Why go
Use the city's shape to plan sensible combinations. Puerta del Reloj opens onto Plaza de los Coches, with Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza de Bolívar and the cathedral close enough to explore together. Getsemaní has its own focus around Plaza Trinidad, while Bocagrande stretches between Cartagena Bay and the open sea.
The full story
Cartagena faces the Caribbean Sea, and its bay opens through Bocachica and Bocagrande. That coastal position explains both the port's historic importance and the split between today's visitor areas. In the old center, the Clock Gate gives way to Plaza de los Coches, then a chain of plazas and civic and religious buildings. Near Plaza de Bolívar stand the Palace of the Inquisition and Cartagena Cathedral; San Pedro Claver's church and square lie closer to Plaza de la Aduana. These places reward a connected walk because their short distances reveal how trade, government and religion shared the fortified center. Getsemaní, centered on Plaza Trinidad, adds another historic neighborhood beyond the core of Centro. Bocagrande is different again: a narrow, more modern strip with the bay on one side and the Caribbean on the other, continuing toward El Laguito and Castillogrande. Treat a visit there as a change of setting rather than another plaza in the old town.