Barranquilla walking tour & city guide

Carnival

The Carnaval de Barranquilla, before Lent, is the second-largest carnival in the world, with parades, music and costumes. The Casa del Carnaval museum tells its story.

The city

The Gran Malecón is a long riverside promenade. The historic center and the Prado district have Republican-era buildings.

A day in Barranquilla

Walk along the Gran Malecón del Río, a new riverside promenade on the Magdalena River, and visit the Museum of the Caribbean.

In the evening, enjoy Caribbean music and food.

Good to know

Barranquilla's Carnival, before Lent, is one of the largest in the world and a UNESCO masterpiece.

It is the hometown of Shakira.

Why it is worth a visit

Barranquilla is Colombia's main Caribbean port and its fourth-largest city, a lively, working city rather than a tourist town, which is part of its appeal. It grew where the Magdalena River, Colombia's great river, meets the sea, and the new riverside Malecón has transformed the city, with parks, restaurants, playgrounds and evening breezes. The Bocas de Ceniza, where the river flows into the Caribbean, can be reached by a small train and boat.

The Carnival is the soul of the city: for four days before Ash Wednesday, parades of dancers in masks and costumes, cumbia music and street parties fill the streets, and preparations go on all year. The Casa del Carnaval museum tells its story, and the El Prado neighborhood has elegant Republican-era mansions.