Plaza de Bolívar is the centre of civic Manizales, anchored by the Cathedral Basilica and surrounded by government buildings, banks, and the Gobernación de Caldas. The square's defining feature is the Bolívar-Cóndor monument — a bronze sculpture by Rodrigo Arenas Betancur that depicts Simón Bolívar as a condor in mid-flight, a deliberate break from the conventional equestrian statue.
The plaza is at its liveliest in the early evening when university students and office workers come out for paseo. The Edificio Manuel Sanz and the Palacio Arzobispal on adjacent corners are also worth a glance.