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La Candelaria, the oldest neighborhood in Bogotá, Colombia, is home to some of the city’s best and most important museums.
Independence Museum
Starting on the northeast corner of Plaza de Bolívar is the Casa del Florero Independence Museum (Museo de La Independencia Casa del Florero). It opened on July 20, 1960, and focuses on the independence of Colombia.
The Independence Museum is open daily except Mondays. There’s different admission for foreigners and Colombians. Prices are current as of July 2025:
- Admission for foreigners is terribly unfair compared to local prices. It’s US$10 for visitors age 13-59, US$5 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6 and adults age 60+. An optional additional donation is US$1.
- For Colombian citizens and residents, it’s only COP$6,000 for adults age 18-59, COP$4,000 for youth age 13-17, COP$2,000 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6 and adults age 60+. An optional additional donation is COP$2,000.
- Admission is free every Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm and on the last Sunday of each month.
The museum is set in the Casa del Florero, a 16th-century home where a broken vase started a fistfight, leading to an eventual rebellion against Spanish rule. There are some interesting interactive displays. It also touches on the siege of the Palace of Justice by M-19 guerillas.
Casa de Moneda Museum
A couple blocks east down Calle 11 is the Casa de Moneda, which served as a mint from 1621 to 1987. It holds the Casa de Moneda Museum (Museo Casa de Moneda), which displays the numismatic collection of the Bank of the Republic (Banco de la Republica) as well as several impressive works of art. It’s open daily except Tuesdays and admission is free (as of July 2025).
Numismatic Collection of the Bank of the Republic
The numismatic collection at the Casa de Moneda Museum is presented in chronological order from the Spanish Colonial period through the modern Republic of Colombia.
Spanish Colonial Period
The first few galleries on the ground floor display the history of the mint and along with several coins minted in the cities of the Kingdom of Nueva Granada.
Gran Colombia
The exhibit continues with coins minted in Gran Colombia. Gran Colombia is the name given to the Republic of Colombia from 1819 to 1831 to distinguish it from present-day Colombia. It encompassed Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, and parts of Peru and Brazil. There are also bills printed to finance the Colombian War of Independence as well as debt certificates.
Republic of Colombia
The numismatic collection of bills and coins from the present-day Republic of Colombia. It’s presented with thorough information about each period of the country’s history.
The foundation of the Bank of the Republic on July 25, 1923, helped stabilize the Colombian economy by controlling the issue of currency and managing the country’s financial policy. Coins and bills from its foundation to the present day are on display. The currency in circulation today contains descriptions of the people and symbols on each coin and bill.
Coin Presses
One room at the museum displays historic coin presses used at the mint.
Bank of the Republic Art Collection
A few galleries in the museum contain pieces from the Bank of the Republic art collection. They include paintings and photographs.
Botero Museum
The Botero Museum (Museo de Botero) is run by the Bank of the Republic and connected to the Casa de Moneda via the patio. It’s one of the most popular museums in La Candelaria, featuring several works of art by Fernando Botero (1932-2023), the most well-known Colombian artist on an international level. Admission is free (as of July 2025) and it’s open daily except Tuesdays.
The museum is comprised of several galleries on two floors with a beautiful flowered courtyard in the center. On display are over 100 sculptures, paintings, and drawings donated by the artist, including some of his most important works. Some of the galleries contain works by artists other than Botero.
Botero created his subjects using exaggerated volume, whether they were humans, animals, or objects. The works often evoke either laughter or sadness, or criticism, and many are politically motivated. The other major gallery he donated his works to is the Antioquia Museum in Medellín.
My personal favorites in the museum were the Mona Lisa and the sleeping politician.
Miguel Urrutia Museum of Art (MAMU)
Next door is the Miguel Urrutia Museum of Art (Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia), or MAMU, which houses the art collection of the Bank of the Republic. Over 800 pieces of the 6,000 piece collection is on display at any one time. Admission is free and it’s open daily except Tuesdays (as of July 2025).
Casa Republicana
The Casa Republicana, a historic building on Calle 12, is an annex to MAMU. The Republican-style structure was built in the early 20th century. Since 1990, it has housed additional exhibition space for pieces in the Bank of the Republic collection. It’s open daily except Tuesdays and admission is free (as of July 2025).
