Museo de Antioquia and Plaza Botero

The museum occupies the old municipal palace, a heavy art deco block in the middle of Medellin, and holds the collection Fernando Botero gave to the city he came from: his own paintings and sculptures, works by other artists that he bought and donated, and Colombian art from the colonial period onwards. Outside, the square carries twenty-three of his bronzes, cats, hands, women and a horse among them, all polished bright where people rub and climb on them. The square is a genuine piece of downtown Medellin, loud and full of vendors, which is not the setting most visitors expect for a sculpture collection.

What you actually see

• The Botero rooms - the artist's own paintings and sculptures on the upper floors.
• The donated collection - international works he bought and gave to the city.
• The bronzes outside - twenty-three sculptures in the square, polished by hands.
• The art deco building - the former municipal palace, marble stairs and heavy stone.

When to go

Open daily, with shorter hours on Sundays. Weekday mornings are the calmest inside. The square is at its busiest and best in the middle of the day and empties quickly after dark, so treat this as a daytime visit. The metro sets you down at the door, which is much the simplest way to arrive from anywhere in the valley.

Honest expectations

The surrounding blocks are chaotic, crowded and full of hawkers, and the jump from that to polished bronzes jars for some people. Inside, the Botero rooms are large and taste for his work is far from universal. The rest of the collection is uneven and the circulation is confusing. The building gets hot, and weekend queues at the ticket desk are slow.

Nearby

The Palacio de la Cultura stands opposite; the metro links to the cable cars up the valley sides.