3 Days in Cartagena: The Walled City Base
Three days covers the Walled City properly and adds a full Getsemani day: Day 1 orients you inside the walls and into Getsemani for sunset, Day 2 covers Castillo San Felipe, La Popa and the Palace of the Inquisition, Day 3 goes deeper into Getsemani’s street art and nightlife. Want less or more? Drop to the 2-day version or step up to the 4 , 5 , 6 or 7-day plan, all built on this same spine.
Book these before you go
- Walled City or Getsemani hotel: check current listings on Booking.com
- A walled-city walking tour: browse options on GetYourGuide
- Castillo San Felipe history tour: search dates on Viator
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost (COP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, Walled City orientation, Getsemani sunset | CTG airport to center, 15-20 min | 150,000-300,000 |
| Day 2 | Castillo San Felipe, La Popa, Palace of the Inquisition | Everything walkable or a short taxi | 150,000-300,000 |
| Day 3 | Getsemani street art, MAMC, Plaza de la Trinidad night | On foot from the Walled City | 120,000-250,000 |
Day 1: Arrival and the Walled City
- Land at Rafael Nunez International Airport (CTG) and take the fixed-rate taxi kiosk in arrivals, roughly 20,000-30,000 COP to the Walled City or Getsemani, a 15-20 minute drive with no haggling needed.
- Spend the morning or late afternoon in San Pedro and San Diego, the two historic zones inside the main walls: Plaza Bolivar, the Cathedral of Cartagena, and the colonial mansions along Calle Santo Domingo. See Colombia’s official tourism page on Cartagena for a map of the zones before you set off. Skip the midday hours, the heat is genuinely rough with no altitude to soften it.
- Stop at Las Bovedas, a row of former munitions vaults now a free artisan market.
- In the evening, walk into Getsemani for dinner and finish on the walls near Baluarte Santo Domingo for sunset, the single most-repeated recommendation in the city.
Day 2: Castillo San Felipe and the city’s history
- Start at La Popa monastery, the hilltop 17th-century convent and the city’s highest point, for cooler morning views; entrance fees are reported anywhere from 4,500 to 11,000 COP, verify on arrival.
- Midday, visit the Palacio de la Inquisicion beside Parque Bolivar, roughly 24,000 COP admission (some sources cite 19,000-22,000 COP).
- Late afternoon, head to Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, widely called the largest Spanish fortress built in the Americas. Go after 3pm, not at opening; the fort has almost no shade. Reported gate prices disagree, 38,000 up to 50,000 COP for foreign adults, verify before you go, and an audio guide adds roughly 15,000 COP. The whole complex is part of the 1984 UNESCO listing covering the walls, forts and historic core together.
Day 3: Getsemani, deeper
- Walk Getsemani properly this time: the mural-covered streets radiating from Calle Sierpe, developed by the Cartagena Urban Culture Festival since 2013, and the quieter San Diego lanes just inside the walls.
- Visit the Museo de Arte Moderno de Cartagena (MAMC) for a break from colonial history and a look at Colombian contemporary art.
- Treat Getsemani honestly: family homes here are turning into tourist businesses fast, and a Four Seasons opened on 2 April 2026, a clear marker of how far upmarket the neighborhood has moved in a short time.
- At night, Plaza de la Trinidad is the best gauge of Getsemani’s actual energy, street vendors, live champeta music, and a younger crowd than the bars inside the main walls.
Three days is enough to do the Walled City and Getsemani without rushing either, but it still skips the day trips. See the 4-day itinerary if you want to add San Basilio de Palenque next.