Museum of Bogotá
Around the corner you’ll find the two branches of the Museum of Bogotá, which was founded in 1969 as the Museum of Urban Development (Museo de Desarrollo Urbano). The collection consists of over 24,000 items including historic photos of the city, maps, and artifacts. The permanent collection is housed on Calle 10 in the House of the Seven Balconies (Casa de los Siete Balcones), which opened in 2019. The Casa Sámano, on Carrera 4, opened in 2008 and hosts temporary exhibitions. Both branches are open daily except Tuesdays and admission is free (as of July 2025).
Military Museum
Heading down Calle 10 towards Plaza de Bolívar is the Military Museum (Museo Militar). It opened on August 6, 1982, and features exhibitions on uniforms, weapons, documents, vehicles, and more, from the Colombian Army, Navy, and Air Force. It’s closed on Mondays and admission is free (as of July 2025).
The building was constructed between 1911 and 1913 on the site of the home of Colombian independence hero Antonio Ricaurte (1786-1814). It once housed military and state offices as well as an engineering school and a school of fine arts.
Museum of Costumes
A block east of Plaza de Bolívar on Calle 10 is the Museum of Costumes (Museo de Trajes). It’s hosted in the House of the Rights of Man. General admission is COP$4,000, COP$3,000 for students with IDs and seniors age 60+, and free for kids under 7 (as of July 2025). It’s open daily except Sundays and holidays.
The museum was founded by Edith Jiménez de Muñoz and opened to the public in 1975. It presents the history of Colombia through traditional costumes, beginning with the pre-Columbian period and continuing with the European clothing that arrived with the Spaniards.
The indigenous communities and regional costumes are covered as well as traditional clothing from different regions of Colombia. You’ll also find handicrafts such as weaving and needlepoint.
Colonial Museum
On the next corner a few steps down Carrera 6 is the excellent Colonial Museum (Museo Colonial). It opened on August 6, 1942 and focuses on the Spanish colonial period in Bogotá and Colombia. It’s housed in the historic Casa de las Aulas.
The Colonial Museum is open daily except Mondays. There’s different admission for foreigners and Colombians. Prices are current as of July 2025:
- Admission for foreigners is terribly unfair compared to local prices. It’s US$10 for visitors age 13-59, US$5 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6 and adults age 60+. An optional additional donation is US$1.
- For Colombian citizens and residents, it’s only COP$6,000 for adults age 18-59, COP$4,000 for youth age 13-17, COP$2,000 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6 and adults age 60+. An optional additional donation is COP$2,000.
- Admission is free every Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm and on the last Sunday of each month.
The Colonial Image: Between Fear, Salvation, and the Nature of an Empty Territory
The first section presents the colonial image, which was linked to the “construction of individuality”. It had its origins during the Middle Ages with the conversion of Jews and Arabs to Christianity in the south of Spain. Art helped with the development of colonial subjects, such as establishing the family model and outlining the roles of mothers, fathers, and children within the home.
Images of the Virgin, created by the Church and different religious orders, helped form a community of believers in the second half of the 16th century. They also “softened the differences between creoles, natives, and mixed individuals”, thus creating local identities.
Representations of the viceroys and religious leaders were important for asserting control over Nueva Granada. Traditional portraits presented them as extensions of the King and his authority. Their images as powerful regal figures facilitated greater control of natural resources and optimization of production.
The section concludes with images of nature, which started appearing in the 16th century. They were especially prevalent in the late 18th century, when José Celestino Mutis (1732-1808) led the Royal Botanical Expedition. His crew documented, classified, and sketched useful plants of Nueva Granada, creating one of the largest iconographic collections in botanical history. Francisco José de Caldas (1768-1816) also created the Atlas of Nueva Granada. His charts had important scientific, economic, political, and military purposes.
The Journey: Meeting and Transformation of Two Worlds
Next is the experience of traveling across the ocean from Europe to the New World in the 16th century. It addresses the fears and dangers of traveling to the unknown as well as the transfer of ideas between the two continents.
The voyage began in Sevilla, which was the harbor designated by the King as the entry and exit point for passengers and goods from America. The first part of the journey was a roughly 8-day trip sailing to Sanlucar de Barrameda on the Guadalquivir River, then following the African coastline to the Canary Islands. Ships stocked up at La Gomera or Gran Canaria before sailing to the Antilles, which often took over a month. Travelers “had to eat, sleep, relieve themselves, and even try to be distracted” during the journey. Boredom, depletion of food and water, and lack of space greatly affected their morale and health.
Once they arrived in Nueva Granada, Spanish settlers could either stay on the coast or travel down the Magdalena River further inland. The journey from Cartagena to Honda took up to 20 days, and it was another 10-day trek by mule and on foot to get to Santafé de Bogotá.
