San Antonio

San Antonio is the oldest surviving residential quarter of Cali, a slope of low colonial and Republican houses in strong colours on narrow streets, with the chapel of San Antonio at the top - built in 1747, simple, whitewashed, with a timber ceiling and a collection of colonial religious carving inside. The park around the chapel is the gathering place: from late afternoon people come up to sit on the grass, and there are usually storytellers, buskers, food sellers and kite flyers, with the city spread out below and the sunset over the Cauca valley. The quarter has become the city's bohemian and cafe district, with galleries, small hotels, salsa schools and restaurants in converted houses, and prices have risen accordingly.

What's there

• A chapel of 1747 - whitewashed, with colonial carving inside.
• A hillside park at dusk - where the city comes to sit.
• Coloured colonial and Republican houses - on narrow slopes.
• Galleries, cafes and salsa schools - in converted houses.

When to go

Year round; late afternoon into the evening. Half a day.

Practical notes

The streets are steep. Evening crowds in the park are large at weekends. Prices have risen as the quarter gentrified. Care with belongings after dark is sensible, as elsewhere in the city.

Nearby

La Ermita and the river are downhill; Cristo Rey is on the hill west.