If you’re on the lookout for one of the best issues to do in Santiago, you’ve come to the suitable place. We spent 5 days seeing all the highest sights in Santiago earlier than and after our Exodus Travels tour of Chile. Even although we visited the Atacama Desert, Patagonia, and extra, we fell in love with Santiago essentially the most. It’s such a enjoyable metropolis stuffed with power and pleasure.
Santiago, Chile is a large metropolis in South America with loads of issues to do. Whether you’re on the lookout for tradition or nice meals, there’s one thing for everybody. We fell in love with the capital metropolis of Chile and even managed to meet President Gabriel Boric throughout our keep. Read on to see how that occurred.
Top Things to do in Santiago
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Okay, now it’s time to discover Santiago with us. Here are our prime picks for issues to do in Santiago, Chile.
1. Plaza de Armas
If it’s your first time in Santiago, make your approach to the primary assembly place within the metropolis. Plaza de Armas is the primary sq. in Santiago and a well-liked place for locals and vacationers to collect. The plaza is surrounded by necessary landmarks, together with the Cathedral, Presidential Palace, National Museum, and extra.
Plaza de Armas is the right place to begin your Santiago tour. It’s the place all of the buses come into city so if you’re on an overland journey in Chile, you’ll in all probability find yourself right here first.
The sq. itself is gorgeous, with fountains, palm bushes and inexperienced house, out of doors terraces, and avenue performers. There are additionally a number of retailers and eating places if you’d like to seize some meals or souvenirs earlier than heading out in your journey!
2. Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral
One of those landmarks that it’s best to undoubtedly go to if you go to Plaza de Armas is the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral. The cathedral was constructed between 1872-1904 based mostly on designs drawn up by French architect Paul Chenavard (who additionally designed Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal – Just a little Canadian connection there). Not solely does this cathedral have stunning structure but it surely additionally has superb stained glass home windows which depict scenes from Chilean historical past.
It is a working cathedral so be respectful when getting into, however going inside is a should. It’s additionally a cool respite from the new Santiago warmth.
3. Cerro Santa Lucia (Santa Lucía Hill)
Cerro Santa Lucia is among the hottest locations in Santiago to go for a stroll and benefit from the views. The hill is situated proper within the heart of the town, with museums, retailers, and eating places on its slopes.
It’s finest to go to at sundown when you’ll be able to see all of Santiago lit up beneath you in addition to a phenomenal view of a part of the Andes (and perhaps even some stars!). It’s an excellent place to spend a day taking within the websites. There are previous forts, a chapel, fountains, and partitions to discover. There are even basalt columns to hold an eye fixed out for. I used to be shocked to see them main up to the highest of the hill.
The excessive platform is small and you can be sharing it with a crowd, however it’s undoubtedly value visiting for a panoramic view of Santiago. From right here it’s additionally simple to catch buses or taxis again downtown.
This hill affords views of Santiago and past—all with out having to climb too far! It’s much less busy than Plaza de Armas however on the weekends it may be very crowded with locals. Plus there are many bushes round so for those who ever get drained (or thirsty), simply sit down underneath certainly one of them! Make certain to convey some water with you.
4. San Cristóbal Hill (Cerro San Cristóbal)
San Cristóbal Hill is the second-highest level in Santiago. It’s additionally the positioning of an previous chapel (La Catedral) and the Virgin Mary. Standing 860 meters excessive, it overlooks the town providing 360 diploma views.
The views from up there are a few of the finest in Santiago, though you will have to work exhausting to discover an unobstructed view on the prime, there are various viewpoints from midway up. You can see all of Santiago, in addition to some close by hills and mountains.
This is a well-liked place for sundown as a result of it’s so stunning overlooking the skyscrapers of the enterprise district. But be warned, for those who go up for sundown, you will have to stroll again down. So we recommend for first-time guests go earlier. It’s the right spot for consuming lunch with a view or going out on a picnic.
5. Teleferico or Funicular
There are two methods to get to the highest of San Cristóbal Hill: take the funicular from Barrio Bella Vista or take the teleférico (cable automobile) from Metropolitan Park. We took each and located them every to be well worth the go to. They embark from completely different sides of the mountain. The funicular leaves from the Bellavista neighborhood and the Funicular leaves from Metropolitan park within the Providencia space of Santiago
Teleferico
When staying within the monetary district, take the Teleferico to the highest as you’ll solely want to stroll by way of Metropolitan Park. This is a stunning neighborhood to stroll by way of and the park has eating places, shady areas, and fountains.
Funicular
The funicular takes you thru the Bella Vista neighborhood which is a energetic space of Santiago. We walked from the town heart by way of Barrio Bella Vista having fun with a few of the enjoyable eating places and bars on our approach. When you get to the funicular, it appears to be like like a fort from an amusement park.