Unfortunately for the indigenous population, the settlers’ search for gold and other resources led to their demise. Their villages were plundered, their laws were replaced, and they were Christianized, allowing the colonizers to gain control.
Exchange of Goods and Ideas
Colonization and the opening of a Pacific trade route brought an exchange of art, ideas, and goods. Products from Asia en route to Europe arrived in Nueva Granada via the Philippines, including textiles, porcelain, and ivory.
These goods were added to European items from the Netherlands, France, and England, creating new opportunities for merchandise in Nueva Granada. Transportation costs were very high, but elite members of society spent great sums of money to import these items to Santafé. Many ended up damaged during shipping.
As far as art, the first images that adorned churches and chapels in Nueva Granada were sent from Sevilla, which became one of the major exporters of religious images to the New World. Paintings and sculptures gained great value, but art was eventually produced in Nueva Granada.
Fruits, vegetables, and animals, were also exchanged. Cacao, tomatoes, tobacco, avocados, strawberries, peanuts, potatoes, and pineapple are just a few of the goods exported to Europe, while cattle, pigs, poultry, grapes, lettuce, wheat, garlic, cilantro, and figs arrived in the New World. From Africa, coffee and melons were introduced, while onions, apples, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, papaya, lemons, carrots, bananas, cotton, soy, and spinach came from Asia.
Another important exchange was language. Words from the indigenous peoples of Nueva Granada and other parts of the New World made it into the Spanish language.
The Cities of Nueva Granada: Inhabiting the Territory
The third room focuses on the establishment of different cities in Nueva Granada. The first section covers the three aspects of cities founded by Spanish settlers: construction of roads and buildings, inhabitants, and norms for living in the community. The Crown had to force many settlers to stay in the cities because many preferred to continue exploring.
Settlers often used the location of pre-Columbian villages for their cities, based on their favorable environmental conditions and proximity to natural resources and raw materials. The first settlements were campsites. They would then build the city around a main plaza, which was surrounded by important governmental and religious institutions. Plazas also hosted markets, bullfights, and public executions.
Attacks by the indigenous people and natural disasters would sometimes cause the abandonment of a city, forcing the community to move it elsewhere.
Authority Figures
The Cabildo (Town Hall) was in charge of caring for the city and providing justice. It was comprised of a mayor, aldermen, royal ensigns, the sheriff, court clerks, town crier, prison guard, and executioner, among others. Many positions were held by creoles, who were sons of Spaniards born in Nueva Granada. After the Bourbons replaced the Habsburgs, officials from Spain were preferred.
Religious figures were also necessary during colonization. They were charged with spreading Catholicism and ensuring land distribution was done in the name of faith. Several religious orders arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries, building monasteries with the purpose of evangelizing all the inhabitants. The Church allowed evangelization in native languages and the appointment of mestizo priests.
In the middle of the 16th century, the bishopric was moved from Santa Marta by Santafé, making the city directly responsible for the cities of Santa Marta, Cartagena, and Popayán. The church on Plaza Mayor was made a cathedral.
Family Life
Families with the highest economic and social statues lived in two-story houses. The second floor contained a living room, study, oratory, and bedrooms. Married couples slept in separate rooms. The home was also where births and often deaths took place. The most prestigious families gained approval to celebrate Mass and weddings in their homes.
Change of Dynasty
After the change of the dynasty from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons, Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada was established on May 27, 1717, by King Felipe V as part of a new territorial control policy. The reasons were to improve Spanish trade and stop foreign smuggling, strengthen the Caribbean territory against possible attacks by the Dutch and British, and to establish a central authority capable of making decisions to reform and control the government.
The main headquarters shifted from Cartagena to Santafé de Bogotá. Viceroys set sail from Cádiz and arrived in Cartagena, where they would rest for a few days before continuing to Mompox to sail down the Magdalena River to Honda. From there, they would ride on horseback to Santafé. The outgoing viceroy would pass on their power to the new one in an elegant ceremony.
Carlos III tried to remove creoles from authority positions, which caused lots of discontent. This resulted in an educated elite who distanced themselves from the crown. In Santafé, however, there were marked improvements in the paving of roads, construction of schools and a hospice for beggars, and the opening of a theatre.
School and Artisans: Hands that Write, Hands that Build
In the fourth room you’ll learn about the educational system in Nueva Granada in the 17th and 18th centuries. Schools were restricted to a small sector of the population, while mestizos, indigenous people, and enslaved Africans learn to master various trades in workshops.
