48 Hours in Caracas

Fast and fun, Venezuela's capital reinvented itself in the Fifties as a thoroughly modern city, set against the green, tranquil backdrop of a national park.

Fast and fun, Venezuela's capital reinvented itself in the Fifties as a thoroughly modern city, set against the green, tranquil backdrop of a national park.

Why go now?

Venezuela's capital is the ideal gateway to South America: a city with a rich cultural heritage, awe-inspiring modern architecture and furiously-paced nightlife, squeezed into a narrow mountain valley. It is also the continent's greenest capital, scattered with gardens and a National Park in its back yard. Caracas is fast, frenetic and fascinating – and with air fares falling faster than the Venezuelan currency, this is a good moment to spin out the summer in South America.

Beam down

I travelled with British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.britishairways.com), the only airline to fly direct between the UK and Venezuela. BA flies three times a week from Gatwick to Caracas. Official fares start at £622 return, with few discounts available through agents. Trailfinders (020-7938 3939) has flights from £353 if booked by 31 October with Alitalia from Heathrow via Milan, valid for travel until 15 December. Simón Bolívar international airport is 28km from Caracas, near the port of La Guaira, on the other side of the mountain range which rises almost vertically from the coast. A taxi into the capital, a spectacular 40-minute trip, costs around $25 (about £17.50), while the airport shuttle bus, which runs from 7am-11pm, costs about $3.50 (£2.40).

Check in

The black-and-white striped Four Seasons, Avenida Francisco de Miranda con Avenida Luis Roche, Altamira (00 58 212 280 1000, www.fourseasons.com), is a work of art as much as a hotel. It opened at the beginning of the year, and is a reminder of the capital's reputation for architectural innovation. For this you pay a nightly rate approaching the GDP of a small Latin American republic: US$300 (£210) for a double. The Humboldt is the white elephant of Caracas. It was built by dictator General Marcos Pérez Jiménez on the top of Mount Avila in 1957. It originally boasted heated marble floors in the ballroom, and in-house entertainment by salsa greats Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, but closed down in 1971. "Will it or won't it re-open", is the eternal question on the lips of Caraqueños. "In a few months" is the constant reprise. Plans to fix the cable car and re-open the casino and hotel are under way – supposedly. In the meantime, Nelson Rockefeller's retreat, Hotel Avila, Avenida Jorge Washington, San Bernardino (00 58 212 552 0210), founded in 1942 at the base of El Avila National Park, is a peaceful alternative, with doubles from $104 (about £73). The safest budget options are located around Sabana Grande. El Condor, Avenida Las Delicias (00 58 212 762 9911), has a Spanish bodega-style restaurant and rooms from $36 (£25) a night.

Get your bearings

Wherever you are in Caracas you'll be in the shadow of El Avila National Park. There is no longer a recognisable centre to the city; instead it is an urban sprawl along the main arteries of the capital, made up of a number of different districts, each with its own character. As such it is not exactly pedestrian-friendly, but the excellent metro solves most transport problems. The small, run-down colonial centre or downtown area is made up of 24 blocks around the central Plaza Bolívar. The rest of colonial Caracas was demolished after the Second World War when the discovery of oil precipitated a building boom. This age of opportunity also resulted in an influx from the countryside. Shanty towns, or barrios, still in existence today, sprang up to the east and west of the city. The wealthy reside in districts such as Altamira and Las Mercedes. When it comes to street plans, Caraqueños have made their own rules – addresses are based on intersections.

Bracing brunch

St Honore on Primera Transversal and Andres Bello Avenida, is the place to be seen for Sunday brunch. A coffee shop, bakery and deli in one, with cabinets full of moreish pastries, it's packed on a Sunday morning. Next door is the more relaxed News Café (00 58 212 286 2829). This bookstore with tables plays classical music and has a soothingly bookish atmosphere. Breakfast with eggs, juice, coffee and bread basket costs from 3,500 Bolivars (about £3.30).

A walk in the park

Caracas is the greenest city in South America. The 17th-century Hacienda Floresta, an old coffee plantation opposite the Four Seasons, is an oasis in the middle of Altamira. Noise and traffic fumes disappear as soon as you walk through the huge gates. The old terracotta hacienda houses a photography museum, while the lawns are scattered with people reading in the shade. The Parque del Este, designed by Brazilian landscape architect Robert Burle Marx in 1956, is the most popular park in Caracas. Admission is 200 Bolivars per person (18p). There's a library, cactus garden, boating lakes, restaurants, and a rare Harpy Eagle from the Amazon is one of its prime attractions. The place closes on Mondays "for cleaning".

The icing on the cake

El Hatillo is a favourite weekend outing, a multi-coloured colonial town just half an hour by bus from Caracas. Take Metrobus 212 from Chacao. Brightly painted arts and crafts shops frame the obligatory Plaza Bolívar. It's one of the few places you can still get traditional Venezuelan food. At La Gorda ("the fat woman"), try Pabellon, a traditional dish of shredded beef, rice, black beans and plantain. The owner is a taxidermist who sits at a table in the window handwriting the bills, two stuffed cockerels on the back of his chair.