There are distributors and the Santiago Zoo. It is a steep incline railway with a cease on the zoo on the best way up. Make certain to hold your tickets for each as you will have them to get again down.
6. Metropolitan Park of Santiago
Metropolitan Park of Santiago is among the largest city parks in Latin America with San Cristobal Hill standing at its heart. Besides San Cristobal Hill there may be the Santiago Zoo (Zoológico de Santiago), Botanical Gardens with a Japanese Garden, two swimming swimming pools, climbing trails, and a youngsters’s park. You may even go on a excessive ropes course situated beside the doorway to the teleferico.
There are a number of parks and greenspaces in Santiago situated alongside the river. You’ll discover households out for picnics, strolling by way of the gardens or just stress-free within the solar. We loved merely strolling alongside the river taking within the views.
7. Sky Costanera
Located within the Costanera Center a shopping center with a view of the town, Sky Costanera is situated on the 61st ground of the constructing. This constructing is taken into account to be one of many tallest buildings in South America.
It has panoramic views, eating places, and bars that’s visited by locals and vacationers from throughout Chile and all over the world.
Go up for sundown for unbelievable views of the Andes Mountains and Santiago. There is a cocktail bar on the prime the place you’ll be able to pull up a seat by the window to get pleasure from a romantic toast to the town. Make certain to keep till the solar goes down, that’s when the view actually comes to life.
8. Costanera Center
Sky Costanera is situated in a monetary district however there are various issues that vacationers can do once they go to. The purchasing heart is huge with a number of shops promoting the whole lot from fantastic Chilean wine to baggage. There are many eating places to select from together with native favorites and worldwide delicacies from Japanese meals to American classics just like the Hard Rock Cafe and Tony Romas.
This six-story shopping center is stuffed with the whole lot you need for purchasing. There is a superb grocery retailer the place you’ll be able to decide up some fantastic Chilean wine. The wine choice in there may be large.
9. Palacio de la Moneda (La Moneda Palace)
La Moneda Palace is the seat of presidency in Chile and has been since 1837. It was inbuilt 1784, but it surely was destroyed in an earthquake. The palace was rebuilt in 1837 and have become a nationwide monument in 1931. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
La Moneda Palace grounds are open to guests from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays solely. You can pre-arrange guided excursions to see the Ducal Palace of Modena, the Military Academy, and the rooms of the State condo. The gardens surrounding La Moneda Palace are open from 8 am till 6 pm every day and provide some good spots for a picnic lunch or simply having fun with some recent air for those who’re uninterested in sightseeing indoors!
10. Palacio La Moneda Cultural Center
After seeing the Presidential Palace, go into the Palacio La Moneda Cultural Center. This gathering place was constructed underground in order to not intervene with the grounds of the Presidential Palace. The large constructing homes cafes, rotating shows, museums, and boutique retailers.
11. Barrio Bellavista (Bellavista Neighborhood)
For nightlife, Barrio Bellavista is the place to be. This neighborhood is a energetic leisure space stuffed with bars and eating places. Street artwork decorates many partitions round Barrio Bellavista. It’s some of the in style neighborhoods in Santiago amongst vacationers due to its vibrant environment and delightful views of downtown Santiago from above thanks to its rooftop bars.
Art Tour of Barrio Bellavista
Santiago is a metropolis stuffed with avenue artwork, so it’s no shock that one of the best place to see it’s in Bellavista. This neighborhood is house to the very best focus of murals and graffiti in all of Chile.
If you need to get an insider’s take a look at these colourful works, there are many excursions out there. Tours can final wherever from 2 hours up to 5 days and usually value between $10 USD and $25 USD per individual. Most excursions will take you thru a number of completely different neighborhoods, however some deal with only one space or particular sort of avenue artwork—like graffiti artists who use stencils somewhat than paint or chalk on the sidewalks!
No matter what sort of tour you do, they’ll all lead by way of Bellavista the place most vacationers begin out earlier than branching out into different neighborhoods like Providencia (one other in style vacation spot).
12. Central Market
The Central Market is a good place to eat, purchase souvenirs, and even buy meals. There are a number of forms of distributors contained in the market that promote the whole lot from flowers and fruit to meat and fish. This stunning constructing was inbuilt 1872 and has been restored a number of occasions over time.
13. Emporio La Rosa
Emporio La Rosa is a well-liked ice cream store in Santiago, Chile. It was named one of many prime 25 ice lotions on the earth by Time Magazine in 2012. There are a number of shops in Santiago. Just put its identify in Google maps to discover one close to you.
