Bogotá’s Parks
Parque de la Independencia
According to the stories, at the site of this small and pretty park located on Seventh Ave. and Calle 26, revolutionary leaders met to conspire against imperial Spain. Today, Bogotá’s Planetarium, which contains free exhibitions, is beside the park.
Parque Nacional/National Park
This sprawling park located along Seventh Avenue at 37th Street has a pro-size futbol field, although for use only by organized teams, a roller hockey pitch, children’s play areas and a restaurant. It’s also often the site of concerts and during the Sunday/Holiday Ciclovia, they stage big aerobics courses here.
Parque Simón Bolívar
This huge park (larger than New York’s Central Park) is actually five parks merged together – all of them beautiful. There’s a sports park, El Parque de los Novios (Lovers’ Park), a lake where you can rent paddle boats and huge green areas. The park is often used for concerts and other cultural events. During holidays, the park fills with kite flyers, day campers, kids playing football….
Plaza de Toros de Santamaria
Whether you’re a fan of La Corrida de Toros or (rightly) condemn this cruel ’sport,’ Bogotá’s Plaza de Toros Santa Maria is a beautiful building. Located right off of 7th Ave., just past Calle 26. On our bike tours, we often enter the plaza – but not to see fights.
La Ciclovia
The world-famous Sunday Ciclovia could be called Bogotá’s longest and most famous park. It’s a wonderful Bogotá tradition. On Sundays and holidays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. major avenues are closed to cars and thousands of Bogotanos turn out on bikes, skates, jogging, walking, wheelchairs – all sorts of healthy non-polluting, non-motorized transport. The Ciclovia has been imitated in the U.S., where it’s sometimes called ‘Sunday Streets’ or ‘Summer Streets,’ but the original is still the greatest! You can be part of it too, by renting a bike or going on a tour with Bogotá Bike Tours!
Monserrate
Monserrate Church
Monserrate is Bogotá’s most famous and visible landmark, and has come to symbolize the city. The mountain’s peak is 3,152 meters high and contains a church, souvenir shops, greasy food grills and two fine restaurants. One, the Santa Clara, is in a house built in 1924 in the town of Usaquen, now a neighborhood of Bogotá. In 1985, the house was taken apart and transported to Monserrate, where it was reassembled. There is a hiking trail to the peak, but it is closed during 2009 for restoration following landslides. You can also get there on the gondola or the small train, the funicular. The gondola operates until midnight every day but Sunday, when it closes at 5 p.m. Get there by walking up the Ave. Jimenez, the broad avenue with water pools, past Los Andes University and the Quinta de Bolivar. Be cautious on the last uphill stretch, as muggers sometimes hide in the bushes on the north side of the street. Tel: 284-5700 www.cerromonserrate.com
