Cartagena’s new seafront promenade, the Gran Malecón del Mar, is scheduled to open its first 2 kilometers to the public on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The stretch runs along the city’s northern shore, from Playa Azul in La Boquilla to the entrance of the Crespo tunnel, and it is the first section of a project the district government says will reach 6 kilometers by June 2027.
It is a coastal defense project with a public walkway on top, and that is what makes it interesting: a stretch of shore on the city’s quieter northern side is being rebuilt as somewhere to walk and spend time by the sea.
What Opens on October 24
The opening section runs between Playa Azul, in La Boquilla, and the entrance to the Crespo tunnel, the coastal road tunnel on the city’s northern edge. According to the district, this stretch includes:
- pedestrian paths and rest areas along the beach
- parking
- food areas and beach kiosks
- public restrooms
- a tourist information office
President Abelardo de la Espriella is expected at the opening, alongside Mayor Dumek Turbay. We’ll add opening hours here as soon as the district publishes them.
Why Cartagena Is Building It
The promenade is first a piece of coastal engineering. The district describes the works as a defense against wave impact and erosion along a degraded shoreline, and El Tiempo reported that they include groins, rock barriers built out into the sea, along with structures meant to cope with rising sea levels. The walkway, kiosks, and plazas are built on and around those defenses.
Mayor Turbay said in September that Playa Azul would go “from being a little-visited beach to becoming one of the most visited.”
A new public company will run the promenade once it opens. According to El Universal, its job covers maintenance, cleaning, cultural, recreational, and sports programming, and regulating commercial use of the space. Cartagena’s city council approved its creation, and on October 22 the mayor swore in its first manager, Angélica Hernández Walker, who previously led the tourism investment office in Cartagena’s tourism secretariat.
What Comes Next
The district’s stated target is 6 kilometers by June 2027. After the Playa Azul stretch, work continues along the shoreline at Marbella and El Cabrero, between the Crespo tunnel and the walled city.
The national government is also putting money into the project. As reported by El Tiempo and El Universal on October 14, the government will contribute COP 87,703 million (about USD 28 million) through Fontur, the national tourism fund, toward two further sections running from the Espolón de La Tenaza, beside the walls of the old city, toward the entrance to Bocagrande: an 820-meter section called La Tenaza, with a build time of 10 months, and a 1,323-meter section called El Boquetillo, with a build time of 12 months.
Also planned is the Mirador del Sol, a large observation wheel that El Tiempo described in September as the intended visual landmark of the new waterfront. It had already been shipped to Cartagena by then.
Fitting It Into a Visit
The new stretch is in the north of the city, well away from the walled city and Getsemaní, so most visitors will reach it by taxi. It sits close to La Boquilla, the fishing village whose community-run canoe tours through the mangroves are already one of the better half-days outside the old city, and the two pair naturally.
It is also a different place from the beachfront walk in Bocagrande that most guides, ours included, call “the malecón.” If you are choosing between Cartagena’s beaches, our Cartagena guide covers the city’s own beaches and the island trips most visitors take instead.
The Future of Cartagena’s Seafront
For Cartagena, the Gran Malecón del Mar is a bet on its seafront. A shoreline the city has had to defend against the sea is becoming public space, with its own company to program and care for it. As the next sections extend along Marbella and El Cabrero and beside the walls of the old city, the promenade will reach from the beaches of La Boquilla toward the historic center. It gives visitors a reason to spend time on the city’s northern shore, and a way to meet the Caribbean that does not begin with a boat to the islands.
Sources checked October 23, 2026.
Sources
- Alcaldía de Cartagena: the mayor announces the opening of the first 2 kilometers (September 2026)
- El Universal: Turbay swears in the malecón’s manager; opening set for Saturday, October 24 (October 22, 2026)
- El Universal: the opening, its facilities, and Fontur funding for the next sections (October 14, 2026)
- El Tiempo: the president will open the first phase; attendees, facilities, and national funding (October 14, 2026)
- El Tiempo: the first 2 kilometers, the coastal defenses, and the Mirador del Sol (September 1, 2026)
- El Espectador: opening plans, facilities, and the June 2027 completion target (September 1, 2026)
- Forbes Colombia: national funding for the La Tenaza and El Boquetillo sections (September 19, 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Gran Malecón del Mar open?
The first 2 kilometers are scheduled to open to the public on Saturday, October 24, 2026, according to Cartagena's district government.
Where is the Gran Malecón del Mar in Cartagena?
The first stretch runs along the shore north of the city, from Playa Azul in La Boquilla to the entrance of the Crespo tunnel. It is a different promenade from the existing beachfront walk in Bocagrande.
When will more of the Gran Malecón del Mar open?
Cartagena's district government says it expects to deliver 6 kilometers by June 2027, with work continuing along the Marbella and El Cabrero shoreline. Two further sections toward Bocagrande, co-funded by the national government, were reported in October 2026 with build times of 10 and 12 months.