Parque Central – Ciudad del Rio (River City Park)

Posted by geoff on Jan 13, 2012 in Ciudad del Rio | Comments Off on Parque Central – Ciudad del Rio (River City Park)

A huge old factory was demolished to create this long beautiful central park in Medellin. Stretching several city blocks with views of large buildings and Medellin hillsides, Parque Ciudad del Rio has a lot to do within it.

There are many urban sculptures of various types, a very popular and high quality skatepark, a small rock climbing wall, as well as many shady and grassy spots to relax or have a picnic.

At one end of Ciudad del Rio is an amazing display of hip hop graffiti art in what’s called the Galleria Arte Urbana (Urban Art Gallery).

Medellin’s Museum of Modern Art (Museo del Arte Moderna) also is part of Ciudad del Rio.

Urban Art Gallery (Galeria Arte Urbana)

Posted by geoff on Jan 13, 2012 in Art, Best of Medellin, Ciudad del Rio | Comments Off on Urban Art Gallery (Galeria Arte Urbana)

Part of Parque Ciudad del Rio in Medellin (River City Park), the Urban Art Gallery is a very long set of amazing spray paint artworks by Narkografika.

This long wall is next to the Museum of Modern Art, which has a very nice cafe, as well as a skatepark and a rock-climbing wall.

Parque Explora

Posted by geoff on Jan 12, 2012 in Best of Medellin, Parque Explora | Comments Off on Parque Explora

Parque Explora, which would translate to “Exploration Park” in English, is in the center of Medellin, and is one of the most popular attractions in Medellin with locals and tourist alike.

Sala de la Mente

Posted by geoff on Jan 12, 2012 in Parque Explora | Comments Off on Sala de la Mente

The Sala de la Mente is a large exhibit filled with two floors of mind puzzles, electric games, futuristic exhibitions, computer graphic puzzles, 3D animations, and all kinds of interactive things that need to be seen rather than described.

Plaza Botero

Posted by geoff on Jan 12, 2012 in Best of Medellin, Parks | Comments Off on Plaza Botero

One of the most popular spots in Medellin is Botero Plaza, which is next to the Palacio de la Cultura.

There are over a dozen huge bronze sculptors by Medellin’s most famous and most loved artist, Botero, who is famous worldwide for his artistic renderings of “fat people”. Botero says that he doesn’t paint fat people, but he paints figures more voluminously. You’ll notice that they don’t actually look fat… they’re just bigger in some areas. In any case, his unusual and very distinctive style has made him very famous and his pieces are collected worldwide. Botero currently lives in Rome, Italy.

On the other side of the Plaza, opposite the Palacio, is the Botero Museum, which has several rooms of his paintings, as well as other wings of the museum containing works of abstract art and many Colombian historical paintings.