Cartagena

Cartagena is García Márquez's city: the Nobel laureate set 'Of Love and Other Demons' here, and the essence of his magical realism — palenqueras in rainbow dresses, fruit vendors, plazas at dusk — still lives on every walled corner.

Getsemaní, the neighborhood beyond the walls, is today Cartagena's creative district: its streets — including the famous Callejón Angosto — are galleries of world-class graffiti, and its plazas fill with live music every night.

Cartagena's walls — eleven kilometers of fortification that took two centuries to build — are Colombia's most emblematic stroll: walking them at sunset, with the Caribbean breaking below and the sky catching fire, is one of Latin America's great urban experiences.

Forty-five minutes by boat, the Rosario Islands await: 27 coral islands with transparent waters over the Rosario Coral Natural Park — snorkeling, diving, private beaches and lobster lunch on the sand.