In addition to its extra conventional flavors resembling chocolate and dulce de leche (which tastes like caramel), in addition they make some distinctive Chilean flavors like murta (Chilean myrtle) and lucuma. You can get a cup or a cone they usually have milkshakes too! They’re open from 10 AM-10 PM daily besides Sundays when it’s closed; I like to recommend getting there early if you’d like a cone since most individuals go for cones somewhat than cups.
14. La Chascona – Pablo Neruda Museum
Pablo Neruda was a well-known Chilean poet. The Museo de Pablo Neruda is situated in the home the place he lived and labored, and it’s an excellent place to study extra about his life and work. If you’re taking the funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal you’ll be able to simply make a detour to see this museum. It is situated within the Barrio Bellavista neighborhood as effectively.
The museum has a lot of his private gadgets on show together with garments, books, work, furnishings and even some meals that was left over from meals at his home. His desk can be there so you’ll be able to see the place he wrote a few of his most well-known poems resembling “Ode to My Socks” or “Twenty Love Poems for Dummies” (okay we made that final one up).
15. Museo de Historia Natural (Museum of Natural History)
The Museo de Historia Natural is one other must-see for any customer to Santiago. This museum affords a variety of displays about Chile’s pure setting and the animals that reside there. The museum additionally has a planetarium, the place you’ll be able to study extra about astronomy from an knowledgeable astronomer. The museum was based in 1883 by Antonio Varas, who was additionally president at the moment, so it is among the oldest museums in Chile.
We Met the President of Chile
After visiting the Museum of Natural History we walked throughout the road to eat lunch at a stunning terrace overlooking the park. During our lunch, the individuals began asking a person for pictures who was eating there as effectively. We requested the following desk ‘Is this man famous?’ and he mentioned, ‘He is the president of Chile’. We mentioned, ‘yeah right.’ And then the supervisor mentioned, ‘Yes he is!
He was leaving at the same time as us, so we introduced ourselves and said we were from Canada and we chatted for a bit and said in our excitement, “We’ve by no means even met our Prime Minister earlier than!” He mentioned “I’ve met Justin (Trudeau)”
He then requested if we have been going to Patagonia as a result of that’s the place he’s from. And we mentioned, ‘We will say hi to your home for you’ His Excellency Gabriel Boric was very gracious, pleasant and welcoming. We are nonetheless a bit in shock that we truly talked to a President of a rustic out in a standard on a regular basis setting. And that occurred on our first day in Santiago. Not a foul first day in Chile!
16. Museo de la Memoria y Los Derechos Humanos (The Museum of Memory and Human Rights)
The Museum of Memory and Human Rights commemorates the atrocities carried out by the dictator Augusto Pinochet between September 11, 1973 and March 10, 1990. Unfortunately, it was closed once we took the metro out to see it on a Monday, however it’s a place that needs to be visited when in Santiago. Inside there are shows depicting the torture and indignities that came about throughout this brutal reign.
17. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Museum of Pre-Colombian Art)
The Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, or the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, is situated within the Bellavista neighborhood which is a good place to see a few of Santiago’s finest avenue artwork. This museum has an in depth assortment of pre-Columbian artwork from throughout Latin America in addition to artifacts from Chile and Easter Island.
The museum was based in 1888 and it’s certainly one of Chile’s oldest museums on show! There are over 6,000 items on show right here at this museum so that you’ll undoubtedly need to include a number of visits if you’d like to see the whole lot! The museum itself is open daily from 10 am – 6 pm (besides Mondays).
18. Watch Sunset from the W Hotel
One of our favourite locations to watch the sundown was to go to the highest of the W Hotel. Overlooking the Andes Mountains, the town, and Sky Costanera it greeted us with gorgeous views. There is a bar and rooftop patio full with an infinity pool.
Make certain to guide reservations because the patio is for visitors of the resort. We acquired fortunate they usually allow us to up however, you will have to guide a desk. Be ready to spend some cash. We paid about $15 USD per cocktail. But it was value it for the view and environment.
19. the Museo Historico Nacional
A go to to the Museo Historico Nacional is an effective way to study Chile’s historical past. The museum is situated proper subsequent door to the Plaza de Armas and is straightforward to discover. As you enter, you’ll be greeted by a formidable assortment of weapons and artifacts from numerous intervals all through Chilean historical past. You’ll additionally see a number of completely different uniforms worn by troopers relationship again centuries in the past, together with these worn by Native Americans or Spaniards throughout the colonial interval.
Address: San Francisco 469, Providencia
20. Cementerio General de Santiago (General Cemetery)
Cementerio General de Santiago (General Cemetery) is a must-see for historical past buffs. You’ll discover the mausoleum of Nobel Prize-winning poet, Pablo Neruda, in addition to a number of different notable figures from Chile’s previous buried there (together with Gabriela Mistral, who gained the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945). The cemetery was established in 1822 and remains to be an lively burial floor in the present day.
