Bad Reputation, Great Destination: This walkable metropolis of seven million is once again reclaiming its role as Latin America's intellectual and cultural hub

THE HEADLINES
For well over a decade, few cities in the Americas inspired as much bad press as Bogotá, Colombia. More than the capital of a country, it was a capital of crime, murder, kidnapping, and bombs; a place where the cartels dispatched their drugs, paramilitaries trafficked weapons, and leftist rebels set their sights. The guerrillas welcomed current president Álvaro Uribe with a series of homemade mortar attacks on his inauguration in 2002, leaving 21 people dead in a slum near the palace.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Uribe dug in, launched an unprecedented military offensive against the rebels, jailed and extradited the biggest drug traffickers, and forced the paramilitaries into a peace deal. Crime plummeted and civic pride soared. Despite sporadic outbursts of violence, including a bombing in January that killed two people, Bogotá is rapidly emerging as one of Latin America's hottest destinations. The city boasts one of the world's biggest theater festivals every other spring (festivaldeteatro.com.co); a free massive open-air rock concert series each November (rockalparque.gov.co); and a jazz festival every September (teatrolibre.com/jazz_home.html). There are more than 50 museums in the city, with exhibitions ranging from pre-Columbian artifacts in the Gold Museum (Calle 16 No. 5-41; 57-1-343-2221) to Fernando Botero's corpulent contemporary take on the human body at the Botero Museum (Calle 11 No. 4-41; 57-1-343-1331). Strolling the brick streets of La Candelaria, the only colonial part of town that survived the violent riots of 1948, you'll get a sense of the small village Bogotá once was. Grab a hot chocolate at La Puerta Falsa, the city's oldest café, where you can watch the locals gossip about the latest political scandal happening just a few hundred yards away in the Presidential Palace (Calle 11 No. 6-50). Rising 10,000 feet above the city is the seventeenth-century Monserrate church, which draws hundreds of Bogotanos each weekend. In the early evening, take the cable car to the restaurant Casa San Isidro—but don-t bring someone you want to marry: If you do, legend has it, you will never make it to the altar (Paseo Bolívar Estación Funicular; 57-1-281-9270; entrées, $13-$27).

Along the mountain road to the neighboring town of La Calera are several cafés overlooking the city, where you can enjoy a canelazo, a mix of sugar water and anise-laced aguardiente (hooch). Suesca, a rock climber's paradise, is just an hour north of the city.

BED AND BOARD
The city-s most luxurious hotel, the Casa Medina, sits along Bogotá-s main artery, Carrera Séptima, in the heart of Zona G, the new gastronomic hub (57-1-312-0299; doubles, $243-$268), and just a few yards from two fine restaurants, the French-Colombian Criterión (Calle 69A No. 5-75; 57-1-310-1377; entrées, $13-$30) and Harry's Restaurant, a beef eater-s paradise (Calle 70 No. 5-57; 57-1-321-3940; entrées, $20-$25). Nearby is the Hotel Portón, which has a quiet, classic style (57-1-616-6611; doubles, $250-$265). The Hotel de la Ópera, in historic Candelaria, has a swanky spa and restaurant (57-1-336-2066; doubles, $178-$214). In the lively Zona Rosa, with its promenade of bars and restaurants, the Victoria Regia hotel blends colonial style with modern decor (57-1-621-2666; doubles, $176).