Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cartagena de Indias faces the Caribbean Sea, and it was here that the gold of the Americas was stored for nearly four centuries. Repeatedly attacked by pirates, it is also the most heavily fortified city in the Americas, as the Spanish built it, through monumental fortifications, into the most jealously guarded city of their empire — before independence in the 19th century covered it in opulent palaces...
Cartagena de Indias, the creole pearl of Colombia, blends an impressive colonial heritage with distinctly Caribbean energy. Above the houses with Andalusian arabesques built by colonists who plundered Inca gold rise the bell towers of churches, thanksgivings for such opulence. A beauty today adorned and tinted with the warm colors of the Caribbean. Wander from alleyways to plazas to the rhythm of cumbia colombiana.