Plaza Botero

Plaza Botero is a public square in downtown Medellín with 23 monumental bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero, the city's most famous artist. It's free, open all day, and sits between the Museo de Antioquia and the black-and-white Palacio de la Cultura, so it's the natural starting point for a day in El Centro.

What it's like

Plaza Botero is a wide, paved square in the middle of downtown Medellín, shaded by palms and dotted with 23 huge bronze figures by Fernando Botero. You'll recognize his style straight away: people and animals with swollen, rounded volumes, among them a horse, a cat, a sphinx, a giant hand and a sleeping Venus. Botero himself always said he didn't paint fat figures; he was interested in volume. Up close, the bronzes are surprisingly smooth and polished in the spots where thousands of hands have touched them.

The square is about 7,000 square meters and it's always busy. Office workers cut across it, families pose with the sculptures, street vendors sell fruit and souvenirs, and tour groups gather on the corners. It's lively and very local, which is part of the appeal.

How it came to be

In the late 1990s, the Museo de Antioquia was struggling and Botero offered the city a large donation of his work, plus help to build a better home for the museum. The museum moved into the former municipal palace, an art deco building, and the city cleared a block of old buildings in front of it to make room for a public square. Botero donated the sculptures in 2000, the renovated museum reopened that October, and the plaza opened in 2001. It changed this part of the old center, known as the Barrio Viejo, from a run-down block into one of the city's best-known public spaces.

What to see around it

• Museo de Antioquia faces the square. Inside are galleries of Botero's paintings and sculptures, plus Colombian art from colonial times to today. It's the best way to see more of his work after the plaza.
• Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe, the black-and-white Gothic Revival building on the other side, is one of the most photographed buildings in Medellín.
• Parque Berrío and its metro station are a short walk away, and the elevated metro line runs right past the square.

Tips for your visit

Go in the morning on a weekday, when it's calmer and the light on the sculptures is softer. Combine the plaza with the museum, the Palacio and a walk along Carrera Junín or Avenida La Playa. Downtown Medellín is busy and full of pickpockets, so keep your phone in a front pocket, carry little cash, and leave valuables at your hotel. It's best visited in daylight; after dark the area empties out and isn't a place to wander. Many free walking tours of El Centro start or stop here, which is a good way to see it if you're new to the city.

Getting there

Take metro Line A to Parque Berrío station; the square is a two-minute walk. From El Poblado, the metro ride takes about 15 minutes. A taxi or ride-hailing app also works, but traffic downtown can be slow.