Getsemaní
The old working quarter outside the walls, its murals and its square full of musicians in the evening.
Duration
2 hrs – 3 hrs
Best time
Early evening
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Getsemaní was the suburb outside the walls, home to craftsmen, freedmen and dockworkers. Cartagena's declaration of independence started here in 1811, led by Pedro Romero, a mixed-race man from the district.
It was long avoided, and then the murals and the hotels arrived. Plaza de la Trinidad is the heart: it fills up late in the day with food vendors, musicians and locals sitting on the church steps. Calle de la Sierpe and Callejón Angosto hold the most painted walls.
Getting there
Immediately south-east of the walled city, ten minutes on foot from the Clock Gate.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
The district is lively in the evening on the squares and quieter in the side lanes: stay on the busy streets after dark. The murals are on lived-in houses — do not lean on them.
Other places in Cartagena
- The walled cityEleven kilometres of ramparts around streets of wooden balconies and bougainvillea.
- Castillo San Felipe de BarajasThe largest Spanish fortress in the Americas, with its network of tunnels.
- Rosario IslandsA coral archipelago an hour away by boat, clear water and white beaches.
- El Totumo mud volcanoA crater filled with warm mud where you float without sinking.