Cartagena in 5 days

A colonial grid of ochre fronts, bougainvillea-laden balconies and shaded squares, UNESCO-listed since 1984 and still lived in, with schools, shops and pavement dominoes.

The walls are open at all hours; the north-west stretch between the Santo Domingo and Santa Catalina bastions faces the sunset.

The largest Spanish fortress in the Americas, which held off the British in 1741, with ramps, batteries and narrow tunnels.

A 150-metre hill topped by a convent founded in 1607, and the only place to see the walled city, the bay and Bocagrande together.

The old artisans' quarter of murals, umbrellas strung over Calle de la Sierpe and salsa bars; the square fills up every evening.

Fish, meat, unfamiliar fruit, street kitchens, mud and noise, with no concessions to visitors: this is what the Caribbean coast actually eats.

The best-known pale-sand beach nearby, an hour by boat or road; lovely water, but often packed and the selling never stops.

A marine national park of 27 islands an hour by boat, with real coral; a day on one island beats the three-stop mass tour.