Sightseeing OverviewThe
historic center around
Plaza Bolívar has a sprinkling of
colonial houses amongst concrete monstrosities, including key sites relating to the birth, life, death, funeral and reburial of
independence hero Simón Bolívar. Here you’ll see several beautiful
churches, the
cathedral, the seat of
government and the
Capitolio Nacional (National Capitol), where Bolívar is enshrined. There is a huddle of terrific
galleries and
museums around the
Parque Central district, including
the first-rate
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo,
Galeria de Arte Nacional (National Gallery) and
Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) amongst others.
Further afield are some more
colonial gems, including the
Museo de Arte Colonial (Museum of Colonial Art) in San Bernadino and the beautiful little
16th-century township (now suburb) of
El Hatillo southeast of the center. And most uplifting of all is the
teleférico (
cable car) that chugs up the neighboring
mountain of
El Ávila.
Or if a
lively atmosphere and
good food are what you’re after you’ll do well in the
Spanish quarter of
La Candelaria or the
glitzy modern district of
Las Mercedes.
Tourist InformationInatur35th floor, Mirador de la Torre Oeste, Parque Central
Tel: 0800 462 8871.
Website:
www.inatur.gov.veThere is another branch at
the airport.
Venezuela Conventions and Visitors BureauTel: (0212) 267 4166.
Website:
www.burodevenezuela.comThe CVB has some advance information but no walk-in center.
PassesThere are no tourist passes for Caracas tourist attractions, but many of the city’s big museums and monuments are free to enter.
Key Attractions:Parque Nacional El Ávila
A mountainous national park towering over the city,
El Ávila makes the perfect getaway from the constant noise and confusion in downtown Caracas. A lofty cable car runs to the mountain top from the suburb of Maripérez. The mountain slopes are criss-crossed by trails and there is a tourist complex on the summit (2,175m/7,135ft) that includes a restaurant, ice-rink and several hungry monkeys.
El Ávila Mountain
Tel: (0212) 573 7879.
Website:
www.inparques.gob.veFree admission.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
This gallery is one of the continent’s top spots for modern art, with plenty of big names from the national and international stages, including Picasso, Matisse, Miró and the world-famous Venezuelan artist Jesús Soto.
Zona Cultural de Parque Central, Bellas Artes
Tel: (0212) 573 8289.
Website:
www.maccsi.orgFree admission.
El Hatillo
One of the city’s most beguiling corners,
El Hatillo is a colorful colonial village that was gobbled up by the expanding city, but managed to hang on to its small-town charms with brightly painted adobe buildings and a whitewashed little church. Centerd on a pretty plaza, it is also the best place in Caracas to shop for handicrafts (see
Shopping).
Free admission.
Panteón Nacional
This stately monument is home to the final resting place of national and continental hero El Libertador (The Liberator) Simón Bolívar, as well as other members of Venezuela’s historic great and good. An elegant ecclesiastic-style building, it is well worth seeing if only for the murals that smother the ceiling en route to Bolívar’s excessively extravagant tomb.
Foro Libertador, Parroquia Altagracia
Tel: (0212) 862 1518.
Free admission.
Capitolio Nacional
Taking up a whole block and covered in gold domes and neoclassical frills, this enormous, stately building dates from the 1870s. It is particularly famous for the murals splashed across the dome of its
Salón Elíptico (Oval Hall), which depict the battle of Carabobo in the Wars of Independence.
Plaza Bolívar
Tel: (0212) 564 7589.
Free admission.
Further Distractions:Casa Natal de Bolívar
The birthplace of Venezuela’s most famous son, Simón Bolívar, is now a shrine to the independence hero who saw off the Spaniards in the 19th century. A colonial house in central Caracas, it has been refitted in the original style and is decorated by murals of his finest moments.
San Jacinto
Tel: (0212) 541 2563.
Free admission.
Museo de Arte Colonial
Housed in a delightful old colonial mansion called the
Quinta de Anauco and surrounded by manicured gardens, this museum of colonial art is well worth the trip 15 minute’s walk north of the center.
Avenida Panteón, San Bernardino
Tel: (0582) 551 4256/8517.
Website:
www.quintadeanauco.org.veFree admission.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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