Walking loops around Parque Lleras, Medellin, it’s easy to confuse one locale for another as all boast expansive outdoor dining rooms, promotional drink banners, and the obligatory plasma TV.  Themes range from Japanese to ultra-chic to rustic Colombian and prices sit somewhere near the top of the Medellin nightlife spectrum.

A number of haunts offer excessive drink specials – such as four-for-one – and the quality of food varies greatly. Drinking beers in the plaza, a European pastime, is also popular here: whether you’re pre-gaming with local aguardiente (ie. rocket fuel in a bottle) or sipping wine with a lover, open container laws don’t seem to apply here (or at least, they’re not enforced).

Specifically on Friday and Saturday nights, notwithstanding just about every other night of the week, Parque Lleras in Medellin fills up around midnight with revelers stumbling in and out of the streets.

To call it one big party would not be inaccurate, although many locals find the bar hopping and generic facades get old after a while. Its crowd reaches into their thirties then generally call it quits, opting instead for more sophisticated and less commercialized options elsewhere in downtown Medellin.

The areas in and around Parque Lleras, in the day, offer a number of boutique shopping options and a host of basic services (such as gym, supermarket, and banks) making it a good spot for tourists to call home for their stay. While venturing into other more authentic Colombian neighborhoods is obligatory for the true traveler, Parque Lleras is overwhelmingly cited in guidebooks, hands-down, as the best place to stay.

Safety in the area of Parque Lleras, Medellin is a priority to business owners and tourism officials, which is why you’ll rarely hear of any incidents in the recent past. Local watchmen in blue vests patrol parked cars (requesting the obligatory tip at the end) and observant police can be seen on a regular basis. It is an area that should certainly be visited during your stay, though it is most likely to grow redundant after a few nights, at which point exploring other areas is a welcomed reprieve.