Family-Friendly Plans and Kids Activities
Plans and places that work great for kids and families alike.
- 40 places
- 15 zones
- 9 categories
- average
- Top ratedJardín Botánico de MedellínAranjuezThe Joaquín Antonio Uribe Botanical Garden occupies fifteen hectares in the north of Medellín, facing Parque Explora and a step from the Universidad metro station. It is one of the few large botanical gardens in Latin America with free entry.
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.
Centro Comercial Puerta del NorteBelloPuerta del Norte is the largest shopping centre in Bello and absorbs much of the retail traffic of the northern valley.
Parque EcoTuristico El SaladoEnvigadoEl Salado covers 170,000 square metres in the El Vallano hamlet, in the high rural belt of Envigado, and is one of the largest ecological parks in Antioquia.
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.
Parque Principal De EnvigadoEnvigadoEnvigado's square was marked out on 11 April 1776, in the act of laying out the new settlement, and is therefore the exact point where the town began.
Parque de los Pies DescalzosLa AlpujarraParque de los Pies Descalzos came from a simple and unusual idea for an urban park: that you walk it without shoes. It was designed by the architect Felipe Uribe de Bedout for EPM, and is organised in three zones you cross in that order.
Parque de SabanetaSabanetaParque Simón Bolívar is Sabaneta's main square: it was built in 1943 and has been remodelled three times, in 1968, 1993 and 1996, keeping the small-town feel the municipality has been losing outside it.
Parque Simón Bolívar ItagüíItagüíParque Simón Bolívar is Itagüí's main square and, quite literally, the town's reference point: its street numbering is ordered from here, wedged between Calles 50 and 51 and Carreras 50 and 51.
Planetario de Medellín Jesús Emilio RamírezLa CandelariaThe Jesús Emilio Ramírez Planetarium is Medellín's astronomy outreach facility, and it operates together with Parque Explora: they share a box office and much of their audience.- Top ratedCentro comercial Parque FabricatoBelloParque Fabricato stands on Carrera 50, in the Rincón Santos neighbourhood, in a sector whose history is inseparable from the textile mill it is named after: Fabricato was for decades Bello's industrial engine and the reason the town grew.
- Top ratedPablo ParrillaItagüíGrill restaurant in Itagüí with more than 460 Google reviews and a 4.7 rating. It specialises in cuts and roasts cooked over the coals, in a warm, family atmosphere.
- Pacho Parrilla #Los AlpesEmblematic grill restaurant in the Los Alpes neighbourhood of Belén: quality charcoal-grilled meats, fair prices, a terrace with a tropical atmosphere and live music at weekends. A favourite of local families and groups who want a good meat skewer without leaving the neighbourhood.
- 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.
- Centro Comercial MayorcaSabanetaMayorca is the reference shopping centre of the southern valley and has an advantage few match: direct access from the Itagüí metro station, so half the city reaches it without a car.
- Cocorolló La EstrellaNorte del ValleWell-known Antioquian brand of hojaldras, pandequesos and traditional cooking; a classic stop on the Troncal, open all day.
- Comfama Parque CopacabanaNorte del ValleComfama's emblematic recreation park, known as 'Las Ballenitas', with swimming pools, water slides, a lake with boats and large green areas; a family tradition in the north of the Aburrá Valley.
- Parque ExploraAranjuezParque Explora is the city's science and technology museum, and it is built to be touched: the open-air physics, neuroscience, music and time halls work through experimenting, not through reading labels.
- Restaurante Palogrande EnvigadoEnvigadoOne of the highest-rated restaurants in Envigado, with more than 5,700 Google reviews. It serves Colombian food, grilled dishes and international plates in a spacious, family atmosphere. Known for its pork, picadas and chicken.
- Antonio's Gelato & CafeEnvigadoItalian-style ice-cream parlour in Envigado, recognised as one of the best in the area for its artisan gelato. The highlights are the chocolate bread and the classic Italian flavours. Rated 4.4 on TripAdvisor.
- 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 NorteAranjuezParque Norte is Medellín's long-standing amusement park, and its appeal is the location: it sits inside the city, beside the Universidad metro station and facing the Botanical Garden, so you reach it without a car and without leaving the northern cultural corridor.
- Villas de ComfenalcoBelloResidential area of Bello with green spaces and neighbourhood spots valued for walking, picnics and spending time together.
Before you go
This collection is designed for going out with several generations at once: plans that keep children entertained without boring the adults, and that do not demand impossible walks from grandparents. There are science parks such as Explora and the Planetarium, Parque Norte with its rides, the Botanical Garden, family-welfare fund parks with pools, shopping centres with play areas and country restaurants where children have room to run around.
To choose, think about the age of the youngest and how far you want to travel. In the city, the area around Universidad station puts several plans within a few steps of each other, ideal for a day without a car. The parks in Copacabana, Bello or Barbosa and the water parks mean leaving early and giving them the whole day, but they make up for it with pools and green space. Prices run from free to $$ in most cases.
Medellín's sun is deceptive: because of the altitude and the nearness of the equator it burns even when the temperature feels pleasant, so sunscreen and a cap for everyone. Always carry a light rain jacket for the afternoon shower. And if you can, avoid school holidays and public holidays, when the best-known places fill up with queues.
