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Cali isn’t big on tourism but there are a few museums in town to keep you busy. Most of them are decent. I was able to visit four of them.
La Merced Archaeological Museum
La Merced Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico La Merced) is housed in the former convent of La Merced. Admission for foreigners is COP$10,000 (as of April 2025) and it’s open daily except Sundays from 9am to 6pm. The permanent collection displays indigenous artifacts from the southwest of Colombia and a mummy. There was also a temporary exhibition of photos highlighting festivals of Colombia. It wasn’t a great museum but the mummy and explanation of burials was interesting. Everything is in Spanish but the attendant can give you a pamphlet in English to explain the exhibits.
House of Memories of Conflict and Reconciliation
Across the street is the House of Memories of Conflict and Reconciliation (Casa de las Memorias del Conflicto y de la Reconciliación). It’s open Monday through Friday and admission is free (as of November 2024). It’s housed in the former Religious, Ethnic and Cultural Museum (Museo Religioso, Étnico y Cultural).
Calima Gold Museum
Around the corner is the Calima Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Calima). It’s located in the Banco de la República building. Admission is free (as of April 2025) and it’s open Tuesday through Saturday.
We took about a half hour to go through the small but informative museum. It had several artifacts made out of gold, ceramics, and a few other interesting things to see. There was also a scale model of an indigenous village and a life-sized model of an indigenous man dressed in full garb with golden jewelry.
There are other branches of the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro) that I’ve seen around the country in Bogotá, Armenia, and Santa Marta. I feel that the one in Cali wasn’t up to par with the rest.
La Tertulia Museum
La Tertulia Museum (Museo La Tertulia) is a modern art museum that I didn’t care too much for. Admission is COP$26,000 for adults; COP$12,000 for students with a valid ID, kids age 6-11, and seniors 60+; and free for kids under 6 (as of April 2025). Tickets to the cinema are COP$14,000 for adults and COP$11,000 for students with a valid ID and seniors 60+ (as of April 2025). The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday and the cinema is open Thursday through Sunday.
During my visit, there were a couple exhibits on interior design and two interactive exhibits on display. Personally, the best thing about the museum is the architecture of the external wing and the movie theatre.
Other Museums
As for other museums in Cali, also worth checking out is Caliwood, the country’s first cinematography museum. You can also head out to the airport for the Fénix Air Museum (Museo Aéreo Fénix), an excellent aviation museum.
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