In the heart of Medellin’s Poblado neighborhood, you’ll find the bumping bar district of Parque Lleras. We have fallen in love with Parque Lleras. It’s definitely the place that we’ve visited most frequently here in Medellin, and it would absolutely be a must-do for anyone coming to the city.
While most cities have a bar district, there are two things that set Parque Lleras apart:
- Every bar and restaurant has all open-air patio seating (thank you, City of Eternal Spring!)
- The park for which the area gets its name
The park itself is lit up by white string lights (because that makes every bar 10x more appealing) and lined with vendors selling things like bracelets, hats and flowers. It is filled with people sitting on steps drinking beer they’ve purchased for cheap from the convenience store and watching street performers and bar goers. It’s great people watching and a perfect night out even if you don’t even make into the bars.
Circling the park and jetting out in spokes to all the side streets that connect it, is a web of bars and restaurants that appeal to every type of patron and a wide range of price points. You could try two different bars a night and keep yourself busy for weeks. You could also by a crappy beer for 2,000 Colombian Pesos ($0.66 USD) or a craft beer for 8,000 ($2.66 USD).
It has a bit of a Vegas vibe insofar many of the clubs and restaurants have promotors walking the park trying to get people to come to their establishment. This is smart because as far as we have noticed, the bars all offer a very similar product at varying prices.
Happy hour definitely appears to be a thing here as many of the bars have signs boasting specials, but we have not yet been able to figure out exactly what they mean and to be honest, just haven’t asked. Although one time we got twice as many beers as we intended to order because of a BOGO deal we apparently benefited from.
While people say the scene doesn’t heat up until around 11PM, we have yet to see that for ourselves. We tend to get a couple drinks and be home before 10 and have found that to be heated enough for us. But if the club scene was you’re scene, we’ve been told this is a great place for you to dance the night away!
We absolutely understand why so many people rave about Medellin, and Parque Lleras is one of the main reasons why we believe them. Have I mentioned how much we love this place?!
Planning a trip to Medellin?
That’s awesome and we’re jealous! Our Medellin travel guide has everything you need to plan your trip and is a great place to start. We’ve got you covered on everything from our perfect 1-4 day Medellin Itinerary to our Medellin Coffee Guide for all things coffee. Be sure to check out our favorite things to eat, drink and do in Medellin plus a video of our Top 10 Medellin experiences. Wondering how much all this will cost? We’ve got you covered with our Medellin travel costs infographic.