Santiago de Chile is the most dynamic and cosmopolitan capital in South America — a modern city of 7 million people in a long valley between the Andes (visible from the city centre on clear days at 5,000+ metres, snow-capped year-round) and the coastal range, just 100km from Pacific beaches and 2 hours from world-class ski resorts. Chile's extraordinary geography — the world's driest desert (Atacama) to the north, Patagonia to the south, Easter Island 3,700km west — makes Santiago the launching point for some of the greatest adventures on earth. The city itself has a sophisticated wine culture (Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon from the nearby Maipo and Casablanca valleys), a vibrant arts scene in the Bellavista neighbourhood, the finest fish market in South America, and Mercado Central's celebrated seafood.
Plaza de Armas (the main square of Santiago, founded by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541) is the historic centre of the city — the Metropolitan Cathedral (17th-19th century Neoclassical, the largest Catholic church in Chile), the Central Post Office (the finest Belle Époque building in Santiago), the Palacio de la Real Audiencia (now the National Historical Museum), and the central fountain where Santiaguinos still gather. Shoeshine men, street chess players, and pigeons.
La Moneda (the Mint — designed by Joaquín Toesca, 1805, originally the Royal Mint, now the presidential palace) was the site of the 1973 military coup led by Pinochet against Salvador Allende — the building was bombed by the Chilean Air Force on September 11, 1973. The changing of the guard (every day at 10am) and the underground cultural centre (CCPLM) beneath the plaza are accessible. The building has been fully restored.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEmpanadas de pino (the Chilean empanada — beef, onion, olive, hard-boiled egg and one black olive, baked not fried, larger than all other South American empanadas) and pastel de choclo (Chilean corn pie — ground beef and chicken topped with a creamy sweet corn crust, baked in a clay cazuela) are the definitive Chilean lunch foods. At Empanadas Zunino (Barrio Italia) or any traditional fuente de soda.
Cerro Santa Lucía (the 69m hill in the centre of Santiago, where Pedro de Valdivia founded the city in 1541) was transformed in the 1870s by Intendant Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna into a romantic park with fountains, terraces, mock fortifications, and spectacular views of the city and the Andes. The finest free viewpoint in central Santiago.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBarrio Italia (the art deco neighbourhood south of Providencia, now the most creative quarter of Santiago) has the finest independent cafés, antique shops, design studios, galleries and restaurants in the city. The streets of Avenida Italia and the surrounding calles have a distinctly Buenos Aires feel — outdoor tables, bookshops, vinyl record stores and artisanal workshops.
Chilean seafood: congrio (conger eel — the national fish of Chile, as immortalized by Pablo Neruda's "Ode to Conger Eel"), reineta (Pacific pomfret), sea urchin (erizo de mar) and the finest raw bar shellfish in South America. At Bocanáriz (Lastarria, best Chilean wine bar) or Liguria (Providencia, the classic Santiago restaurant).
The Mercado Central (1872, cast-iron structure designed by Manuel Aldunate, inspired by the Crystal Palace) is the most extraordinary food market in South America — the central hall is a cathedral of cast iron housing 400 fish and shellfish stalls with every species from the Chilean coast: picorocos (barnacles the size of a fist), erizos (sea urchins), cholgas (mussels), locos (abalone), centolla (king crab from Magallanes), and the freshest swordfish in the world. Have the ceviche de reineta for breakfast.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCerro San Cristóbal (880m) is the highest point in metropolitan Santiago — the Teleférico (cable car) and funicular serve the summit, where a 22-metre white statue of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción (1908) stands above the city. The views of Santiago with the Andes directly behind — on clear winter days, the peaks at 6,000m are visible — are the finest panoramic views of the city.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBellavista (the neighbourhood at the foot of Cerro San Cristóbal) is Santiago's bohemian quarter — the finest concentration of murals in South America (Chilean street art culture is extraordinary), Pablo Neruda's Santiago house La Chascona (Casa-Museo La Chascona, named after his red-haired partner Matilde Urrutia, 1953 — a labyrinthine house stuffed with Neruda's collections), and the most concentrated restaurant and bar street in the city (Pio Nono).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe main bar and restaurant street of Bellavista (Pio Nono and the connecting streets) has every type of cuisine in Santiago — from traditional Chilean parrilla (grill) to Japanese-Peruvian fusion to craft beer bars (Chilean craft beer culture has exploded since 2015 — Kross, Kunstmann and Szot are the main brands). Dinner at Galindo (the classic Bellavista restaurant, serving Chilean-style food since 1970).
Concha y Toro (founded 1883, 45 minutes south of Santiago in the Maipo Valley) is the most famous Chilean winery — the "Casillero del Diablo" cellar (where Melchor Concha y Toro allegedly kept his best bottles by spreading a rumour that the devil lived there), the extensive vineyards, the wine museum, and the tasting room with the flagship Almaviva and Don Melchor wines. Tours (2 hours, including tasting) leave every hour.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSanta Rita (1880 — 120 patriots hid in the winery's caves during the War of Independence in 1814, the origin of the "120" label) has the finest heritage estate in the Maipo Valley — the colonial house, the Andino Hotel (the most elegant wine country hotel in Chile), and the 120 Museum of Pre-Columbian art. The Carménère (Chile's signature grape — "lost" in the phylloxera epidemic and rediscovered in Chile in 1994) is the must-try.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Lastarria neighbourhood (the most architecturally refined quarter of Santiago — French mansions, the Museum of Fine Arts, the second-hand bookshops on Calle Lastarria) has the finest wine bars in the city: Bocanáriz (the best wine list in Chile, 400 labels by the glass), La Vinoteca, and W Lounge for the sundown overview.
The full Chilean farewell: erizo (sea urchin) tostada or ceviche de reineta for the starter, chupe de mariscos (the Chilean shellfish chowder with bread, cheese and shellfish — the finest soup in Chilean cuisine) and a bottle of Carménère from the Maipo Valley. At Bocanáriz wine bar for the perfect ending.
Pisco sour (Peru and Chile both claim it — Chilean pisco, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, egg white and Angostura bitters) at the W Hotel rooftop or any of the Lastarria bar terraces with the city lights and the Andes dark mass behind. The most South American nightcap.