La Candelaria, the 17th district of the Capital District of Bogotá, is located in the center-east of the city. It is the place where the city was founded on August 6, 1538 and the first church was built. This sector is home to the historic center of Bogota, which is also a major tourist, educational and commercial center.

El Chorro de Quevedo, known in Muisca times as Teusaquillo, was a resting place of the zipa. There, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada established, on August 6, 1538, the city that would later become Bogotá. The name of the town comes from the Virgen de la Candelaria, a Spanish symbol.

The formal founding occurred in April 1539 in what is now Plaza de Bolívar, where the Plaza Mayor and the site that would later house the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Bogotá were laid out. During the 20th century, the city grew to the north (Plaza de las Hierbas), south (Las Cruces) and west (San Victorino), with the Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral as the historic center and seat of colonial and republican powers.

In 1974, the Council of Bogotá created the Alcaldía Menor de La Candelaria, and in 1991 it was recognized as one of the 20 localities of the Capital District.

Located in the foothills of the Guadalupe hill, the locality presents a notable slope towards the west-northwest. The San Francisco and San Agustín rivers, now channeled, flow through the area. The Environmental Axis, built on Jiménez Avenue, includes a section where the San Francisco River flows over the surface in the form of fountains.

La Candelaria is home to the Plaza de Bolívar, surrounded by important buildings such as the National Capitol, the Palace of Justice, the Liévano Palace (seat of the Mayor's Office), the Primada de Colombia Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace. Other highlights include the Casa de Nariño, the Palacio de San Carlos and numerous museums, such as the Gold Museum, the Botero Museum, the Colonial Art Museum, and the Police Museum.

The city also has important cultural centers, such as the Luis Ángel Arango Library, the Gabriel García Márquez Cultural Center, and the house where Rafael Pombo was born.

Among the most emblematic churches and parishes are the Catedral Primada, the Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the Templo de San Ignacio and the Ermita de San Miguel del Príncipe.

La Candelaria is home to several important universities, such as Los Andes, El Rosario, La Salle, La Gran Colombia and the Externado. It is also home to renowned schools such as Mayor de San Bartolomé and León XIII.

Calle 10, in the heart of La Candelaria, was key in Bogota's musical history, being the place where iconic groups such as Aterciopelados and Distrito Especial emerged during the 1990s.