EXCITING CITIES
MEDELLÍN, Colombia
WHY NOW? Medellín is Pablo Escobar’s hometown- a city once synonymous with crime, dubious
substances and people locked in car boots. Years have
passed, crime has dropped and Colombia’s second
city has undergone something of a Damascene
conversion, reasserting its identity as one of the
most exciting metropolises on the continent.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT? Medellín is perched at
an altitude of 1,500m, surrounded by Andean hills,
with a sunny but breezy year-round climate that
earns it the moniker, the City of Eternal Spring.
WHAT SHOULDN’T I MISS? Witness the city’s
beautiful geography by jumping on the Metrocable,
a much-loved cable-car system that swoops over
parks and favelas (tickets £1). Back down on terra
firma, potter over to Plaza Botero, the old town
square dotted with sculptures by Medellín’s most
lauded son, Fernando Botero. From here, it’s a short
taxi ride to El Poblado, an upscale neighbourhood
that functions as the city’s gastronomic heart. You’ll
find coffee shops roasting beans from the
surrounding Antioquia hills, to create robust brews
that are reclaiming their reputation as Colombia’s
signature stimulant.
HOW DO I GET THERE? Getting to Medellín from
Singapore or Kuala Lumpur will require a few
stopovers in major European cities first. It’s possible
to fly from Heathrow via Madrid with Iberia, via
Miami with American and via Bogotá with Avianca
(from £938; avianca.com).MIDSUMMER MOOMINS
This June, more than 2,000 original works from Moomin creator Tove Jansson will go on display at Tampere Art Museum Moominvalley in Finland,
the world’s first museum dedicated to Moomins (muumilaakso.tampere.fi).