Manizales
Overview
Manizales is built on a fairly straight stretch at the foot of one of the Cordillers Central mountains. This typical Colombian city is dominated by the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, is not overrun by tourists (yet) and can be reached easily from Bogota. Several fires and a devastating earthquake in 1878 ruined a great part of the old buildings. Nowadays, it bears a rather modern character and it has five universities, attracting students from all over the area. The Cathedral de Manizales, located at the central square, is an impressive architectural piece of art and a must for visitors. Besides this, Manizales is known for its annual festivals, such as the Manizales Fair in January, the International Theatre Festival in September and the Bullfighting competitions.
The nearby Parque de los Nevados (snow-peaks and thermal baths finished off with some astonishing views) can be easily explored from Manizales.
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[Edit]General Sights
There are many things to see. This is a beautiful university city, famous thru-out Colombia for the numerous private and public universities here. It's reported that 1/4 of city (pop. 400,000) residents here are students, females seem to outnumber males by margin of 3 to 1. So students can be seem everywhere, either walking to classes along Avenidas Santander or Parallela, or sitting in the myraid cafes along Avenida Santander after class while chatting with freinds and watching others strollling along the avenue. The city has a real European, small city feel to it, like being in Switzerland or the Alps. It rains alot (almost every day, but not for too long) and intensity depends on which of two seasons they are in. The air is always fresh, temperature alittle cool, and can be balmy depending on which part of city you're visiting--the city is also famous for being one of only on planet with 8 seperate micro-climates in world, depending on which elevation and barrio you're in. For example, it's possible in just 10 minutes to go from a spot that's cool and foggy (for ex. the Chipre barrio that is higher up and overlooking...more
[Edit]General Activities
The city has a municipal auditorium and theatres where you can attend concerts, operas, and listen to symphonic music. There are lots of night clubs, discos, and bars that serve up lively house, trance, rock, salsa, and tango music. The Red Zone is where most of night clubs, discos, restruants and coffee bars are located, and Luker Plaza is city's newest, ultra modern commercial development. Next to it is Cable Plaza, the city's hottest new entertainment destination. It houses a 5 floor state of art, shopping and entertainment center, housing an upscale luxury supermarket, expensive fast food resturants, and the latest Hollywood movies. The city offers an exciting nightlife along the main avenue Santander, where you will find many of best discos and resturants in what's called the Red Zone, but there is another smaller, newer Red Zone in upscale residential neighboorhood located in south part of city, called Batallion and Milan. On weekends, starting on Thursday night, this is where many of younger crowd and students like to gather. There are many fast food resturants in this area also. The city is also home to famous football (soccer) club, Once Caldas,...more
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