- Climb a tower at the Botanical Gardens and watch the hummingbirds fight in the sky.
- Make like a cachaco and get a bespoke hat designed in Calle San Miguel.
- Be the rebel who wears neon and rollerblades with a dog on the ciclovia.
- Read poetry on the TransMilenio on a rainy Sunday and remember Gabo did that too.
- Row a boat onto the lake at Parque Simón Bolívar and enjoy the solitude.
- Dunk cheese in your chocolate in a two-hundred-year-old tradition.
- Catch a match at El Campín and whoever wins, invite the lechona.
- Go old school and read a Bogotá newspaper while a gentleman shines your shoes.
- Unearth an underground coffee shop and buy a bag of their best beans.
- Rescue an ageing typewriter from a flea market. Take it home and write.
- Sneak into a concert at the National University and enjoy the best acoustics around.
- Lick your plate clean at Prudencia, Trattoria de la Plaza or even el Cielo.
- Marvel at the red, white and blue beauty of Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
- Mountain bike downhill like a madman at Parque Nacional.
- Locate a tejo hall with a jukebox and make Shakira the soundtrack of your victory.
- Take your seat in the Gods among the gilt and gold at the intricate Teatro Colón.
- Decode the city’s street art and strife with the help of a graffiti guide.
- Order a cocktail made with precision at 8ycuarto, Bar Enano or The Cooper.
- Summit Monserrate with your beloved because some rules are made to be broken.
- Tip a traffic light artist because there’s a good chance it will rain.
- Scare the snobs and slide into a vallenato hall where the men cry over Alejo Durán.
- Lose yourself in a book temple like Torre de Babel, Casa Tomada or Luvina.
- Prove you’re hip and dine at Tres Bastardos. One table. Three chefs. No pressure.
- Mull your next move over a pint of artisanal beer.
- Turn into a nosey neighbour and take a tour around Casa Grau.
- Bump all the way to the Salt Cathedral on our charming tourist train.
- Cry over the Bogotá Philharmonic then insist the altitude makes your eyes water.
- Purchase a paleta ice-cream on a cold day because no-one tells you how to snack.
- Escape to the wilderness. Hike the hidden La Vieja or Las Delicias mountain trails.
- Seek out yellow street roses and buy them just for you.
- Chase the ghosts of dead poets from their armchairs at Café Automático.
- Hang a beautiful Bogotá image on your wall and watch the city’s mysteries unravel.
- Exclaim “Ooh la la,” while you get a sugar fix at a French bakery.
- Buy a kite from a roadside vendor. Be a child and go fly it.
- Shiver your way around the city in a chiva. Pledge to try and appreciate its charms.
- Devour Living To Tell The Tale then pause at the spot where Gaitán was shot.
- Sing as you sprinkle arequipe, cheese and coconut over your ‘Mick Jagger’ oblea.
- Stop when you see an old man typing documents in the street. Compose a love letter.
- Enter the restored prison that is the National Museum. Escape before they lock up.
- Raise a glass to La La Land and seek out the jazz at the Bolon de Verde or San Café.
- Waltz into Crepes & Waffles and order a crocantino because you eat dessert first.
- Pay your respects at the Botero House because those paintings also ate dessert first.
- Melt Colombia’s finest cacao in your mouth at a chocolate masterclass.
- Watch the old men trade emeralds on the streets outside Banco de la República.
- Trace the city’s past on the tourist tram and hope a deer will jump on for a ride.
- Indulge and order postre de natas, brevas con arequipe and a merengón.
- Shock your senses at Plaza Bolívar on a week when the artists take over.
- Download a podcast and learn why others love this town too.
- Brave rollercoasters and go-karts or settle for golfito at Parque Salitre Mágico.
- Celebrate something at a Bogotá festival, be it salsa, rock, books, art, food or film.
- Pop into the Central Cemetery and whisper your wish in Leo Kopp’s ear.
- Linger over a Club Colombia or W brunch. Live on empanadas for the rest of the week.
- Relish the joy of a good empanada. Eat a whole basket at Las Margaritas.
- Browse antiques row in Chapinero Bajo. Beware of three million peso lamps.
- Beat Queen Victoria to it. Buy a mangosteen and delight in every slurp.
- Bother a keen Bogotá bird watcher for clues (They know where the owls live).
- Peer through the caged entrance that leads to the city’s underground labyrinth.
- Pony trek your way up La Calera. Stash some aguardiente in your saddlebags.
- Observe the pomp that is the changing of the guard in the President’s backyard.
- Boost your nerd credentials. Learn about life and the universe at Maloka.
- Experience déjà vu. Take the double decker tourist bus around the city’s sights.
- Practice some quirky Bogotá slang and test it out on passers-by.
- Salsa your ass somewhere, be it Galeria Café Libro, El Goce Pagano or Son Salomé.
- Picnic on a sunny Saturday at the Chicó Museum or in Parque El Virrey.
- Breathe the imposing air that encircles the Bogotá Cathedral.
- Polish your hands and feet with a mani-pedi at any street corner salon.
- Wander up to the 3,200m summit of the city’s Guadalupe peak.
- Breakfast with a filling tolimense tamal.
- Walk in a weird human bubble at Mundo Aventura.
- Test your knowledge and defy the tricky trivia at a city pub quiz.
- Dazzle yourself with the treasures sparkling at the Gold Museum.
- Squint to spot snow on distant peaks through the Mirador de los Nevados telescopes.
- Scour the unexpected objects and artwork sold on the street.
- Borrow a public bike in Parque El Virrey and peddle as if your feet had grown wings.
- See where they smashed that vase and made history, as we know it.
- Slip into Pastelería La Florida and grab an almojábana with agua de panela.
- Hop galleries in La Macarena and reward your cultural efforts with cake.
- Photograph the palm trees in Calle 57 because they are awesome and they are there.
- Sip wine with your movie at a classic cinema like Paraíso, Cinemania or Tonalá.
- Respect the silence and academic aura at the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango.
- Skip the gym and exercise on the free machines in your nearest park.
- Investigate the Héroes monument. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
- Feast on a chunk of chocolate served with hot chocolate at a chocolatería.
- Smell the richness of the bags, coats and jackets sold in the city’s leather district.
- Shelter in a café during a downpour and watch the havoc unfold.
- Secure a nostalgic Jet chocolate for a Colombian who’s having a bad day.
- Serve up a storm with a gourmet cooking class.
- Note the city window where The Liberator escaped with his life.
- Adapt as Darwin suggested and permit pineapple to be applied to your hot dog.
- Gamble on a guinea pig and good luck with that.
- Understand our insignificance with a trip to the Planetarium.
- Explore a hilly urban eco-system at Parque Entrenubes.
- Warm up with a Juan Valdez carajillo – coffee laced with something cheeky.
- Shake your booty at Andrés.
- Get your grind on at Theatrón.
- Hunt for fairies in the bowery in Simon Bolívar’s old garden.
- Spend your Sunday in Usaquén and your pennies at its market.
- Count the paintings and sculptures in the Iglesia Museo de Santa Clara.
- Give up and just eat your way through the streets with a foodie as your accomplice.
- Burn those extra calories on a bike tour before it’s too late.
- Print this list for the next time you hear: “Bogotá? Is there anything to do?”
Written by Bananaskinflipflops on March 26, 2017, originally posted on www.bananaskinflipflops.com