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GENERAL INFORMATION OF BOGOTA GENERAL INFORMATION Bogotá Capital District is located in the geographical center of the country, 2,600 m above sea level. It has an average temperature of 14˚C, an area of 1.587 km² and approximately 7 million inhabitants. The city is the most important center of government in the country and Bogotá has been consolidated as a major tourist attraction. The eastern hills serve as a point of reference for making one's way around the city. If you move towards them, you are heading east and if you move away, you are heading west.
Transportation
Options within the city are as follows:
Taxi service: includes tourist and public taxis. We recommend using hotel taxis or ordering a taxi by phone rather than taking one in the street. Taxis carry identification for both the vehicle and the driver, together with a chart indicating the fare according to the units on the taximeter, with their respective equivalence in pesos ($) as well as hourly rates. Car rental: various car rental agencies can be found in the telephone directory. Thus wishing to contract this service must have an international license, passport and credit card.
Transmilenio: a mass transport system offering mainline transport services and food.
Currency
Colombian peso: Official exchange rate on rate as of September 29th: $ 1.921 – US$ 1.00
Credit cards:
American Express, Diners, Master Card and Visa.
Official language: Spanish
Electricity 110 w
Nearby hospitals:
Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, calle 119 No. 7 – 75, Tel. 6030303. www.fsfb.org.co Clínica del Country, carrera 16 No. 82 – 57, Tel. 5300470. Clínica Reina Sofía, Cra. 31 No. 125A - 23, 625-2111
Hotels
Official hotels for the event: Radisson Royal Bogotá: Calle 113 No. 7 - 65, Tel. 6578700. Reservation center 6578787, [email protected] Other Royal hotels: Hacienda Royal Calle 114 No. 6 - 02, Tel. 6578950. Reservation center 6578787, [email protected]
Optional hotels
Bogotá Royal Carrera 8 A No. 99 - 55, Tel. 6341734. Central de reservas 6578787, [email protected]
Pavillon Royal calle 94 No. 11 - 45, Tel. 6502550. Central de reservas 6578787, [email protected] Hotel Bogotá Plaza: Calle 100 No. 18 A - 30, Tel. 6322200. Reservations 6350070, [email protected]
Malls
Centro comercial Santa Ana: Calle 110 Av 9 NQS Centro comercial Hacienda Santa Bárbara: Carrera 7a - Calle 116 Centro comercial Unicentro: Av. 15 - Calle 123 Centro comercial Andino: Carrera 11 - Calle 82 Centro comercial Atlantis: Calle 81 Carrera13 Centro comercial El Retiro: Calle 82 Carrera13 The city provides a range of activities every day of the week. The following points offer a wide choice of cultural events and places to eat:
Historic Center: Shows are also available at the Cristóbal Colón Theater (closed for remodeling), the concert hall at the Luis Ángel Arango Library, Camarín del Carmen and the Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Theater, while the Historic Center offers places steeped in history and legend. The center is also the site of Casa de Nariño, the Presidential Residence. Bolívar Square is lined by the National Capitol, where Congress operates, Liévano Palace, which houses the Mayor of Bogotá's offices, the Primary Cathedral of Colombia and the Courthouse, the headquarters of the supreme court of justice.
Zona Rosa and Zona T: covers roughly the area between calles 79 and 85 and carreras 11 and 15, the site of the Andino, Atlantis Plaza and Retiro malls, as well as bars, cafés, discotheques and restaurants.
Zona G: in between calles 68 and 74 and carreras 4ª and 7ª, an area has sprung up with sophisticated restaurants and haute cuisine specializing in international fare.
Parque de la 93: bars and restaurants with terraces overlooking the park that have become the center of Bogotá’s nightlife.
Usaquén: this old village, which is now one of the city's districts, with its late 19th and early 20th century mansions, is characterized by its spacious courtyards, flower-filled gardens and multi-colored facades.
Vía a La Calera: this three-mile stretch boasts several bars, restaurants and discotheques. One of its main attractions is the spectacular view of Bogotá from its viewpoints.