Girls and young women were mainly educated at home where they received a domestic education. In convents, they learned singing and morals. Schools weren’t a part of female education until the end of the 18th century.
As far as the arts, sculptures and paintings made in Spain, such as the one pictured below attributed to Pedro de Mena (1628-1688), were used to train artists in workshops in Nueva Granada. This sometimes resulted in artists creating their own style. Several works made of wood and silver are on display as well as some paintings.
The Colony: A Past Still Present
The final section of the permanent collection delves into the elements of the colonial past that have formed social and cultural aspects of the present. It states that the colony is not a dead period, but an essential part of the Colombian identity. This includes language, religion, customs and traditions, and traditional cuisine.
One of the biggest elements is religion. This can be seen in the devotion to popular saints and the power of images that represent them. Although these practices are outside of church rules, they’ve adapted to each believer’s individual and social conditions.
One of the crafts that has survived is the Pasto varnish, which dates from the pre-Columbian period. During the Colonial period, it was used to decorated furniture, frames, and lecterns for domestic and religious use. It consists of a resin from the buds of a mopa-mopa shrub, which grows in the foothills of the Amazon region. The resin is heated and becomes flexible, spreading into thin sheets dyed with pigments from animals, vegetables, or minerals.
Temporary Exhibitions at the Colonial Museum
Temporary exhibitions are held in a pair of rooms on the ground floor.
Deep Pasts
During my visit, the exhibit Deep Pasts (Pasados Profundos) was on display. The first room included a crash course in archaeology as well as artifacts discovered during excavations at the adjacent Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola). In the next room was artwork and other items from the collection of the Colonial Museum pertaining to the aesthetics of death.
Archaeological Museum of Bogotá
On Carrera 6 near Calle 7 is the Archaeological Museum of Bogotá (Museo Arqueológico Bogotá), or MUSA. It’s hosted in the House of the Marquis of San Jorge (Casa del Marqués de San Jorge), which was built in the late 18th century and features a beautiful central courtyard. Admission for foreigners is COP$10,000 (as of July 2025).
The house was purchased in 1972 by Banco Popular. They converted it into the Archaeological Museum, which features a collection of 13,000 pieces of pre-Columbian art, including the largest collection of pre-Columbian ceramics in Colombia.
National Police History Museum
At Calle 9 and Carrera 9 is the National Police History Museum (Museo Histórico de la Policia Nacional), which opened on September 26, 1984. It’s housed in the Palace of the National Police (Palacio de la Policía Nacional). Admission is free and it’s open daily except Mondays (as of July 2025). The friendly police officers on duty are more than happy to answer any questions, and many speak English. One-hour guided tours are also offered in English, Spanish, French, and sign language.
The building has exhibits on each floor including the basement. The collection numbers roughly 4,000 pieces, including weapons, uniforms, vehicles, documents, and much more. The exhibits cover all aspects of police work.
In the basement you’ll find exhibits on police intelligence, criminal investigations, and Interpol operations. There are also impressive murals.
The 1st floor contains a small chapel dedicated to St. Francis and the uniform collection, while the 2nd floor houses exhibits on anti-narcotics division.
On the 3rd floor you’ll find the weapons collection and exhibits on security and international affairs as well as the hall of flags.
The weapons collection is very impressive. On display are countless handguns, rifles, clubs, and other weapons from all over the world.
Finally, on the 4th floor is a rooftop terrace with amazing views of Bogotá.
The Hunt for Pablo Escobar
One of the highlights of the museum is the section on the hunt for Pablo Escobar, complete with a piece of blood-stained roof tile from the spot he was killed. There’s also a few personal items owned by Escobar.
Other artifacts on display were used by the Medellín Cartel, including weapons and a money counter capable of counting 1,200 bills per minute.
Francisco José de Caldas House Museum
Finally, tucked away on Carrera 8 south of Calle 7 is the Francisco José de Caldas House Museum (Casa Museo Francisco José de Caldas). It features exhibits on the life and work of Colombian military hero, naturalist, inventor, and mathematician Francisco José de Caldas (1768-1816). Admission is free (as of July 2025). It’s open Monday through Saturday and the last Sunday of each month.
The house was built around 1770 and Caldas rented it in 1810. The museum opened in 1985. While the museum is very nicely done, it lacks any information in English and only enthusiasts of Colombian history will find it interesting enough to visit.
