Parks in Medellín
Parks: the best places in and around Medellín, verified one by one.
- 12 places
- 8 zones
- average
- Parques del RíoEl Chagualo / LaurelesParques del Río gave the city back a piece of its river. The project buried a stretch of motorway and covered the slab with a linear park integrating both banks: some 72,000 square metres, more than half of it green, with 280 trees planted.
Parque de los DeseosAranjuezParque de los Deseos is an open, freely accessible square facing Medellín's Planetarium, on the cultural corridor that runs up from the Universidad metro station.
Parque BicentenarioBostonParque Bicentenario was made to mark two hundred years of independence, and its real axis is the Santa Elena stream: the watercourse around which the original Medellín settled, and which the project set out to recover as public space.- La "Mini Meseta"BelloNeighborhood park known to locals simply as La Mini: an open esplanade with a sports court, green areas and benches that serves as the meeting point of Altos del Porvenir.
- Top ratedParque La HeliodoraEnvigadoLa Heliodora is Envigado's urban lung and, by area, the largest public space in an urban zone in the whole Aburrá valley: some twenty-four hectares following the course of the stream it is named after.
- Top ratedUVA de la Imaginación (EPM San Lucas)El PobladoThe Unidades de Vida Articulada (UVA) of EPM are internationally awarded architecture and social urbanism projects that turned old closed water storage tanks into public parks of light, water and sport. The UVA de la Imaginación in San Lucas combines terraces with sunset views over the mountains of El Poblado, playful water jets, digital classrooms and picnic areas.
- Parque de la Conservación (Zoológico Santa Fe)GuayabalFormerly known as Zoológico Santa Fe (founded in 1960), the Parque de la Conservación is a 4.5-hectare biological sanctuary in the middle of urban south-west Medellín. It is home to more than 500 animals of more than 100 native Neotropical species (jaguars, Andean spectacled bears, river otters, flamingos and condors), along with a lush botanical garden with centuries-old trees and orchid houses.
- Parque del ArtistaItagüíParque del Artista stands at Carrera 52 with Calle 60 and was built between 1991 and 1993 as a tribute to artists, which is where the name comes from.
- Parque Central Polideportivo Tulio OspinaBelloThe Polideportivo Tulio Ospina is the recreation complex surrounding the stadium of the same name, in the Niquía neighbourhood, and works as Bello's big park.
- Parque de El PobladoEl PobladoParque de El Poblado is the exact point where Medellín began. On 2 March 1616 Francisco de Herrera Campuzano founded San Lorenzo de Aburrá there, the first settlement in the valley, and a monument in the square records it.
- Parque Lineal La PresidentaEl PobladoLa Presidenta is El Poblado's green corridor: a linear park of some twenty thousand square metres following the course of the stream it is named after, in the middle of one of the most built-up and busiest parts of the city.
- Parque de los PerrosBelloDog park in the Búcaros area of Bello, designed for walking pets and spending time outdoors.
Before you go
The parks on this list are for everyday use: where people walk the dog, jog, let the kids play or sit and chat as the afternoon winds down. All of them are free. They range from large spaces such as Parques del Río, built along the banks of the Medellín River, or the Parque de los Deseos next to the Planetarium, to neighbourhood parks such as El Poblado's, Bicentenario in Boston or La Heliodora in Envigado.
Each has its moment. On Sundays and public holidays, when the city closes roads for the ciclovía, linear parks such as La Presidenta or Parques del Río fill with cyclists and walkers. Late afternoon, as the sun drops, is when neighbourhood parks are at their liveliest. The Parque de los Deseos often hosts open-air cultural activities and faces Universidad Metro station.
If you have a pet, look for the ones marked pet friendly and bring a lead and bags: Bello has one that people know precisely as the Parque de los Perros. At night, choose parks with people around and good lighting, and remember that in the rainy season the grass stays damp in the morning, so bring something to sit on if you plan a picnic.