If you’re into issues that go bump within the night time, you’ll have enjoyable on a ghost tour of Cementerio General de Santiago. Tours final about an hour and a half and embrace stops on the grave of Carlos Gardel (a well-known tango singer) and Pablo Neruda
21. Metro Art Santiago – Subway Stops
Getting round Santiago is kind of simple. We took the metro and located it to be essentially the most reasonably priced approach to journey. It is quick, environment friendly, and reasonably priced. You want to buy a BIP card after which fill it up. Our resort gave us free BIP playing cards, so all we had to do was load it with sufficient pesos to cowl a number of days of fares. The subways are value visiting simply to see the artwork installations. The fare to journey a technique is 750 pesos. (85 cents US).
We put the subway stations in our record of issues to do in Santiago, as a result of most of the underground stops have stunning artwork shows.
Where to Stay in Santiago
We stayed on the Four Points Sheraton situated within the coronary heart of the enterprise heart of Providencia. We discovered this to be a wonderful location that was inside strolling distance of Sky Costanera and the trendy purchasing facilities of Santiago. It was additionally inside strolling distance to Metropolitan Park and the Teleferico. We have been simply two blocks from the Subway so it was simple to get to the previous metropolis heart and Plaza de Armas as effectively.
Book a room on a better ground for nice metropolis views. Breakfast right here was superb. We beloved the buffet with an array of recent fruits, pastrys, meats, and cheeses and an omelet station. See their web site for charges and availability.
Another place to keep in Santiago is the W Hotel for a extra upscale expertise within the El Golf neighborhood of Santiago. It’s a bit farther away from the sights, but it surely’s shut to a metro line so you’ll be able to simply hop on to discover all the metropolis’s prime sights. It additionally has probably the greatest views in all of Santiago for sundown. See opinions and costs on TripAdvisor
Santiago is a large metropolis with quite a bit to do
There are loads of issues to do round Santiago on simple day journeys. Here are a number of recommendations to get you out of the town.
21. Day journey to Valparaiso
Valparaiso is a port metropolis in Chile, and you may take a ferry from the port of San Antonio to Valparaiso. This is an particularly in style day journey for guests who want to see the colourful homes and hillside views, in addition to the numerous murals and avenue artwork on buildings all through the town.
Valparaiso has been nicknamed “La Ciudad de las Artes” (The City of Arts) due to its many museums, theaters, galleries and music venues. The most spectacular attraction right here is Cerro Alegre; it’s actually a hill however affords 360-degree views over Valparaiso’s bay space the place you will note colourful homes constructed into hillsides together with church buildings scattered all through this picturesque townscape.
22. Andes Mountains, Valle Nevado, El Colorado
The Andes Mountains run the size of Chile and Argentina, which implies they’re usually seen from Santiago. They’re the longest mountain vary on the earth, they usually comprise a few of the most stunning surroundings you could find wherever on Earth.
The Andes are house to two peaks that truly make it into their very own class: Aconcagua (22,841 toes), which can be the tallest peak outdoors Asia; and Ojos del Salado (23,838 toes), a volcano in northern Chile with an lively crater on prime that has been lively for over 400 years.
Valle Nevado is a ski resort shut to the town. In the winter is affords one of the best ski and snowboarding in South America and in the summertime you’ll be able to do some downhill mountain biking.
23. Wine Tasting in Chile Valley
Santiago is the right base for wine tasting in Chile. The nation produces 40% of the world’s wine and is finest identified for its reds, produced from grapes grown excessive up within the Andes Mountains. There are many alternative vineyards to go to all through Santiago however we advocate beginning with a go to to Chile Valley.
The Maipo Valley is house to a few of the finest vineyards in Chile, they usually’re all inside simple attain of Santiago. A wine-tasting tour here’s a should for any wine lover, as you’ll have the option to pattern a wide range of wines produced from completely different grapes at every winery. Many excursions may even embrace lunch or dinner at one of many wineries in your approach again into Santiago.
This tour takes you to two prime wineries, Concha y Toro and Viña Undurraga the place you’ll get pleasure from 3 tastings at every winery whereas studying concerning the Chilean wine trade.
Map of the Best Things to do in Santiago
As you’ll be able to see, there are many issues to do in Santiago. Whether you’re on the lookout for a day journey or an in a single day journey, there’s one thing for everybody! We spe
Santiago is the capital of Chile and certainly one of Latin America’s largest cities. It has a inhabitants of over six million individuals, which makes it house to greater than half of Chile’s whole inhabitants. Santiago has the whole lot you’d need in a giant metropolis: a formidable skyline, purchasing malls, museums, and theaters galore!