Take a hike

At weekends Caraqueños rise at the crack of dawn to climb a mountain. The Sunday morning scene in El Avila National Park is as much about being seen as physical exertion. The entrance at Sabas Nieves is heaving from 5.30am – most hikers are down and ready for breakfast by 10am. The Cota Mil, the highway which runs along the bottom of the mountain range, is closed to traffic on Sundays from 6.30am-1pm and turned into a big jogging and cycling lane. The park covers 850 square km and has a number of trails. Cut up from the Cota Mil at the Chacaito rangers point, which is less crowded than Sabas Nieves. Within minutes you have panoramic views of the city.

Take a ride

Caracas is so proud of its French-designed metro that it ran a campaign to teach people how to behave on it. The unpleasant aroma of the Parisian equivalent, is noticeable by its absence. The metro looks as sparkling as the day it opened in 1983. There are only three lines but expansion is under way. A multi bono ticket costs 2,500 Bolivars (£2.40) for 10 trips. Apart from marvelling at the impeccable behaviour of the metro users, there's modern art to view in many stations. At Parque del Este there's a wooden sculpture called Doce Columnas (12 columns), while in Chacao, Concentracion para Caracas is a wall sculpture of swirling metal squares against olive tiles. At Bellas Artes there's even an art gallery in the station.

Lunch on the run

Sabana Grande is Venezuela's Oxford Street – tacky and bustling. You'll find restaurants for every budget and taste, and pavement cafés where old men play dominoes. If you want to grab something to eat as you explore, the arepa is Venezuela's traditional snack. Sold in areperias all over the city, arepas are cheap and filling and made of corn bread stuffed with anything from shredded beef (carne mechada) to chicken and guacamole (reina pepiada).

Cultural afternoon

Caracas is all about modern art and architecture. In the Fifties the city was virtually rebuilt by order of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who transformed the colonial capital into a modern metropolis. Foreign architects were shipped in, including Gio Ponti and Fernand Léger, while the homegrown Carlos Raul Villanueva was commissioned to design a brand new university – the main hall of which has since been declared a World Heritage Site. Much of modern Caracas is less than easy on the eye – the Teresa Carreño Theatre looks like a bunker, while the Zona Cultural-Parque Central is a concrete maze. Yet in the latter you'll find the impressive Museum of Contemporary Art (00 58 212 573 8289) which houses the largest collection of Picasso etchings in South America. And the city streets are awash with outdoor sculpture and art.

Window shopping

Centro Sambil (11), Avenida Libertador (00 58 212 267 1201, www.sambilmall.com), the largest mall in Caracas and, reputedly, South America, is a major attraction at weekends. Queues stretch along the pavement, waiting for the doors to open in this shopping mall-cum-recreation centre. You'll find everything from Zara to DKNY – but don't expect any bargains. Caraqueños head to Miami to do their shopping. The centre also includes an art museum, aquarium and, on the roof, an outdoor concert arena.

An aperitif

The Citron Café (00 58 212 263 8183) in Centro Sambil is popular with image-conscious Venezuelans. Opera turns to whale music as the waiters waft by in cool grey. From the outside terrace bar beneath a Japanese-style roof you can sip a limonada frappe beside a blue mosaic pond looking out over the city. But you shouldn't visit Caracas without experiencing the earthier Spanish-style tascas or bars around Sabana Grande. The most famous is El Mani es Asi, Avenida Francisco Solano Calle (00 58 212 763 6671). In La Castellana, the Gran Pizzeria El Leon at Transversal de la Castellana and Avenida Principal de la Castellana, is a popular hangout, with tables on a large patio.

Dinner with the locals

Beef is as big in Venezuela as Argentina. Cattle are ranched on Los Llanos, the plains. The Maute Grill (00 58 212 991 0892) in the swish Las Mercedes district is an open-air restaurant around a tree-shaded courtyard with a sizzling grill in the centre. It has a real old rancho feel, and old photos on the walls. Huge families dine together, and waiters in dinner jackets dish up huge slabs of meat with a flourish.

Sunday morning, go to church

Pay homage to El Liberador. Caracas was the home of Simón Bolívar, the man who led the fight for independence across South America. Venezuelans might not have appreciated their hero in his day, but they're making up for it now. The national currency is the Bolívar, and the country's name has recently been changed to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. His statue has pride of place in Plaza Bolívar. Around the corner, you can visit his family home and the Bolívar museum. Bolívar died in 1830 in Colombia but his body wasn't returned to Venezuela until 1842. His funeral was held in the church of San Francisco, after which he was interred for six years in the cathedral while work was completed on the National Pantheon.

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