(Keep in mind that the description below is a word-for-word copy of the description for Pereira! Only a few key street & neighborhood names have been changed.)
There are many things to see. This is a beautiful university city, famous throughout Colombia for the numerous private and public universities. It's reported that 1/4 of city (pop. 400,000) residents here are students, females seem to outnumber males by margin of 3 to 1. So students can be seen everywhere, either walking to classes along Avenidas Santander or Parallela, or sitting in the myriad cafes along Avenida Santander after class while chatting with friends and watching others strolling along the avenue.
The city has a real European, small city feel to it, like being in Switzerland or the Alps. In winter season it rains a lot (almost every day, but not for too long), but you can find very dry days in summer season. The air is always fresh, temperature a little cool, and can be balmy depending on which part of city you're visiting.
The city is also famous for being one of only with 8 separate micro-climates in world, depending on which elevation and barrio you're in. For example, it's possible in just 10 minutes to go from a spot that's cool and foggy (for ex. the Chipre barrio that is higher up and overlooking the valley floor below) to one that is warm and balmy (like La Linda barrio).
In this city it's easy to see why the Spanish would choose locations high up for planting cities, and why the later Colonialists from Medellin and State of Antioquia who founded this city choose this relatively high location to mount a new city 150 years ago. The climate is moderate and very healthy, and nothing like the humidity and heat you'll find in valleys down below!
The city has a beautiful park called 'Los Colonializadores' on a mount overlooking the city and beautiful coffee rich valleys down below. The view is 360 degrees, and to east, north and south are views of city that's nestled up against the western side of central Cordillera (Colombia, in the western part of country, is basically divided into sections by three large, wide mountain ranges) and to west are views of the valleys, rivers and coffee plantations down below which contain the famous coffee cities of Chinchina and Palastina (where a new, modern international airport is now under construction).
The city has a large eco-park called Los Yarumos, named after a large tree species, Yarumo. It contains beautiful views overlooking the city and affords views of mountains and a volcano encircling the city above. There are many hiking trails and nature walks, and city just completed a new indoor ice skating rink, which has a great music system! Also, there is also a large conference center and restaurants.
The city has two main plazas, Plaza Bolivar and Parque Caldas, where people can go to sit and to chat with friends, or to shop and to watch others in afternoon and evening. Plaza Bolivar contains the State Government of Caldas administration buildings, as Manizales city is also the seat of Caldas state.
On the other side of the plaza stands the impressive, beautiful Cathedral of Manizales, built by people of the city. It's massive size is impressive and famous for it's elaborate gold canopy and beautiful, large stained-glass windows. The cathedral is also the third tallest in Latin America, at 113 meters.
Many people visit this plaza during trips to city center to conduct personal or municipal business, as this area contains most of important government and banking buildings, and is oldest part of city.
The Universidad de Caldas has many museums (Natural History, Art, and Archeology) and a botanical garden.
