Free Tour Heroes with Beyond Colombia - Free Walking Tour Bogotá
Welcome back to the Free Tour Heroes series taking a closer look at the people, places, and passions behind some of the winners of the FREETOUR.com awards honouring the best free walking tours in the world, as voted by FREETOUR.com users.
In this, the seventh installment and first of 2019, we get to know a little bit more about Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá who have been providing excellent free walking tours in Bogotá since 2014.
In the Spotlight: Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá
Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá offer five free tours on the FREETOUR.com platform, three in Bogotá – a general city tour, a food tour, and a city tour charting the journey from war to peace in Colombia. Their other two free tours, a general tour and a food tour, are in the beautiful port city of Cartagena.
We got some local insight to Bogotá from Beyond Colombia, their excellent free walking tours in the city, and the motivation behind their award-winning tours.
What, do you think, is the most fascinating site on your tour?
During our Free Tour, there's a very special stop called Gaitan's Memorial. This guy was a socialist liberal leader who wanted social justice, equality and a better country for Colombians. Sadly, history often does not favour big and revolutionary ideas that are dangerous for people with the power at the top. Gaitan was assassinated in 1948 in downtown Bogotá. What followed has become known as the "Bogotazo", when followers of Gaitan took to the streets and started one of the biggest riots in Colombian history which left much of downtown in ruins. This is known as the beginning of the "violence period", which saw a civil war develop between conservatives and socialists who each desired to take control of the country.
What three things should visitors to Bogotá not miss?
People who visit Bogotá can't miss the Teatro Colón, one of the oldest national theatres of South America, in original and classical Italian architectural style.
The Museo del Oro (Gold Museum), as it has the largest collection of Pre-Columbian pieces in the World, around 34.000 items. It reminds us of our roots, where we come from, traditions and celebrations.
And Paloquemao Market, one of the oldest and most atmospheric markets of the region, with loads of fresh fruit and vegetables, simply amazing.
What tips do you give to visitors to Bogotá?
We encourage people to use the Public Transport System (Transmilenio) as it’s the most efficient way to get around Bogotá city centre during rush hour.
We also recommend visiting the Botanical Garden and Virgilio Barco Library, as they have amazing green areas for picnics, bike rides and nice walks. For families, the Jaime Duque Park is very educational, and, for nature lovers, the Chingaza National Park is an amazing one, not that far from Bogotá.
Another cool tip is Parkway, a trendy neighborhood with very nice restaurants and very good prices too. La Macarena gastro area is cool too - you'll find all kinds of international food and good vibes there.
What motivates you to provide free tours in Bogotá?
We believe in the positive impact of our Tours; this country has a dark past that we can't deny, but we can change its future while helping visitors really learn and understand our city and culture.
Every guide that belongs to Beyond Colombia's team follows the same goal: to promote cultural tourism through information and experiences that positively impact the city. We strive to show the real Bogotá and share our happiness with all of those who join us on our tours.
What do you love most about guiding free tours?
That we have the chance of showing the real (positive and negative) Bogotá and Colombia; the chance of impacting visitor's experience by sharing our love of the city and the chance of changing the stereotypes of our country/people. Each one of us loves meeting people from all around the world and making new friends by sharing passion. Spending time with these people allows us to have a very dynamic pace and even when the topics we discuss are the same, the conversation is not; not one person is like the other and so we even get to see things from different perspectives all the time.
Why, do you think, your tours are award-winning?
There’s probably a few reasons; It's a first-hand info tour about Bogota's history and culture with guides who are real local ‘Rolos’, Bogotá residents. And it’s a shared experience, a tour that really nurtures interaction and integration with each other.
We are very passionate people willing to give the best tour day after day. We put in an outstanding effort to achieve an exceptional quality city tour, our reviews say so, and having earned a FREETOUR.com award motivates us and affirms our belief that what we are doing is something real - impacting positively on visitor's experience and helping contribute to the change we want to see and the country we want to live in; a better one, peaceful, beautiful and colourful. Thank you for giving us the chance to share who we are and what we do, and for helping to attract people from around the globe to Colombia!
You can book your place on a free tour of Bogotá on FREETOUR.com or the FREE TOUR app – you’ll get instant booking confirmation and be able to rate and review any tours you book across the globe, helping to inform other travellers and even help decide the winners of FREETOUR.com awards. Next time, we’ll be shining the spotlight on FREE SF TOURS in delightful San Francisco and hearing about sunken ships, secret stairs, and San Fran’s best sandwiches! Until then, happy touring.
