The Paseo Colón is Puerto la Cruz's waterfront promenade, running about two kilometres along the Caribbean shoreline. It is the heart of city life: in the late afternoon and evening locals come out to walk, sit on benches, and eat ice cream while the breeze comes off the water. The Paseo is lined with restaurants, juice bars, ice cream parlours, small handicraft stalls, and the ferry pier for boats heading out to the islands of Mochima National Park.
It is also the most reliable place in town to find informal souvenir stands and food vendors. The atmosphere is most lively from around 6pm onward; daytime is hot and quiet outside the cafes.