Cali is a cute city. Most of it is walkable and cabs are cheap and plentiful so its easy to get around. Here are the city highlights.
Boulevard of the River
For the starting point go to the Boulevard of the River (Boulevar de Rio), this is a nice promenade along the Cali river and next to a park with small restaurants and bars to sit outside and eat or people watch.
La Ermita Church
At the end of the Boulevard of the River is La Ermita Church. La Ermita Church is a gothic style church built between 1930 and 1948 with a 18th century marble altar brought over from Italy and a musical clock and windows from Amsterdam.
Poets Park
Located behind La Ermita is the Poets Park, a small park where writers have set up little tables and their typewriters so you can pay them to write a poem or letter for your loved ones. There are a few statutes of famous poets lounging around the park.
Plaza Cayendo
From here walk over to Plaza Cayzedo, a busy plaza with the statute of the liberator Joaquin de Cayzedo y Cuero. You can stop here for some traditional lemonade made the old way and snacks. For Narcos fans you can see the drug store across the street which was one of the fronts for the Cali Cartel and was bombed during the Narco Wars.
Plaza San Francisco
About 6 blocks from here is the Plaza of San Francisco where you can also try some traditional snacks, buy feed for all the pigeons and see the Church of San Francisco. (Calle 9 #5-57, Cali)
La Merced Church
From Plaza San Francisco head down Carrera 3 to La Merced Church (Carrera 3 #6-62). Founded in 1545, this is Cali’s oldest church. It’s a lovely whitewashed building in the Spanish colonial style. Inside is a baroque high altar with the Virgen of Mercedes, the patron saint of the city. There are five rooms with pre-Colombian ceramic artwork and a courtyard. (Entrance fee 4000 COP)
Street Murals
There are a few places around to view some beautiful street murals. From La Merced Church (Carrera 3 #6-62, Cali) go down Carrera 3 to Calle 6 (pass Calle 6 on your left and go to the following street which is also Calle 6 but turns in to the right) and see between Carrera 3 & 4. Also the block following Calle 6 which is Calle Quinta (Calle 5a) above the highway there are a few murals and a little further straight down this road, Carrera 3.
Cat Park
A 15 to 20 minute walk or short cab ride away is Cat Park. Cat Park (“Parque del Gato” #3 Oeste-2 a 3, Av 4 Oe. #Oeste- 190, Cali) is lovely slim park which runs along the Cali River in the middle of the city. It is known as Cat Park for the beautiful cat sculptures throughout the park. The first and most famous (often used as a symbol for Cali) is El Gato del Río (“The River Cat”) a sculpture by Colombian artist, Hermando Tejada unveiled in 1996. In the following years a number of cat scupltures by different artists were added.
Museum Tertulia
La Tertulia Museum (right across from Cat Park, Oeste, Carrera 1 ##5-105, Cali), is a modern art museum. The museum consists of three buildings: a main gallery with three hundred works by national and international artists, another art gallery a block away with an art workshop for children and art movie theater.
Park San Antonio and San Antonio Church
Conclusion
Cali is a lovely city to wander and see the sites. Hope you can take this tour and enjoy and let us know your thoughts. Enjoy the Cats 🙂
