The Santa Bárbara barrio on the eastern edge of the old centre is the most visually rewarding neighbourhood in Maracaibo — a tight grid of 19th-century houses in the marabino style, with wooden shutters, tiled roofs, interior courtyards and a colour palette running from ochre to terracotta to faded blue. The neighbourhood was restored in the 1990s and remains the most intact example of traditional Maracaibo architecture.
Walk the streets in the morning and look into the open doorways: you will see the courtyards with their fountains and plantings that are the heart of the traditional house. The neighbourhood cafés and bakeries in this area are the most characterful in the city. It is a working residential area as much as a heritage zone — which is what makes it interesting.