Cafés in La Candelaria & Centro

Getting into La Candelaria

TransMilenio's Eje Ambiental line runs along Avenida Jiménez, with stations at Museo del Oro, Avenida Jiménez and Las Aguas. Las Aguas, at Carrera 3 between Calles 18 and 19, opened in June 2002 and is named for the church and barrio beside it.⁴ Monserrate, the hill above the old town, can be climbed on foot or reached by cable car or funicular.¹

The city rebuilt the Carrera Séptima between Avenida Jiménez and Calle 26 as a pedestrian street, with a 3 m cycle lane, 44 benches and more than 70 new trees; the works were still being finished in mid-2019.⁵ Walking it north from the Jiménez takes you through Las Nieves to the Centro Internacional.

Chocolate and bakeries in Las Nieves

Pastelería Florida, at Carrera 7 #21-46 on the pedestrian Séptima, opened in 1936 under José Granés, a Spanish pastry cook who had left Spain under Franco.³ Granés designed it as a tea room. Eduardo Martínez, its first employee, bought it in 1970, and the cup of chocolate he devised has kept the same recipe since 1945; Elsa Martínez ran the shop as of 2020.⁶ It opens daily 06:00–22:00.

Order the chocolate santafereño and it arrives with slices of cheese, which go into the cup to melt, and bread or pandebono on the side.⁷ El Cometa, at Calle 22 #8-77, is another Las Nieves bakery from the late 1940s. Radio Nacional credits the Polish baker Bernardo Sapiro with opening it in 1946 and dates the Katz family's purchase to 1953, while a Portafolio column puts the opening in January 1948.³⁸

Specialty coffee between Las Aguas and the Chorro

Most specialty bars here sit east of the Séptima, on the slope toward Las Aguas. Contraste Coffee Lab, at Calle 16 #4-26, opens at 07:00 on weekdays and 09:00 on Saturdays; Cultura Muisca & Café is a few doors along at Calle 16 #4-67, and La Redada Miscelánea Cultural, which has Wi-Fi, is at Calle 17 #2-51. Distrito Chocolate is on Carrera 2A, a short walk from Las Aguas station.

Closer to the Chorro de Quevedo, Divino Cafe Especial (Carrera 2 #12D-24) opens at 08:00 every day, and Varietale (Calle 12 #1-20) at 09:00 on weekdays and 11:00 on Saturdays. Santamaria Café, on Calle del Embudo, stays open until midnight daily, one of the latest closes in La Candelaria.

The Chorro is named for Father Quevedo, an Augustinian who bought the site in 1832 and installed a public fountain; the original was destroyed in 1896. Storytellers still work the square, and places nearby serve chicha, a traditional fermented drink.²

Early starts and the old-town landmarks

Bakeries open first. Pastelería Florida starts at 06:00 every day and Moliendo Café at 06:00 Monday to Saturday, with tables inside and out; Panadería de la cuarta follows at 06:30 daily and Casa Colonial at 07:30, Monday to Saturday. Papaya Gourmet, at Carrera 3 #12C-94, is the exception, opening only at 12:00 on weekdays.

Café Ibañez (#3-45) and Panadería y cafetería La 10 (#3-44) stand across Calle 10 from each other, and Café de la Peña is at Carrera 3 #9-66. The Teatro Colón, a neoclassical theater by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini, opened in the old town in 1892, and the Museo Botero shows Fernando Botero's work alongside pieces by Monet and Picasso from his own collection.¹