47 Metropolitan Touring Medellín, Colombias second-most important city, enjoys a Spring- like climate year-round, nestled into an Andean valley in the central western part of the county. Its a dynamic city, enjoying a renaissance under enlightened municipal initiatives that have seen it grow as a capital of art, design and fashion over the last years. Its local people, known as paisas, are famous for their quick wit, frugality, hospitality, good humour and fondness of delicious cooking. The surrounding department of Antioquia with its rolling mountains, ? ower-growing farms and rural villages makes for perfect day-trips. Over the years, Colombia has become synonymous with coffee, the African bean the country adopted and made its own. The countrys central Andean mountain range provides the perfect soil and climate for growing the crop, a land of undulating hills, small agrarian towns and warm welcomes. Many of the owners of the regions coffee ? ncas (farms) have combined their traditional businesses with hostelry, converting their country houses into delightful, characterful inns, where travellers can spend peaceful days learning about coffee production and local lore and, of course, enjoying the delicious coffee and natural setting. The Coffee Triangle Medellín Coffee beans harvest and plantation Plaza Botero