Culture
La cultura en Bucaramanga tiene varias expresiones, desde las artes plásticas como la pintura, la escultura, la fotografía, la poesía, y recientemente también en manifestación con propuestas que incorporan nuevas tecnologías para la comunicación artística, como el video. En Bucaramanga a lo largo de su historia ha albergado diversas propuestas culturales en diversas áreas, es así como en la ciudad existen multiplicidad de grupos artísticos.
Uno de los principales pilares de la cultura en Santander y en Bucaramanga como epicentro cultural fue la literatura, en épocas pasadas existió un movimiento cultural alrededor de la literatura que produjo un buen número de escritores que daban cuenta del notable interés de la comunidad por la literatura. Hoy las artes escénicas, como el teatro son uno de los principales exponentes del trabajo cultural en la ciudad.[130].
El IMCT (Instituto Municipal de Cultura y Turismo) es el organismo gubernamental municipal presta los servicios de biblioteca, talleres artísticos, presentación de una variada gama de espectáculos y programación de eventos culturales, realiza trabajo cultural con los distintos barrios de la ciudad, de igual forma patrocina actividades culturales realizadas con iniciativa privada y cuenta con una emisora cultural (Emisora Cultural Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento) en el dial 100.7 F.M.
Museums and libraries
• - 
Casa Bolívar Museum.
Casa de Bolívar Museum, headquarters of the Academy of History of Santander, preserves historical costumes and objects that the Liberator Simón Bolívar used at some point during his time in the city, in addition to containing archaeological objects (among them mummies) from the Guane indigenous culture that once inhabited a part of the Santander territory.
• - Cultural Center of the East, headquarters of the city's old schools, with small squares for cultural and social events.
The previous sites were declared National Monuments by the Colombian government.
• - Gua Museum, located in an old coffee hacienda where today the La Colina cemetery park operates. There is an old restored colonial house where you can find different artifacts of the vestiges of the indigenous presence in the territory and several elements that recount the history of the urban development of Bucaramanga at the beginning of the century.
• - Casa Luis Perú de la Croix, where the David Martínez Collazos Departmental Library operated, a former fort of the royalist and liberating troops. Today restored to function as one of the headquarters of the Attorney General's Office "Procuraduría General de la Nación (Colombia)").[131].
• - Museum of Modern Art of Bucaramanga. Located in a Republican-style house, it has 2 exhibition rooms, a sculpture garden, a sculpture patio, an educational room, among other spaces, available to the public. Since its opening in 1989, it has discovered and promoted local artists who have risen to national recognition and some of whom have been able to exhibit in various galleries around the world. Annually it carries out the "Look at the City" project, which consists of training approximately one thousand children from educational institutions by taking them to cultural centers and heritage spaces in the city, culminating with an exploration workshop in the Museum facilities. It is located at 37th Street No. 26 - 16.
• - Neomundo, It is located next to the La Flora viaduct, on Calle 89 - eastern metropolitan transversal - with Carrera 69. The building is a multi-level complex. It has a modern Convention Center of 12,631 m², with multifunctional auditoriums and exhibition halls.[132].
• - Natural History Museum, located at the Industrial University of Santander.
• - Casa del Libro Total (located at 35th Street No. 9-81), headquarters of cultural, artistic, literary and musical events, and where the ellibrototal project is developed"), one of the largest Spanish-speaking virtual libraries in America. It is a CSR project of a local firm (SYC S.A) that strives for the recovery of the cultural heritage of the arts and classic letters of the Hispanic world.
• - UIS Planetarium (located at the Industrial University of Santander, Central Campus - Human Sciences building - top floor - entrance by Visitors), The planetarium consists of a dome that simulates the celestial vault, on which a star projector allows you to view galaxies, stars, constellations, planetary systems such as the solar system, etc. In addition, documentaries, videos and dome films are projected.
• - Cafe Madrid Station Playground. In the facilities of the old railway station that linked Bucaramanga with Puerto Wilches and Barrancabermeja, said space has been recovered as a play center for the recreation of children, young people and adults. Space for the recovery of historical and cultural heritage.
In the metropolitan area:
• - Guane Museum of Floridablanca, located in the Casa de la Cultura Piedra del Sol, has a large collection of objects from the Guanes, one of the most important indigenous ethnic groups of Santander that disappeared almost entirely during the Spanish conquest (19th century).
• - Gabriel Turbay Public Library, located on the side of cra 27 between streets 30 and av quebrada seca.
Theaters and auditoriums
• - Neomundo Convention Center.
• - Teatro Santander.[133] It is the stage with the highest technical and logistical conditions for the presentation of scenic and musical works. Its exterior façade was declared a National Monument.
• - Peralta Coliseum Theater. Declared a National Monument.
• - Corfescu Theater. With a varied program of theatrical performances and stand up comedy.
• - Luis A. Calvo Auditorium of the Industrial University of Santander.
• - Pedro Gómez Valderrama Auditorium of the Municipal Institute of Culture").
