Laureles
A walkable neighborhood with indie cafés, parks, and authentic local life.
- 21 places
- 6 zones
- 8 categories
- average
- Top ratedBiblioteca Pública PilotoCarlos E. RestrepoThe Biblioteca Pública Piloto de Medellín para América Latina was signed in Paris on 10 November 1952, in a document subscribed by the Colombian delegate José Manuel Mora Vásquez and UNESCO director general Jaime Torres Bodet. It was the second pilot library in the world, after India's, and was conceived as a model public library for the whole continent.
- Top ratedPERGAMINO Café Laureles, MedellínEstadioPergamino Laureles sits on Circular 73, in the Estadio neighbourhood, and is the branch used by people who live in the area.
- Top ratedBárbaro Cocina Primitiva sede LaurelesLaurelesBárbaro is defined by fire. The menu turns on the grill — meat in various cuts, fish and seafood, burgers — and the starters and desserts follow the same direct line, without flourishes.
- Top ratedBARCELONA: bar & smart restaurantLaureles-EstadioBarcelona presents itself as a smart restaurant and the label, for once, describes something concrete: the tables are multi-touch screens from which you browse the menu, order and play while the food arrives.
- Top ratedMercado de Laureles GastrobarLaurelesMercado de Laureles works as a food hall at neighbourhood scale: six independent brands share the space and the tables, so everyone orders their own without negotiating the venue.
- Rituales Compañía de CaféLaurelesRituales opened in Laureles in 2017 and has earned a place among Medellín's specialty coffee houses, with a nomination for the 100 best in South America.
- Top ratedTorreAlta CerveceríaLaurelesTorreAlta is the largest and most awarded independent craft brewery in Antioquia, and this is its house in Laureles-Estadio, on Circular 75.
- Ammazza ReservadoLaurelesAmmazza Reservado is the Laureles branch of a Medellín Italian restaurant. Its menu is organised on three fronts — meat, fish and risotto — and the format is a sit-down restaurant, not a walk-in pizzeria.
- Café ZeppelinLaurelesCafé Zeppelin is the reference for German cooking in Medellín, in a Laureles house a block from the Segundo Parque.
- Malanga del trópico Laureles l MedellínLaurelesMalanga del Trópico brings the Caribbean to Laureles without falling into postcard décor: the menu works fish and shellfish with local produce, and a cocktail bar that genuinely keeps pace.
- Son HavanaLaureles / Florida NuevaSon Havana is the mecca of Cuban son, timba and Latin jazz in Laureles. Founded to recreate the nights of music and mojitos of Old Havana, it is famous for its Thursday descargas and full live brass orchestras at weekends, as well as its social dance classes for beginners at the start of each night.
- BBC Cervecería LaurelesLaurelesBBC Laureles is the Medellín branch of Bogotá Beer Company, the Colombian craft brewery that popularised the beer-pub format in the country.
- Café RevoluciónLaurelesCafé Revolución opened in Laureles in 2014 and became a meeting point between locals and foreigners living in the area, which is much of its character.
- El Tibiri BarLaureles / EstadioLocated literally underground on a corner of the iconic Carrera 70, El Tibiri has been a legend of salsa partying since the 1990s. It is a dark basement with dim red lights, fans that barely ease the heat from the sweat of the dance floor and a strict music selection of hard salsa, guaguancó and boogaloo playing without a break. There is no pretension or fancy table: you go exclusively to dance.
- Restaurante Mondongo's La 70Laureles-EstadioMondongo's is one of the best-known Colombian restaurants in Medellín, and this is its house on Carrera 70, the Laureles boulevard.
- Fonda TípicosLaureles-EstadioFonda serving traditional Colombian food in the Laureles-Estadio neighbourhood, with a strong range of traditional paisa dishes in a festive, authentic atmosphere. A culinary reference in the area, with one of the best ratings among the local fondas.
- La Tienda de la 70Laureles-EstadioLa Tienda de la 70 is a fonda in the full sense of the word: long tables, aguardiente, deep-plate paisa food and music that never drops in volume.
- Public House MedellínLaurelesPublic House is a pub in the literal sense: a long bar, craft and local beer, food to share and screens.
- Fonda La Vecindad La 70Laureles-EstadioLa Vecindad is one of the taverns on the Carrera 70 corridor, on the Bulevar Libertadores de América, and works on the same code as its neighbours: big-plate paisa food, aguardiente and popular music at party volume.
- Panorama Rooftop barLaurelesPanorama is one of the Medellín rooftops that bets on vegetation before height: three landscaped levels working as a green breather in the middle of the built city, with the urban silhouette behind.
- Enigma Escape Room MedellínLaurelesEnigma is an escape room house in Laureles with seven rooms running, and its catalogue covers quite different registers: Piratas and El cáliz del hechicero lean adventure, Viaje a la Infancia leans nostalgia, and Chernobyl a Ciegas and Orfanato are the frightening ones, both recommended for sixteen and over.
Before you go
Laureles is the neighbourhood many locals recommend when someone asks where to live or go out without El Poblado's noise. It is flat, leafy and easy to walk, with circular streets and wide avenues that give it a calm feel. There is real neighbourhood life here: bakeries, cafés, people out jogging and, at night, bars and fondas with a mostly local crowd.
Carrera 70, near the Atanasio Girardot stadium, is the street for down-to-earth nights out, with fondas such as La Tienda de la 70 and prices at $ and $$; on match days it fills with fans. Around it are specialty cafés such as Pergamino or Rituales, craft breweries such as BBC and TorreAlta, gastrobars and restaurants serving Colombian and international food. In Carlos E. Restrepo, the Biblioteca Pública Piloto is a classic for studying, reading or catching an exhibition for free.
Metro line B crosses the area with Estadio and Floresta stations, and downtown is a few minutes away. It is a good base for anyone spending several days in the city who prefers a more local atmosphere. On Friday and Saturday La 70 gets packed; for something quieter, the inner streets of the neighbourhood have calmer bars and cafés.
