Bogotá amazes from the very first stroll through La Candelaria, its colonial quarter of cobbled streets, colourful balconies and street art on every corner. The Gold Museum holds the world's largest collection of pre-Hispanic goldwork, and Monserrate hill offers the best panorama of a metropolis stretching as far as the eye can see. The city is also the country's culinary capital, with markets like Paloquemao and restaurants reinterpreting Colombian cuisine.
From the capital it is easy to escape to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, a church carved into a mine 180 metres underground, or to Lake Guatavita, origin of the legend of El Dorado. Bogotá is also the natural starting point for combining Medellín, the Coffee Axis and Cartagena on a single route.