Laureles Without GPS: How to Navigate by the Roundabouts

Laureles Without GPS: How to Navigate by the Roundabouts

If you've just moved to Laureles, it's going to happen. You've been in the neighborhood for three days, you go out to buy an arepa, and suddenly everything looks the same: the same low houses, the same lush trees, and a roundabout you swear you passed ten minutes ago. You're not crazy. Laureles is a circular neighborhood, designed in the early 20th century as a garden city, and its curved avenues confuse even the most veteran taxi drivers in Medellín. The good news: you don't need GPS to master it. You just need to learn to read the signs we locals use every day.

In August 2026, with map apps becoming increasingly accurate, it's still surprising how many people get lost in a neighborhood of only 2.4 square kilometers. But there's a reason: the streets don't follow the grid logic of the rest of Medellín. Here, avenues are curved, streets intersect at odd angles, and the roundabouts—those traffic circles with no official names—are the true protagonists. Learning to navigate by them is the first step to feeling like a local.

The Fame of the "Circular Neighborhood" and the Myth of Getting Lost

Laureles owes its shape to the Olarte brothers, the urban planners who designed the neighborhood in the 1930s. They were inspired by the City Beautiful movement in the United States and European garden cities: they wanted a place where people lived near parks, with wide avenues and trees everywhere. The result was a radial layout, with a ring road surrounding the neighborhood and avenues branching out from the center like the spokes of a wheel.

That wheel has a center: the Iglesia de la Inmaculada, at Parque de Laureles. And it has two main avenues crossing it: Avenida 70 (the street of bars, burgers, and noise) and Avenida 80 (the most commercial one, with clothing stores, banks, and restaurants). Everything else is curved streets connecting those avenues with the Circunvalar, the road that borders the neighborhood and also has its own secrets.

The myth that it's impossible to navigate comes from there: because the streets aren't straight, people rely on GPS, and it tells them "turn right" on a street that looks the same as the one they just left. But locals don't use street names. We use physical references: the egg roundabout, the one on 70th, the outdoor gym, the store with the parrot. Once you learn those landmarks, the neighborhood becomes a clear mental map that's easy to navigate.

Mental Map: The Unofficial Names of the Roundabouts

The roundabouts in Laureles don't have names on paper. On Google Maps, they appear as "Glorieta de la 70" or "Glorieta de la 80," but locals call them other things. These are the ones you absolutely need to know:

The Egg Roundabout (or 70th with 33rd)

It's the most famous one. It's at the intersection of Avenida 70 and Calle 33, right next to Parque de Laureles. We call it "the egg" because in the center there's a circular fountain that, seen from above, looks like a fried egg. It's the go-to meeting point: if someone tells you "let's meet at the egg," you know exactly where it is. From here, buses leave toward the center, toward El Poblado, and toward the Estadio. It's also the boundary between Laureles and the Estadio neighborhood, so if you see the fountain, you're in the heart of the neighborhood.

The 70th with 44th Roundabout (the Bus One)

This one is further north, where Avenida 70 intersects Calle 44. It's one of the busiest because bus routes pass through here heading to Universidad de Antioquia and the north of the city. It doesn't have a funny name, but it's key because it's where traffic jams form during rush hour. If you get lost, look for the sign for the "Suramericana" Metro station visible in the distance, and from there you can get your bearings.

The 80th with 33rd Roundabout (the One at Parque de Laureles)

This one is next to Parque de Laureles, but on Avenida 80. It's impossible to miss because it has a statue of a condor in the center. Locals call it "the condor's" or simply "the park's." It's the entry point from the south, coming from El Poblado or the center. If you arrive via Avenida 80, this roundabout tells you you're entering the residential area of Laureles, where the streets become quieter and more tree-lined.

