Medellin or Cali?

Neither city is a beach destination. Both sit inland behind the Andes, so sea and sand mean a separate leg of the trip. From Cali, that means the Pacific at Juanchaco or Ladrilleros, reached by road to Buenaventura and then a boat. From Medellín, it means a flight or a long drive to the Caribbean.

What differs is the swimming nearer home. Cali has natural river pools along the Pance on its southern edge, where local families spend weekends. In Medellín, swimming means a hotel pool, a finca in the hills or the reservoir at Guatapé.

The two cities eat about as well as each other, but the cooking is quite different. Cali's food draws on the Afro-Colombian Pacific, with coconut seafood stews, borojó, and street drinks such as lulada and champús. Add the cholado, warm pandebono in the morning and the fish counters of the Galería Alameda, and it is the more distinctive of the two regional kitchens.

Medellín's paisa cooking is heavier and plainer, built around the bandeja paisa and arepas, but the city makes up for it with excellent fruit and a real café culture serving Antioquian coffee. El Poblado and Provenza also offer a wider choice of creative and international restaurants than anything in Cali.

Medellín has more to see. Its interest lies less in old buildings than in its recent history. The Botero collection at the Museo de Antioquia, the Museo Casa de la Memoria and the murals and escalators of Comuna 13 explain how the city came back from decades of violence, and the Metrocable rides over the barrios round it off. Together they fill two or three days.

Cali actually keeps more colonial fabric, including La Merced, the Mudéjar tower of San Francisco and the low houses of San Antonio, along with the modern art of La Tertulia. But it is a small circuit that takes a day or two, and the city's culture lives more in its music than in its sights.

Both cities are serious about going out, and what sets them apart is the music. Cali is about salsa danced with startling skill, whether in small salsotecas where regulars listen to old vinyl or in the big Juanchito clubs that run until near dawn. A few lessons before you go make a real difference.

Medellín is reggaeton country. Parque Lleras and Provenza have the rooftop bars, cocktail spots and packed clubs, while La 70 in Laureles offers cheaper outdoor drinking and salsa, and there are old tango bars in the centre. In both cities, ride-hailing after dark is the sensible way home.

Both cities have steep green mountains right on their doorstep, but the way you reach them differs. Cali's are a little wilder. The Farallones national park climbs into cloud forest behind the Pance valley, and the forests around Kilometre 18 are among the best birding in Colombia. Lake Calima's steady wind draws windsurfers and kitesurfers.

Medellín's outdoors is easier to reach without a driver. A cable car from the metro climbs to the pine and cloud forest of Parque Arví, paragliders launch from San Félix, and El Peñol's lakes and granite rock lie about two hours away.

Medellín has the better day trips. Guatapé, with its painted zócalo houses beside the El Peñol rock, is one of the best-known outings in Colombia. Santa Fe de Antioquia offers whitewashed colonial streets and the Occidente bridge, and Carmen de Viboral's ceramics and the coffee farms are even closer.

Cali's day trips are pleasant but quieter: the pilgrimage town of Buga, the old sugar estates such as Hacienda El Paraíso from the novel María, and Valle cooking in Ginebra. Its strongest neighbours, Popayán and the coffee region, need an overnight stay.

Medellín is the better city for children. Parque Explora's interactive science halls and aquarium, the planetarium and the botanical garden sit side by side, so a whole day can be spent in one place. The cable cars up to Arví are a ride children remember.

Cali's main attractions for families are its riverside zoo, strong on Colombian animals, and weekend picnics at the Pance pools, with water parks and malls for rainy days. In both cities steep or uneven streets and heavy traffic mean families mostly travel by taxi.

Medellín is easier to get around. Its clean metro runs along the valley and links to Metrocable gondolas and a tram, which together cover the centre, Comuna 13 and Parque Arví. El Poblado and Laureles are pleasant to walk, though steep. Keep in mind that the airport is about forty-five minutes away near Rionegro.

Cali is flat but spread out and hot. Most visitors rely on cheap taxis and ride-hailing, with the MIO bus lanes as a crowded alternative that takes some learning. Walking really only works between San Antonio, Granada and the riverside.

Medellín is the better place to shop, as Colombia's textile and fashion centre. Local labels fill the boutiques of Provenza and the El Poblado malls, El Hueco downtown is a maze of wholesale bargains, and Carmen de Viboral ceramics and carriel bags make good regional souvenirs.

Cali's shopping is mostly in big malls. Its one real speciality is salsa shoes and dancewear, along with coffee and fruit from the Galería Alameda and Pacific basketry. Neither city has a luxury quarter.

Both cities are very cheap by European or North American standards. Set lunches, taxis and most sights cost little in either, and Cali's dance classes and nights out are especially good value. What differs is where costs climb. In Cali, that means the northern restaurants and the week of the December feria. In Medellín, it means the foreign-facing bars of El Poblado and Provenza, so staying in Laureles keeps a budget down.

Cali has the stronger live scene, almost all of it built on dance. Big cabaret salsa shows with full orchestras, brass bands in the dance halls and the showcases of the dance schools are the main draws. The Petronio Álvarez festival in August brings marimba and Pacific drumming, and the Teatro Experimental de Cali has a long place in Latin American theatre.

Medellín's live music is smaller and mostly local: salsa bands, and a loyalty to tango dating from Carlos Gardel's death there in 1935. The Teatro Metropolitano hosts its philharmonic, and August's Feria de las Flores fills the streets with music.

Neither is a city for rest, but Medellín does it somewhat better. Inexpensive massage and yoga studios in El Poblado and Laureles are easy to find, and eco-lodges in the cool hills of Santa Elena or near the eastern lakes offer a proper retreat.

In Cali, wellness rarely goes beyond hotel spas and salons. Unwinding there means a slow afternoon in a garden café in San Antonio, or a weekend at a country house with a pool near Pance.