nearby is the colonial church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria. To the south, the Banco de la República building stands next to a huge female torso sculpted by native son Fernando Botero. On the bank's other side, a bronze fountain and marble monument honor Atanasio Girardot, an 18th-century champion of Colombian independence.