Last updated on .
Santa Fe is a district of Bogotá, Colombia, surrounding the historic city center of La Candelaria. The section just north of La Candelaria is a business district but there are a few points of interest worth seeking out. It’s best to avoid the section of Santa Fe south of La Candelaria.
Journalists Park
A good place to start exploring Santa Fe is Journalists Park (Parque de los Periodistas). It sits across the street from the boundary of Santa Fe with La Candelaria. In the center is a monument to Simón Bolívar, and there are some great views of Monserrate. It’s also where the fantastic Bogotá Graffiti Tour begins. The park sits a few blocks east of the Gold Museum, Parque Santander, and the pedestrianized section of Carrera 7.
Our Lady of the Waters
If you’re walking to Monserrate, you’ll pass a historic church called Our Lady of the Waters (Nuestra Señora de Las Aguas). It was built between 1640 and 1690. It’s technically in La Candelaria but only a couple blocks from Journalists Park.
Carrera 7 in Santa Fe, Bogotá
Carrera 7 is a major street in Bogotá running through the heart of Santa Fe. One of the best stretches is a pedestrianized section, also known as Calle Real, running north from Plaza de Bolívar in La Candelaria to Parque Santander in Santa Fe. This post covers some attractions on the street in Santa Fe.
Church of San Francisco
First, directly across Avenida Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada from La Candelaria is the Church of San Francisco (Iglesia de San Francisco). It was built between 1557 and 1566 on land donated by Archbishop Juan de los Barrios y Toledo (1496-1569) and is currently the oldest functioning church in Bogotá. The main altarpiece was made in 1623. The interior is very impressive, but photos are forbidden.
Veracruz Church
On the next block is the Veracruz Church (Iglesia de la Veracruz). Construction on this church took place between 1546 and 1549. Between June and November 1816, around 80 Colombian revolutionaries executed during the Spanish reconquest of Nueva Granada were buried in the church. Because of this, the church was declared a national pantheon at the beginning of the 20th century.
Church of the Third Order
Across the street is the Church of the Third Order (Iglesia de la Orden Tercera). It’s the simplest yet most beautiful of the three churches. It was built between 1761 and 1780 but the cloister was demolished in 1890. The church, which belongs to the Third Order of St. Francis, is well worth a visit. You’ll appreciate the incredible wood carvings lining the walls. They were created by master woodworker Pedro Caballero.
Parque Santander
Backtracking a bit Parque Santander is a small park facing the three churches. It originally hosted a market and was named Plaza de las Hierbas. The plaza was renamed Plaza de San Francisco in 1557, and the first inn in the city was built there in 1642. In the center is a statue of Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840), a Colombian military and political leader.
Gold Museum
On the east side of Parque Santander is the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro), which is one of the best museums in Colombia. It showcases rare pre-Columbian artifacts made by different groups of the country’s indigenous peoples.
Admission is just COP$5,000 and free on Sundays (as of March 2024). It’s closed on Mondays. Exhibits are bilingual in Spanish and English, and guided tours as well as audioguides are available.
The Gold Museum is very well organized. It starts off with a history of gold, then moves into the galleries to show incredible works of solid gold and pottery. It can take a couple hours to go through the entire museum.
On the upper floors of the Gold Museum are temporary exhibitions. During my visit, one of them highlighted the diversity of the Colombian people. There were a series of videos playing on a loop interviewing people of different ethnic backgrounds and skin colors and why they were proud to be Colombian. Included were descendants of African slaves, indigenous people, immigrants from Germany and Japan, Roma people, and Muslims descended from Syria and Lebanon.
Church of the Snows
Finally, if you walk a few blocks further north, you’ll come to Church of the Snows (Iglesia de Las Nieves). It’s dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows (Nuestra Señora de las Nieves) and was one of the first churches in the city. Construction on the church started in 1568 and it was consecrated on March 23, 1585. It burned down on December 22, 1594, and was rebuilt. It was replaced by a new church in 1643, damaged by an earthquake in 1917, and demolished in 1922. The current church was built shortly after.
Torre Colpatria
The skyscraper at the corner of Carrera 7 and Avenida El Dorado is Torre Colpatria. The 4th tallest building in Colombia and the 12th tallest in South America (as of January 2024) stands 49 stories above the Bogotá skyline. There’s a rooftop observation deck open from 6pm-8:30pm on Fridays, 12pm-8:30pm on Saturdays, and 11am-8:30pm on Sundays and holidays. Admission is COP$12,000 (as of January 2024).
From the observation deck, it’s possible to spot several landmarks in the city and see the urban sprawl of Bogotá from the heart of Santa Fe.
At night, the building is sometimes lit up in different color schemes. This one below represents the Colombian flag:
Independence Park
Independence Park (Parque de la Independencia) is across the street from Torre Colpatria. It’s one of the oldest public parks in Bogotá. It was founded on July 23, 1910, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Colombian independence from Spain. The park contains a wide variety of both domestic and foreign trees.
Planetarium of Bogotá
The Planetarium of Bogotá (Planetario de Bogotá) sits within Independence Park. It was built in 1967 and officially opened on December 22, 1969. The planetarium is open daily except Mondays and features different programs about the universe and stars. There’s also a space museum, library, and conference center. Check the official website for showtimes and tickets.
Santamaría Bullring
The Santamaría Bullring (Plaza de Toros Santamaría) is north of Independence Park. It was built in 1931 for bullfighting, and the façade was designed by Spanish architect Santiago de la Mora (1902-1987) in the 1940s. It holds 14,500 people and is currently used for concerts and cultural events. The best views of the bullring come from the observation deck of the Torre Colpatria.
Hotel Tequendama
At Carrera 10 and Avenida El Dorado is Hotel Tequendama. This historic five star hotel opened in 1953 and contains a convention center along with over 500 rooms. In the 1980s, notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar held several events there. His wife and children were held there during Escobar’s final days.
National Museum
Colombia’s National Museum (Museo Nacional) is a short walk north along Carrera 7. It’s housed in a building designed by Danish architect Thomas Reed (1817-1878). It was constructed in 1872 and used as a prison until 1946. The museum, the oldest in Colombia and one of the oldest in South America, was founded on July 28, 1823, and moved into the building in 1975.
Adult admission for foreigners is US$10 with an optional additional donation of US$1 (as of January 2024). It’s terribly unfair compared to the Colombian citizen and resident price of COP$6,000 with an optional additional donation of COP$2,000 (as of January 2024). The National Museum features a gift shop and café in one of its courtyards near the exit.
The museum boasts a collection of over 20,000 pieces of art and artifacts dating back to around 10,000 BC. The exhibits are interesting and information is in English, but we felt the museum overall was incomplete. Several aspects of Colombian history and culture that we expected to find weren’t covered, and it seemed at times to be more of an art museum than a national museum.
