Bogotá

Bogotá's most famous museum and one of the most fascinating in South America, the Gold Museum contains more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from all of Colombia's major pre-Hispanic cultures. The collection is laid out in logical, thematic rooms over three floors; descriptions are in Spanish and English.

This legendary steakhouse blows everyone – even repeat visitors – away with its all-out fun atmosphere. The 75-page menu of classics like arepas (corn cakes) and ceviches, and pages of succulent steaks (some portioned to serve as many as seven) is totally overwhelming; al trapo (chargrilled beef tenderloin) is recommended if you need some help narrowing things down.

A regular teleférico (cable car) and funicular run up Cerro de Monserrate from Monserrate Station. The funicular runs in the mornings (until noon), the cable car in the afternoons.

Even if you've never heard of Fernando Botero, you'll probably recognize some of his highly distinctive paintings of oversized (read: chubby) characters, including dodgy dictators, fleet-footed dancers, dogs and birds. Colombia’s most famous living artist is also a prolific sculptor and his curvaceous bronze statues display equally generous girth.

One of Bogotá's most richly decorated churches, the Santa Clara is also its oldest (along with Iglesia de San Francisco). Deconsecrated in 1968, it was acquired by the government and is now run as a museum, with paintings by some of Colombia's most revered baroque artists. The church was once part of an adjoining Franciscan convent that was demolished in the early 20th century.

Built between 1557 and 1621, the Church of San Francisco is Bogotá's oldest surviving church. In the atmospherically dark interior, with its extravagant pews and steady trickle of praying pilgrims, your eye is immediately drawn to the gilded, U-shaped 17th-century altarpiece, the largest and most elaborate of its kind in the capital.

Possibly the finest shrine to coffee in Colombia, the recently amplified Azahar exudes taste, expertise and an undying passion for the country’s second-most-famous homegrown product (after cocaine). Busy baristas work behind a huge counter like alchemists in a chemistry lab, experimenting with French press, Chemex, pour-over and espresso. The attention to detail jumps out of the cup.

In what is probably the best cycling city in South America, this is the best bike outfit. You can rent your own and take advantage of 375km of dedicated trails or choose from an array of tours that, on occasion, pedal into neighborhoods that would otherwise be no-go. Tours leave daily at 10:30am and 1:30pm from the La Candelaria office.