The city's main cathedral, a sturdy concrete structure completed in 1982, stands on the Plaza de la Paz in the centre of Barranquilla. It's not a colonial gem — Barranquilla was always a trading city, not a Spanish administrative one, and never accumulated the baroque churches of Cartagena or Popayán — but the interior is genuinely impressive in scale, with tall stained-glass windows and a nave that seats several thousand. The Plaza de la Paz outside is a good place to get a sense of the city's public life.