The main ecological structure of the Capital District comprises protected areas (to conserve the local fauna, flora and landscape), green areas and parks. Bogotá offers tours designed by the District Institute of Culture and Tourism (IDCT), to encourage visitors to find out more about specific places and issues in the city. The tour is conducted within the area near the Tourist Information Point (PIT) in the Historic Center1, and brings visitors back to their starting point. The tours, conducted every day (from Monday to Sunday) at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., last approximately 2
1 Carrera 8 Calle 10, esquina. Palacio Liévano – 1er piso. Teléfono (571) 2837115. [email protected]
hours and are free. Tours have a minimum of one and a maximum of 20 participants. Those interested should sign up personally by phone or the Internet. The guides are conducted by the Tourist Police, which has qualified personnel. Each tour is accompanied by the Tourist Police and a person from the Bogotá Mission program. The District Tourist Institute and the Tourist Police do not assume responsibility for any event or injury that occurs during the tour. INTERNATIONAL PRIZES AWARDED TO BOGOTÁ2
1. Public Health Leadership Award: Reduction of Child Mortality Awarded in August 2009 as part of the America Prizes for Excellence in Public Service as a tangible advance in the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.
2. Food Producing Cities Award. Awarded in April 2009 to promote urban and peri-urban agriculture and because of the inclusion of this issue on institutional and government agendas
3. Bogotá, World Book Capital 2007. This title was awarded by UNESCO to Bogotá because of its network of public and private libraries, the wide range of initiatives and activities that promote reading such as the Books in the Wind Campaign and its public reading and writing policies arranged in conjunction with the private sector and linked to the issue of cultural rights.
4. Designation as Latin American Cultural Capital 2007. As part of the 21st Assembly of the Union of Capital Cities of Latin America (UCCI) on October 11, 2006 in San José, Costa Rica, Bogotá was nominated Latin American Cultural Capital for the second time in 2007 thanks to its advance in the area of culture for social inclusion, a project that seeks to change the city and transform society and culture from a human rights perspective.
5. Golden Lion Prize at Vienna Architectural Biennial 2006. Awarded during the 10th International Architectural Exhibition at the Venice Biennial, Italy. The city came first in the best city category because of its social, economic and cultural transformations and the urban and architectural projects that have helped construct a better environment for the persons living in it.
6. Special Mention in 2nd International Active Cities-Healthy Cities Competition 2005 for the Cycle Path and Recrepath Program. The city was given this mention for its contribution to the development of an alternative, efficient physical activity and to the improvement of the quality of life.
7. City with a Heart Prize Awarded by United Nations in December 2004 as recognition of the promotion of voluntary service during the International Voluntary Service Day, highlighting the “Bogotá without Indifference” policy and the “Bogotá without Hunger” program.
8. “Cities for Peace 2002 – 2003” Prize. Awarded in September 2004 by UNESCO as international recognition for the transformation of Bogotá over the past 10 years and because of the establishment of a cultural and civic life that has made the city more inhabitable and human.
9. Digital City Prize. Awarded in 2004 by the Latin American Association of Centers of Research and Telecommunications Firms-AHCIET. Bogotá.
10. Recognition of local governance. Awarded by the United Nations Development Program in 2002 because of the achievements and lessons of urban and governmental management over the past 10 years.
11. Recognition in the world report on violence and health. Awarded by the World Health Organization in 2002 for the advances achieved in the prevention and reduction of deaths in a violent country. The city was named leader in the provision of specialized medical services.
12. Access to Learning Prize 2002. Awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation as recognition for its exceptional efforts to increase access to information, computers and the Internet by the capital network of public libraries in Bogotá.
13. Stockholm partnerships for sustainable cities prize. Awarded in 2002 on the 30th anniversary of World Environment Day in Stockholm for the implementation of a new transport and public space model in Third World cities that includes Transmilenio, cycle paths and, at the time, the Third Millennium project for public space.
2 Tomado de http://www.culturarecreacionydeporte.gov.co/portal/node/60 Fecha de consulta: 26 de agosto de 2009
14. Stockholm Challenger Prize. Awarded in 2000 in the environmental category for the day without a car in Bogotá
15. Best Social Innovation Prize. Awarded in 2001 in recognition of the celebration of women’s night, by the U.K. “Institute for Social Inventions.”
16. Appointed “Main square of Latin American Culture” in 1999 by the Union of Capital Cities in Latin America (UCCI).
