Colombia can be a questionable place to find modern and efficient public transport, but Medellin sets a new standard for South America. Connecting a three-branch metro to two branches of cable cars, you’ll find it easy to get around the city. Be sure to connect to the MetroCable at Santo Domingo station, which will whisk you up and over the city and into the greenery of Parque Arvi, where you can spend all day wandering in the woods.

A wonderful example of Medellin’s entrepreneurial spirit are the free Real City Walking Tours, which happen twice daily – once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The tours, which will fill you on Colombia’s chequered history, last three to four hours and are lead (in English) by upbeat and sharp young professionals. They’ll take you to all the main spots downtown, including Plaza de Botero. It’s also a great way to meet other travellers and doesn’t feel like a horribly cheesy organised tour. Book ahead.

While you can happily prance around the city without really acknowledging Medellin’s violent past, it’s important to spend some time reflecting on the truth of the matter. The Memory House Museum is a modern centre fusing interactive technologies with careful storytelling. Here, you can spend hours learning about victims of Pablo Escobar’s campaign of blood, or take a less emotional route and browse the temporary exhibitions on the ground floor contributed by local artists. Best of all, it’s free.