Bogotá D.C. is Colombia's capital district, a high-altitude Andean metropolis of roughly eight million people spread across a plateau at 2,640 metres (8,660 ft). The city pairs a dense colonial core in La Candelaria — home to the Gold Museum and the Botero collection — with the glass towers of the northern business districts, a 200-kilometre cycle network, and the green wall of the eastern mountains rising directly behind the historic centre.
Family activities
Engaging experiences for travellers of every age.
Sunday Ciclovia on the Carrera Septima
Every Sunday and public holiday from 7AM to 2PM around 120 km of Bogota's avenues close to cars and fill with families on bicycles, scooters and skates. The Carrera Septima stretch between the Parque Nacional and Usaquen is flat, safe and lined with juice and arepa carts, and free recreovia aerobics sessions run in the parks along the way.
Duration: 2-4 hours
Maloka Centro Interactivo
Bogota's hands-on science centre in Ciudad Salitre, built around a partially underground dome cinema, with rooms on the human body, physics, energy, biodiversity and the universe. Everything is designed to be touched, pedalled or operated, and it is the single best wet-afternoon option in the city for children between roughly four and fourteen.
Duration: 3-4 hours
Monserrate by funicular or cable car
The funicular rises through a tunnel and the cable car swings out over the hillside to a sanctuary at 3,152 m, with a view across the entire Sabana de Bogota. Children enjoy the ride itself, the market stalls of sweets and agua de panela at the top and the flock of Andean birds around the gardens. Riding up on the funicular and down on the cable car gives both experiences in one ticket.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira
A working salt mine 180 m underground, converted into a cathedral of carved halls, illuminated crosses and salt-walled tunnels. The mine adventure add-on lets older children put on a helmet and lamp and explore rougher galleries. A 90-minute bus ride from Portal del Norte makes it the classic day trip from the capital.
Duration: Full day with travel
Museo del Oro treasure hunt
Roughly 34,000 pieces of Muisca, Quimbaya, Tayrona and Zenu goldwork, ending with the tiny golden raft that gave rise to the El Dorado legend and a darkened offering room that children remember for years. Free audio guides in English turn the visit into a hunt for specific pieces.
Duration: 2 hours
Divercity at Centro Comercial Santafe
An indoor miniature city where children take on jobs - firefighter, surgeon, television presenter, baker - earn a local currency and spend it. Entirely indoors and staffed throughout, it absorbs a rainy afternoon completely and accompanying adults pay a reduced rate.
Duration: 3-4 hours
Jardin Botanico Jose Celestino Mutis
Twenty hectares of Colombian ecosystems from paramo to rainforest, including glasshouse tropicariums, a palm collection and open lawns for running. In December the garden stages one of Bogota's biggest Christmas light trails, which needs tickets booked well ahead.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Parque Simon Bolivar and kite flying
Bogota's 400-hectare central park has a lake with pedal boats, wide lawns and jogging circuits. August brings the savanna winds and the city's kite-flying tradition, with vendors selling cometas at every gate and the sky over the park filling with them.
Duration: 2-4 hours
Planetario de Bogota dome session
Full-dome astronomy shows in a 1969 planetarium beside the Parque de la Independencia, with an accompanying museum of astronomy and space exploration. Sessions run to a fixed timetable and several are aimed specifically at younger children.
Duration: 1.5-2 hours
TransMiCable ride over Ciudad Bolivar
The cable car from Portal Tunal climbs over the hillside barrios of Ciudad Bolivar to the Mirador del Paraiso, giving an extraordinary aerial view of the southern city for the price of a bus ride. Best done in daylight, ideally as part of a community-led tour.
Duration: 1.5-2 hours
Usaquen Sunday market and brunch
The colonial village in the north of the city holds a craft and antiques flea market every Sunday, with street musicians, churros and empanada stalls and a plaza where children can run while adults eat. The surrounding restaurants run long, relaxed Sunday brunches.
Duration: Half day
Parque Jaime Duque
A sprawling park north of the city combining a wildlife area, a monorail, a giant relief map of Colombia, a replica Taj Mahal housing an art collection and classic fairground rides. It is dated in places and all the better for it, and a full day passes easily.
Duration: Full day
Family-friendly hotels
Accommodation designed with families in mind.
Hotel Bogota Plaza
One of the very few Bogota hotels with a heated indoor pool, which matters more than it sounds at 2,640 m. Large rooms, several with connecting doors, a straightforward buffet breakfast and a safe northern location near Parque 93 and the Calle 100 TransMilenio corridor.
Family features: Heated indoor pool, connecting and triple rooms, cots on request, children's breakfast options, 24-hour room service
Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia
A calm, well-run hotel on a quiet street a block from the Zona T, with generous rooms, a garden courtyard and a French-Colombian restaurant that handles children comfortably. Walking distance to Parque El Virrey for morning runs and to the Andino and El Retiro malls.
