Tour the historic center known as La Candelaria by bicycle. This antiquated barrio is of great architectural and cultural heritage and is made up of old “stately homes” or large Spanish colonial buildings with iron windows, thick and sturdy wooden doors, balconies and internal patios with beautiful yet hidden gardens. Visit the Plaza de Bolivar, where a statue of the great liberator Simón Bolívar is located. This Plaza, originally called the Plaza Mayor, was used for civil and military purposes, as a marketplace, a bullring and a gallows. The Cathedral, on the eastern side of the plaza, was constructed over the remains of the first church built in BOGOTÁ in 1539 and houses an important collection of religious artefacts such as textiles and artwork that has been collected over four centuries. The Sagrario Chapel is located just beside the Cathedral and is a beautiful representation of religious architecture and which houses valuable pieces of colonial religious art by Gregorio Vasquez de Arce y Ceballos. The Capitol, built between 1847 and 1926, shows its renaissance and neoclassical influences with its carved stonework and tall columns and, it is the first republican piece of civil architecture. The central area of the Capitol, known as the Elliptical Room, is where congress meets and is the actual chamber for politicians and the Senate. In the internal courtyards there are busts of former presidents such as General Tomás Cipriano Mosquera, president on four occasions, and Rafael Núñez, the composer of the Colombian national anthem. Around the Plaza de Bolivar are the Justice Palace, the Mayor of BOGOTÁ’s offices called the Liévano Building, the oldest school in the county called San Bartolome and Los Comuneros House, named after the leaders that participated in some of the first movements towards independence from Spain and the formation of the Republic. 

Also pass by some of the most important universities in the country, the Plaza Del Chorro de Quevedo, a small square where some historians claim that Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founded the city.

Continue the tour to The BOGOTÁ International Center which is one of the most important areas in BOGOTÁ and visit La Merced, a traditional neighbourhood in the city.

DURATION: Approximately 4 hours.