In this, the seventh installment and first of 2019, we get to know a little bit more about Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá who have been providing excellent free walking tours in Bogotá since 2014.
In the Spotlight: Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá
Beyond Colombia – Free Walking Tour Bogotá offer five free tours on the FREETOUR.com platform, three in Bogotá – a general city tour, a food tour, and a city tour charting the journey from war to peace in Colombia. Their other two free tours, a general tour and a food tour, are in the beautiful port city of Cartagena.
We got some local insight to Bogotá from Beyond Colombia, their excellent free walking tours in the city, and the motivation behind their award-winning tours.
What, do you think, is the most fascinating site on your tour?
During our Free Tour, there's a very special stop called Gaitan's Memorial. This guy was a socialist liberal leader who wanted social justice, equality and a better country for Colombians. Sadly, history often does not favour big and revolutionary ideas that are dangerous for people with the power at the top. Gaitan was assassinated in 1948 in downtown Bogotá. What followed has become known as the "Bogotazo", when followers of Gaitan took to the streets and started one of the biggest riots in Colombian history which left much of downtown in ruins. This is known as the beginning of the "violence period", which saw a civil war develop between conservatives and socialists who each desired to take control of the country.
What three things should visitors to Bogotá not miss?
People who visit Bogotá can't miss the Teatro Colón, one of the oldest national theatres of South America, in original and classical Italian architectural style.
The Museo del Oro (Gold Museum), as it has the largest collection of Pre-Columbian pieces in the World, around 34.000 items. It reminds us of our roots, where we come from, traditions and celebrations.
And Paloquemao Market, one of the oldest and most atmospheric markets of the region, with loads of fresh fruit and vegetables, simply amazing.
What tips do you give to visitors to Bogotá?
We encourage people to use the Public Transport System (Transmilenio) as it’s the most efficient way to get around Bogotá city centre during rush hour.
We also recommend visiting the Botanical Garden and Virgilio Barco Library, as they have amazing green areas for picnics, bike rides and nice walks. For families, the Jaime Duque Park is very educational, and, for nature lovers, the Chingaza National Park is an amazing one, not that far from Bogotá.
Another cool tip is Parkway, a trendy neighborhood with very nice restaurants and very good prices too. La Macarena gastro area is cool too - you'll find all kinds of international food and good vibes there.
What motivates you to provide free tours in Bogotá?
We believe in the positive impact of our Tours; this country has a dark past that we can't deny, but we can change its future while helping visitors really learn and understand our city and culture.
Every guide that belongs to Beyond Colombia's team follows the same goal: to promote cultural tourism through information and experiences that positively impact the city. We strive to show the real Bogotá and share our happiness with all of those who join us on our tours.
What do you love most about guiding free tours?
That we have the chance of showing the real (positive and negative) Bogotá and Colombia; the chance of impacting visitor's experience by sharing our love of the city and the chance of changing the stereotypes of our country/people. Each one of us loves meeting people from all around the world and making new friends by sharing passion. Spending time with these people allows us to have a very dynamic pace and even when the topics we discuss are the same, the conversation is not; not one person is like the other and so we even get to see things from different perspectives all the time.
Why, do you think, your tours are award-winning?
There’s probably a few reasons; It's a first-hand info tour about Bogota's history and culture with guides who are real local ‘Rolos’, Bogotá residents. And it’s a shared experience, a tour that really nurtures interaction and integration with each other.
We are very passionate people willing to give the best tour day after day. We put in an outstanding effort to achieve an exceptional quality city tour, our reviews say so, and having earned a FREETOUR.com award motivates us and affirms our belief that what we are doing is something real - impacting positively on visitor's experience and helping contribute to the change we want to see and the country we want to live in; a better one, peaceful, beautiful and colourful. Thank you for giving us the chance to share who we are and what we do, and for helping to attract people from around the globe to Colombia!
You can book your place on a free tour of Bogotá on FREETOUR.com or the FREE TOUR app – you’ll get instant booking confirmation and be able to rate and review any tours you book across the globe, helping to inform other travellers and even help decide the winners of FREETOUR.com awards. Next time, we’ll be shining the spotlight on FREE SF TOURS in delightful San Francisco and hearing about sunken ships, secret stairs, and San Fran’s best sandwiches! Until then, happy touring.
