Restaurants offering international cuisine and table service is the norm. Local dishes are varied and tasty, with a touch of Spanish influence. It is safest to drink bottled water. Colombians rarely drink alcohol with meals. Gaseosa is the name given to non-alcoholic, carbonated drinks.
Colombian wines are generally of poor quality. Chilean and Argentinian wines are available in restaurants at reasonable prices. There are no licensing hours.
National specialities:
• Ajiaco (chicken stew with potatoes, served with cream, corn on the cob and capers).
• Arepas (corn pancakes made without salt, eaten in place of bread).
• Bandeja paisa (meat dish accompanied by cassava, rice, fried plantain and red beans), served in the area of Medellín.
• Seafood (mariscos) is plentiful on the Caribbean coast - lobsters in particular are renowned for their flavour.
National drinks:
• Tinto (small black coffee) - but this term is also used to describe red wine or vino tinto.
• Canelazo (rum-based cocktail taken hot or cold).
Tipping: Taxi drivers expect 10 per cent tips. Porters at airports and hotels are usually given c. pesos500 per item. Many restaurants, bars and cafes add 10 per cent service charge to the bill or suggest a 10 per cent tip, although a 15 per cent tip is becoming increasingly common. Maids and clerks in hotels are also tipped. Bogotá’s shoeshine boys live on their tips and expect about COP1000.

Bogotá’s Colon Theatre presents ballet, opera, drama and music, with international and local groups. There are many nightclubs and discos in the major towns of Colombia.

Special purchases include local handicrafts, cotton, wood and leather goods, woollen blankets, ruana shawls, and travelling bags. Hotel shops carry excellent gold reproductions of ancient Colombian jewellery. Colombia produces first-grade stones, and the emeralds are among the most perfect in the world. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0900-2000