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Museo del Oro
Housed in a modern building facing Plaza de Santander, the Gold Museum contains more than 34,000 gold pieces from all the major pre-Hispanic cultures in Colombia. It is arguably the most important gold museum in the world.
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Museo El Chicó
In northern Bogotá, you can visit Museo El Chicó surrounded by what was once a vast hacienda, now little more than a garden. It features a collection of historic objects of decorative art, mostly from Europe.
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Museo Historico Policia
The Museum of Police History is housed in the former Bogotá police headquarters, built in 1923 but converted into a museum in 1984. The free guided tour shows off all sorts of communication devices and firearms, but the real reason to visit is the basement exhibit focusing on the 499-day hunt for Pablo Escobar. The featured item here is Pablo's bloody jacket worn the day of his death.
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Museo Militar
The Museo Militar traces the evolution of Colombia's armed forces.
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Museo Nacional
The National Museum is in an unusual building known as El Panóptico. It was designed as the city prison by Thomas Reed (the same English architect who planned the Capitolio) and built of stone and brick on a Greek-cross floor plan in the second half of the 19th century. The jail, which housed more than 200 cells for both men and women, was closed in 1946 and after considerable internal reconstruction was transformed into a museum in 1948.
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Observatorio Astronómico
Between the Capitolio and the Casa are spacious formal grounds where the change of the presidential guard is held on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. On the western edge of the grounds is the Observatorio Astronómico, commissioned by José Celestino Mutis and constructed in 1803. This is reputedly the first astronomical observatory built on the continent.
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Palacio de Justicia
the Palacio de Justicia is a massive, rather styleless edifice serving as the seat of the Supreme Court. The Palace of Justice has had quite a tragic history. The first court building, erected in 1921 on the corner of Calle 11 and Carrera 6, was burnt down by a mob during El Bogotazo in April 1948. A modern building was then constructed on Plaza de Bolívar, but in 1985 it was taken by M-19 guerrillas and gutted by fire in a fierce 28-hour offensive by the army in an attempt to reclaim it.
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Palacio de San Carlos
Opposite the Teatro Colón is the massive edifice of Palacio de San Carlos, originally a Jesuit college, later the government headquarters, and now the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (it's not open to the public).
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Plaza de Bolívar
The usual place to start discovering Bogotá is Plaza de Bolívar, the heart of the original town. In the middle of the square is a bronze statue of Simón Bolívar (cast in 1846), the work of an Italian artist, Pietro Tenerani. This was the first public monument erected in the city.
In the center, beside the 1846 bronze statue of Bolívar (of course), are flocks of pigeons that dive-bomb anyone within 50m of the square - a hat is a good idea.
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Quinta de Bolivar
This country mansion and garden at the foot of the Cerro de Monserrate was given to Simón Bolívar in 1820 who used it as a retreat. Like many things connected with the independence hero, it was later declared a national monument and turned into a museum. The house is filled with his possessions, documents, weapons, maps, uniforms and medals.
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Teatro Colón
Have a look at the Italian-style Teatro Colón, begun in 1885 and opened in 1892 for the fourth centenary of the discovery of America. It was designed by Italian architect Pietro Cantini and is lavishly decorated inside. It is only open for performances. Concerts, opera and ballet are performed here.
