Things To Do in Popayán

The former home of Colombian artist Edgar Negret, who passed away in 2012, now serves as the city’s modern art museum. Negret is best known for abstract iron sculptures that are found in public squares around Colombia. Art from Negret’s private collection, which he donated to the…

This mansion turned museum once belonged to General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, who was the four-time president of Colombia from 1845 to 1867. Documents and photographs, alongside period furnishings, detail Mosquera’s storied life. The urn in the wall is said to contain his heart.

This impressive neoclassical cathedral on Parque Caldas dates to the second half of the 19th century. A former cathedral on the same site was destroyed in an earthquake.

Dating to 1610, this is Popayán’s oldest church, having survived earthquake after earthquake. There are lovely wood carvings, and the view of the city from the street outside is quite picturesque.

If you have time to see only one colonial church in Popayán, make it this one. Iglesia de San Francisco was completed in 1775 and replaced another one that was destroyed in a 1736 earthquake. This church is notable not only for its impressive size, but for its spectacular altars.…

Owned by the Popayán archdiocese, this 18th-century house is home to a vast collection of religious art that fills up 10 rooms. The collection, mostly of the Quiteño school, includes paintings, liturgical vessels, and various other pieces.

Once home of the native poet Guillermo Valencia, whose son later became president, this late-18th-century building is something of a time capsule. Much of the original furniture and paintings still remain.

The best natural history museum in southern Colombia was founded in 1936. Its collection of flora and fauna here is extensive, revealing the extent of Colombia’s rich biodiversity. Birds are well represented, as are species of insects, butterflies, and mammals.

At the west end of Calle 2, near the Rio Molino, this 11-arch brick bridge that dates to the mid-19th century is a symbol of the city, connecting the center to the neighborhoods in the north. Nearby is the older Puente de la Custodia, a stone bridge that gave priests access to the…