Parque Lleras

Parque Lleras is the center of El Poblado. It gets some notoriety for sex tourism and street drug sales around it at night. During the day it is much more ordinary. People sell souvenirs around the park, residents and visitors sit on the benches, and the surrounding streets work as a meeting point between restaurants, cafes, and shops.

The park grew out of Barrio Lleras, one of Medellín’s earliest planned residential developments. Banco Central Hipotecario built 45 houses around it in 1930 under manager Julio Eduardo Lleras, whose name carried into the neighborhood and park. Most of those houses later gave way to commercial buildings as El Poblado became a second center of the city. Medellín renovated the public space in the early 2020s with new paths, green areas, seating, and lighting.