• - Enrique Low Mutra Auditorium of SENA.
• - Leonardo Angulo Prada Auditorium in Comfenalco").
• - Juan Pablo II Auditorium of the Pontifical Bolivarian University.
• - Carlos Gómez Albarracín Mayor Auditorium of the UNAB.
• - Alfonso Gómez Gómez Minor Auditorium of the UNAB.
• - Jesús Alberto Rey Mariño Auditorium of the UNAB.
• - Auditorium of the Bucaramanga Chamber of Commerce.
• - Water Park Auditorium.
• - UIS Planetarium Auditorium.
• - Arteficus Cultural House. (Independent Performing Arts Room).
Other sites of interest
• - Old Hotel Bucarica"), located next to the Santander Park, was the headquarters of the Hotel Bucarica, the first luxury hotel built in the city to house the athletes who participated in the National Games held in the city in 1941. Currently it is one of the headquarters of the Industrial University of Santander and this building was declared a National Monument by the Colombian government.[134].
• - Club del Comercio"), located in the same Parque Santander diagonal to the Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia, is one of the oldest social clubs in the country. Declared a National Monument for its century façade.
• - Birthplace of Custodio García Rovira, birthplace of this hero of national independence, located on Carrera 9 and Calle 35. Declared a Site of Cultural Interest in Colombia.
• - Old Meat Pavilion of the Central Market Square"); in its location, next to the Central Market Square") and with its land, there was a lagoon called San Mateo; Although its façade dates back to the 19th century, the building is not part of the nation's Assets of Cultural Interest, but is part of the Urban Heritage of Bucaramanga").
• - Bucaramanga Reservoir; owned by the Bucaramanga Aqueduct, is located at the confluence of the Tona River"), is a gravity reservoir that will occupy 54 hectares. It includes the construction of a 103 m high dam that will store a volume of 17.6 million m³ of water and regulate a flow of 1000 liters of water per second, reserving drinking water for the city and its neighboring municipalities until the year 2050. It will also serve as a recreational site for sport fishing and water sports.
• - Provincial Viaduct; Known as the Viaducto de la Novena for being located next to Carrera 9 in the city, it is a 550 m cable-stayed bridge that attracts attention for its avant-garde design and its LED lighting system, which makes it a tourist attraction at night for locals and foreigners. Its objective is to decongest vehicle traffic through the city from the central part to the south by entering service on April 9, 2015. In the western part, beginning the route along 45th Street, there is an obelisk that serves as a viewing point for the illumination of the bridge.
• - Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento Civic Plaza, built in the 90s as a concentration place for political, religious and cultural activities. Located in the heart of the municipal, departmental and judicial public power, between streets 35 and 36 and streets 11 and 12. Located at the top of the open space is a 5 m bronze statue with the face of the Santander politician, martyr of the Colombian internal armed conflict.
Festivals
• - Santander Theater Festival on Stage, organized since 2005 by the Jaulabierta Theater Workshop Corporation.
• - Abrapalabra Ibero-American Storytellers Festival, festival of storytellers and comedians organized by Corporación Festival de Cuenteros that has been held in the city since 1992.
• - International Piano Festival, a piano festival organized by the Industrial University of Santander where international, national and local artists participate. It has been held since 1984 and is considered the most important cultural meeting in eastern Colombia.
• - Bucaramanga Book Fair ULibro, Bucaramanga book festival organized by the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga. Its cultural and academic programming constitutes the axis of the Fair and offers special attractions for the general public, the family, the university community and the primary and secondary educational community. It includes conferences, meetings with authors, artistic presentations, a film and literature cycle, poetry, workshops for children and young people, contests, among other activities.
• - Bucaramanga Fair, an event that takes place every year in the month of September and whose programming includes sporting, cultural and musical events where important artists from various musical genres perform. The events take place in various parts of the city, among their events is the reign of the communes to elect the queen of the festivities, carnival of the east with parade of floats, parade of antique cars, among others.
• - International Performance Festival Acciones al Margen, organized since 2013 by the Corporación Escenarios de Mujer.
• - Búcaro EcoFestival Music and Ecology Festival, a private initiative organized since 2015.
• - International Festival of Street Theater and Circus of Santander, organized since 2009 with the support of the Ministry of Culture.
• - Festival Without Borders of Magic and Circus Arts, organized since 2015 by the Eventos Recreativos corporation.
• - Santander International Film Festival, the Santander International Film Festival – FICS is the most important film event in Santander and its surroundings organized by the Social Educational and Communications Corporation PRENSA LIBRE since 2009.
• - 'Santander International Puppet Festival', organized since 2013 by the Jaulabierta Theater Workshop Corporation.
• - Bucaramanga International Blues and Jazz Festival, since 2008 as a private initiative.
• - National Children's Festival of Folkloric Music and Dance Maestro Guillermo Laguna"), organized since 1999 by the GIFOS Corporation.