Envigado Park, the main square of the municipality located just south of Medellin, is a great place to pass the day alone or meet up with friends.
Despite being only a quick bus ride or trip on the Metro away from Colombia’s second largest city, Medellin, Envigado is a small municipality with a rural atmosphere all its own. Like most small towns in Colombia, the park is the heart of the municipality and acts as a prominent meeting place for Envigado residents. Tall trees sway in the breeze and provide shade for park-goers who want to read a book, play a board game or drink a cup of coffee.
To get to the park, take any bus (approximately $1.20 for a ticket) that says Parque Envigado on the front.
The park, also known as Marceliano Velez Park, is bustling with vendor activity and tourists can easily find stands that sell food, coffee, and trinkets. But fear not, you will not be bombarded by vendors like other tourist traps, though you might be asked if you want a shoe shine.
The western side of the park is lined with cafes and restaurants that offer outdoor seating facing the park, making it an excellent spot to people watch. Most restaurants offer a “menu of the day” option that costs around $4.50. The eastern side of the park is overshadowed by the massive, white Santa Gertrudis Church. The Greco-Roman architecture of the this impressive structure is a nice backdrop for the park.
Early each morning, the park awakens and begins to bustle with frantic business owners and vendors running this way and that. The liveliness doesn’t stop until late at night, especially on the weekends when you can find people congregating and partying until the wee hours of the morning.
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