Family features: Family rooms and suites, cots and extra beds, babysitting arranged with notice, stroller-friendly corridors, indoor parking
Hotel Casa Dann Carlton
A large, long-established hotel with some of the biggest standard rooms in north Bogota, a spa and indoor pool, and a location between Parque 93 and the Zona Rosa that puts parks, malls and restaurants within a short walk.
Family features: Indoor pool, suites with kitchenettes, connecting rooms, buffet breakfast, laundry service
Estelar Suites Jones
Apartment-style suites with full kitchens and separate living areas in a quiet residential pocket of Chapinero Alto, which solves the fussy-eater problem and the early-bedtime problem at once. Good supermarkets and casual restaurants are within two blocks.
Family features: Kitchens, washing machines in some units, one- and two-bedroom layouts, supermarket nearby, long-stay rates
Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota
A 1946 national monument of carved stone and timber in the restaurant district, small enough that staff learn a family's names by the second morning. Rooms are large by Bogota standards and the hotel arranges car seats, guided city days and excursions to Zipaquira.
Family features: Connecting rooms and suites, cots and child amenities, car seats arranged in advance, children's menus, 24-hour concierge
Hotel Morrison 84
A mid-sized, quiet hotel a block from the Zona T with suites that include kitchenettes and sitting areas, useful for families who want restaurants on the doorstep without staying inside the nightlife blocks.
Family features: Suites with kitchenettes, extra beds, in-room dining, quiet street, walking distance to Parque El Virrey
Dining with kids
Eating out as a family.
Colombian restaurants welcome children at any hour and most will produce a porcion para nino or split an adult plate without being asked
Ajiaco santafereno - the capital's chicken, three-potato and guascas soup, served with capers, cream and avocado - is mild, filling and the dish to start with; the guascas herb is what makes it a Bogota dish rather than a generic soup
Crepes & Waffles, a Colombian chain with branches in every mall and on Parque 93, is reliably good, inexpensive and geared to families, and its ice cream counter buys another 20 minutes of goodwill
Andres DC on Calle 82 and the original Andres Carne de Res in Chia are loud, theatrical and genuinely fun for children during the daytime and early evening, before the late-night crowd arrives
La Puerta Falsa on Calle 11 has been selling tamales and chocolate santafereno - hot chocolate with a slab of fresh cheese dropped into it, to be eaten with a spoon - since 1816, and children find the cheese-in-chocolate ritual either wonderful or appalling, which is half the point
Take children to Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao in the morning and let them pick unfamiliar fruit: lulo, granadilla, mangostino, feijoa, pitaya and guanabana are all sold by the piece and vendors hand out slices to try
Juices come en agua or en leche - in water or in milk - and every restaurant makes them fresh; jugo de mora en leche is the standard order for children
Portions are large and sharing is normal, so ordering fewer dishes than people is the usual approach
Set lunches (corrientazo or menu ejecutivo) between noon and 3PM cost COP 15,000-25,000 (approx USD 4.75-8) and arrive quickly, which suits hungry children far better than a la carte dinner service
Mall food courts at Andino, El Retiro, Santafe and Titan Plaza have high chairs, clean toilets and baby-change facilities, which are less reliable in small independent restaurants
Family travel tips
Practical advice for stress-free family trips.
Give the altitude its due: at 2,640 m children tire faster, sleep badly the first night and sometimes get headaches. Plan the first day around a park and a short museum rather than a full itinerary, push water and snacks, and leave Monserrate - another 500 m higher - until day two or three.
Sun at this altitude burns through cloud. High-factor sunscreen, hats and sunglasses matter far more than the 19C air temperature suggests.
Dress everyone in layers. A Bogota day runs from 8C at breakfast to 20C at midday and back to 9C by dinner, with rain possible in between.
Car seats are not standard in Colombian taxis or ride-hailing cars. Families with toddlers should bring a travel seat or book a private transfer that supplies one.
Skip TransMilenio at rush hour with small children - the articulated buses are genuinely crushed between 6:30-9AM and 4:30-8PM. Travel midday, or use app taxis.
La Candelaria's pavements are cobbled, steep and narrow. A carrier works far better than a pushchair in the historic centre, though the northern districts and the malls are stroller-friendly.
Base the family in Usaquen, Parque 93, Chico or Chapinero Alto rather than the historic centre: evening streets are comfortable, parks and malls are close, and the main private hospitals are nearby.
Sunday is the best family day in Bogota - Ciclovia in the morning, the Usaquen market at midday, and free admission at the Museo del Oro and Museo Nacional.
Tap water is safe and good, so refillable bottles work throughout the city and help with altitude hydration.
Many attractions admit children under 12 free or at a steep discount, and under-fours are usually free; carrying passports or copies makes claiming those rates straightforward.
Pharmacies (droguerias) such as Cruz Verde, Locatel and Colsubsidio are everywhere, several open 24 hours, and pharmacists dispense children's medicines and altitude remedies without a prescription.
Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota (+57 601 603 0303) and Clinica del Country (+57 601 530 0470) both have paediatric emergency departments and English-speaking staff; the national emergency number is 123.