Medellin makes a great base for exploring nearby Paisa towns and natural attractions, but the city itself is worthy of a full days tour. Medellin is a modern town - there is no colonial quarter as such, but the city is nonetheless one of the prettiest in Latin America. Visitors to Medellin are invariably warmly surprised by the city, which has an unwarranted, lingering bad reputation. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the city has a fantasic spring like climate, tree clad streets and great nightlife. The city seems well organised - it's a far cry from similar sized (2 million inhabitants) chaotic cities in Latin America. Medellin is very clean, very green, very prosperous and is now also very safe.
Medellin has various churches and cathedrals to explore, in addition to the Museo de Antioquia, one of Colombia's finest museums. The Museo de Antioquia exhibits various pre-Columbian, colonial and modern artworks in addition to various artworks by local boy Fernando Botero.
Also of interest on tours of Medellin city is the "Pueblito Paisa", a small replica "Paisa Town" atop a small hill in the centre of Medellin. There are small exhibits as to how Paisa life was 100-200 years ago, and fantastic views over all the city.
Another interesting trip in Medellin is to take the cable car (Metrocable) up to Santo Domingo, from where their are great views over the city. If you get out at the top, don't stray to far - this is one of Medellin's poorest areas, but nonetheless interesting to see the local way of life. All of the above can easily be visited in a full day tour of Medellin.
See the section on hotels and accommodation in Medellin, or the video of Mangos nightclub.
