The colors of Cartagena are breathtaking. Inside the walls of the ancient city (which is a UNESCO World Heritage site), ice-cream colored colonial buildings line cobbled streets.

In stark contrast, the neighboring Bocagrande district looks like a scene out of Miami Vice with tall, shiny new buildings and colorful cabanas that look out upon a teal blue ocean and dark volcanic sand. The combination of the two is a thrilling example of old meets new, and somehow it doesn’t seem strange to have both styles coexisting in the same place.

Twenty-five years ago, Medellin was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world due to the drug trade. However, the city has transformed itself in the last decade, earning the award as “the most innovative city in the world” by the Urban Land Institute in 2013. The setting is majestic as the city lies in a long valley between two Andean mountain ridges surrounded by coffee plantations and flower farms.

Getting around the city is best on foot, winding through the alleys where you encounter local art and culture at every turn.