Nearby are a number of other important city landmarks, including the Botanical Garden, several museums, Parque Los Caobos, and the Central University of Venezuela.
Then go for a leisurely stroll through El Rosedal — a romantic rose garden inside the 400-acre Parque Tres de Febrero.
Posada Acuarela (Calle Las Flores 87, Detras del Parque; 58-237-221-1456; posandacuaroomscom) hastartings atd rooms starting at $195.
After the success of Bolliger & Mabillard's prototype Floorless Coaster, SeaWorld, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and independent parks, Janfusun Fancyworld, Parque Warner Madrid, Tivoli Gardens, and Ocean Park Hong Kong have built other coasters of this model at their parks.
I wandered through Parque del Castro's botanical gardens and Roman remains, crowned by a 17th-century fort with panoramic views (accessed from Plaza de España or Avenida das Camelias).
Or, on the other side of the centro histórico, walk among the sculptures and gardens of a former textile factory at Parque San Francisco (Callejón de la 10 Norte, Barrio Del Alto), where just-married couples and girls in colorful quinceañera dresses pose for photos.
Among the most popular communal areas is Parque de los Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Park), an immense zen garden with copses of bamboo, sand pits, and giant foot spas in which parents soak away the day's stresses while their kids charge in and out of fountains.
And on to the Parque del Retiro, a 350-acre park with formal gardens and exhibition spaces; there's a lake to row on and a pond where children introduce the turtles, ducks and swans to a junk food diet, feeding them potato chips and doughnuts.
A gem in the sea of generic high-rise hotels around Playa del Inglés, Parque Tropical exemplifies traditional Canarian style, with a stucco façade, wooden balconies and subtropical gardens.
Spend the day in El Centro visiting: Plaza Botero -- a plaza filled with some of Fernando Botero's most famous sculptures Museo de Antioquia -- an art museum in front of Plaza Botero Parque Explora -- an aquarium and planetarium with additional temporary exhibits Jardín Botánico - a botanical garden, great to just wander around, but don't miss the Orquideorama or the butterfly house.
