Santiago
SOUTH AMERICA · FIESTA SIDE
Chile's capital, with the Andes standing at the end of the street. Markets, heavyweight museums and a serious food scene, all on a very good metro.
The plan
Cerro San Cristobal
Ride the old funicular from Bellavista to the 22 m Virgin statue for the classic Andes-behind-the-city view, then walk back down.
📍 Map & photos · €
Museo de la Memoria
Unflinching, superbly built account of the 1973-1990 dictatorship. The most useful hour you can spend on modern Chile.
📍 Map & photos · € · Website ↗
Mercado Central and La Vega
Wrought-iron fish market for congrio and machas, then cross the river to La Vega for loud, cheap and genuinely excellent Chilean lunches.
📍 Map & photos · €
Lastarria and Bellas Artes
Santiago's most walkable few blocks: bookshops, terrace cafes, the fine arts museum and the staircases and follies of Cerro Santa Lucia.
📍 Map & photos · €€
Sky Costanera
Floors 61 and 62 of South America's tallest tower, open 10am to 10pm. Pay the sunset slot and watch the whole Andean wall turn pink.
📍 Map & photos · €€ · Website ↗
Getting there
Fly into Santiago (SCL)
Arturo Merino Benitez sits 15 km west of downtown, the hub for LATAM, Sky and JetSmart. Use official taxis or the bus to Pajaritos.
Long-distance buses
Terminal Alameda and Terminal Sur handle the whole country, from Valparaiso in two hours to overnight cama services south and north.
Get a Bip! card
Buy one at any metro ticket office, load credit and tap in. Seven lines cover everything a visitor needs; trains run from about 5.35am.
When to go
Best time to go
March-April and September-November: warm days, clear air, fewer crowds
Cheapest months
June-August is cold and smoggy in the valley, but rooms are cheap
Priciest & busiest
December-February peak summer, when prices and temperatures both climb
If you've got one day
Morning
Plaza de Armas and the cathedral, then the Pre-Columbian Art Museum for context on the peoples who were here long before Spain.
Late morning
Climb Cerro Santa Lucia for the first city view, then drift downhill into Lastarria for coffee and a browse.
Lunch
Fried congrio at Mercado Central, or an enormous and very cheap plate of the day in the La Vega market halls.
Afternoon
Funicular up Cerro San Cristobal for the Andes panorama, then walk back down into Bellavista's painted streets.
Evening
Dinner in Barrio Italia or Lastarria, then a pisco sour and live cumbia or cueca in Bellavista.
Nearby & day trips
Maipo Valley wineries
Chile's oldest wine region starts at the city's southern edge: big Cabernet and Carmenere, with several estates running daily tours.
Cajon del Maipo
Andean canyon about an hour southeast, with hot springs, the turquoise Embalse El Yeso and empanadas in San Jose de Maipo.
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