The 70th with 30th Roundabout (the Egg II)

Not official, but some people call it that. It's at the intersection of Avenida 70 and Calle 30, near the La Salle school. It's a small roundabout, without a fountain or statue, but it's useful because it marks the start of the bar and restaurant zone on 70th. If you're coming from the south along Avenida 70, this is the first roundabout you'll find. After it, the street gets wider and the sidewalks fill up with outdoor tables.

There are other smaller roundabouts, like the one at 80th with 44th or the one near Éxito de Laureles, but those don't have nicknames. The general rule is: if you see a fountain, a statue, or a bunch of people waiting for a bus, you're at an important landmark.

Timeless Landmarks: The Outdoor Gym, the Store with the Parrot, and the Bus Stop

The roundabouts are the skeleton of the neighborhood, but everyday landmarks are what save you when you're on foot. Locals don't say "walk two blocks and turn left." We say "go to where the outdoor gym is and keep going straight." These are the references you'll hear most often:

The Outdoor Gym at Parque de Laureles

It's on the corner of the park, on Calle 33 with Carrera 80. It's a set of public exercise machines, always full of older men doing pull-ups and grandmothers on the elliptical. It's a landmark because it's very visible and because it's right on the boundary between the park and Avenida 80. If someone tells you "I'm at the gym," know it's this one, not the one in El Poblado. And if you get lost, asking for "the park gym" always works; even taxi drivers know it.

The Store with the Parrot (Carrera 79 with Calle 33)

This is a real neighborhood landmark. On the corner of Carrera 79 and Calle 33, there's a corner store, the kind that sells everything from fresh bread to remote control batteries. At the door, hanging in a cage, there's a parrot that talks. It's not a display parrot or a tourist attraction; it's simply the owner's parrot, which has been there for over fifteen years. Locals use the store as a reference point: "the store where the parrot is" is easier to remember than "Carrera 79 with Calle 33." If you pass by, say hi; sometimes it says "hello," and sometimes it just stares at you with a look of judgment for not knowing where you are.

The Bus Stop at 70th with 44th

It's a bus stop at the 70th with 44th roundabout, but it's not just any stop. It's the one used by students from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) and employees from nearby offices. There's always people, always street vendors selling coffee, and always a man with a fruit cart. It's a useful landmark because it's right next to a public bike station (EnCicla) and because from there you can see the UPB towers. If you get lost and end up at this stop, you're already a ten-minute walk from the Suramericana Metro station.

Other useful landmarks: Éxito de Laureles (the big supermarket on Avenida 80), Iglesia de la Inmaculada (the one with the green dome visible from afar), and Colegio La Salle (a huge building that takes up an entire block). With those four or five references, you can find your way anywhere in the neighborhood.

Orientation Tricks with the Sun, Metro Stations, and Hills

If the roundabouts and stores don't work for you, there are more basic tricks we locals use that don't depend on any business. They're especially useful at night, when many landmarks are closed or look the same.

The Sun: A Natural Clock

Medellín is near the equator, so the sun rises in the east (toward the city center) and sets in the west (toward Cerro El Volador and the Belén neighborhood). In Laureles, if you walk in the morning and the sun hits your face, you're heading east, that is, toward the center or El Poblado. If the sun is at your back, you're heading west, toward Avenida 80 or the Estadio. In the afternoon, it's the opposite. It's not exact, but it gives you a general direction that, combined with the roundabouts, gets you out of any jam.

Metro Stations: Your Ultimate Compass

Laureles is surrounded by two Metro lines: Line A (running north-south) and Line B (heading west). The stations surrounding the neighborhood are:

• Suramericana Station (Line B): south of the neighborhood, on Avenida 80.
• Estadio Station (Line B): to the west, on Avenida 80, near the Atanasio Girardot stadium.
• Floresta Station (Line B): to the northwest, on the border with the Floresta neighborhood.
• San Javier Station (Line B): further away, but visible from the higher part of the neighborhood.

If you know where each station is, you can orient yourself. For example, if you're at the roundabout