SantiagoTravel Guide

The Barrio Italia neighbourhood is a bohemian haven for creatives, art lovers and culture vultures.
 A lovely little eco boutique hotel is Hotel Maison Italia 1029 with private terraces and an on-site restaurant, while Edelweiss Hostel Boutique is a bed and breakfast offering a tranquil stay that’s nevertheless minutes from all the action.

Get away from the crowds for a more chilled stay in Santiago and head to the neighbourhood of Barrio Brasil. We recommend Matildas Hotel Boutique for its tranquil garden-view rooms and elegant interiors. Travelling on a budget? Landay Hostel has comfy dorms, a shared dining room and lounge, and free Wi-Fi.

Cool and quirky Barrio Bellavista offers you bars, clubs, parks, shopping opportunities and street art galore. Consider settling down at The Aubrey, which boasts four-star luxury and a piano bar. A little more low-key is Hotel Terrazas Bellavista – a small and peaceful oasis in the city with a garden, rooftop bar and pool. It’s also around the corner from the tube station.

Lace up your hiking boots and slap on the sunscreen – no visit to Santiago is complete without
a challenging but rewarding hike to the top of San Cristóbal Hill. The hill towers more than 900m above Metropolitan Park, and those reaching the summit are rewarded with amazing views of the sprawling city below, as well as the legendary statue of the Virgin Mary. Not in the mood to break a sweat? No worries, hop aboard the funicular on Pío Nono Street to get to the top.

Plaza de Armas is the “town square” and offers you the chance to get to know the locals better.  Grab a snack from a friendly street vendor, watch the elderly gentlemen play chess or do some people-watching in the shade of a tree next to the fountain. It’s a great place from which to launch your sightseeing adventures – you’ll come across the beautiful  Santiago Cathedral, and the Royal Palace.

Created to ensure that the awful human rights infringements under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet are never forgotten, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights is a three-level building crammed with video footage, newspaper articles, and interactive photography and audio exhibits.

The late Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, known as much for his eccentricity as his works, built his colourful home in Barrio Bellavista where he lived with the woman he deemed “the love of his life”, Matilde Urrutia, for many years. He called the residence “La Chascona”, which loosely translates to a “wild mane of hair” after Matilde, who had long, red locks. He created many of his best works within its walls and was even awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971.

Santiago is famous for talented street artists, known locally as grafiteros. In fact, the city is home to several internationally renowned street art pieces and artists, such as INTI. Born in Valparaíso, he’s made a name for himself adorning streets far and wide with his works. You’ll find one of his best-known masterpieces when you exit the Bellas Artes metro station (Línea 5). Another street art “mecca” is Bandera Street in Lastarria. Here, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the Paseo Bandera – an expansive pedestrian promenade featuring a colourful floor mural inspired by Chilean history and culture.

“Travel with a purpose” has been growing in popularity; people want to make a positive, lasting impact on the destinations they visit – and Santiago is no exception. Luckily, there are many ways to volunteer in Santiago during your holiday, whether you lend a hand at a local school or assist for a few hours at a charity.

Boragó is known for sustainable Chilean gastronomy and boasts a tasting menu with a range of dishes that have been made using locally sourced ingredients. They also have an extensive wine list and we all know how famous Chilean wine is… Craving seafood? Olam Restaurante is a must for sustainability-focused travellers, celebrated for its zero-waste approach to fine dining and cuisine. Ambrosía is a restaurant that has featured on Latin America's 50 best restaurants. It offers the perfect mash-up between Chilean and French cuisine, with an à la carte menu including delicacies such as oysters, wild deer and grilled southern toothfish.
 

Vendors are everywhere in Santiago and you can literally taste your way through the city. Sopaipilla are round “patties” of spiced dough fried to crispy golden perfection and hailed as “king” of local street food. There’s also a local version of the hot dog called a completo with a kind of guacamole topping, mayo and salsa, while a popular sweet drink to wash everything down with is the mote con huesillos, made with sugary dried peaches spiced with cinnamon, swimming in syrup and topped with cooked husked wheat. It’s enjoyed as a summer treat. For dessert, grab an ice cream on the go!

Santiago is home to one of South America’s largest and tallest shopping malls – the Costanera Centre. It’s six-floors of some 300 stores, where you can spend hours browsing high-end fashion, footwear, décor or catch a movie and dine at a top restaurant. The glass-walled observation deck offers jaw-dropping 360-dgree views of Santiago. Then there’s Parque Arauco in Las Condes. It’s separated into three main areas, namely the Boulevard (full of restaurants), the Design Floor (international brands for home decor) and the Bazar Gourmet (Chile’s first food hall). If you’re at Plaza de Armas, you’ll find the entrances to some fascinating single-storey malls where you can stroll down convoluted corridors to find cafés, artisanal products and more.

Catch a glimpse of the pink flamingos at Parque Bicentenario in Vitacura. It’s a family - and furkid -friendly green space with a playground and a dog agility course where you can watch the locals’ adorable pooches getting some exercise. Nice picnic areas and walking paths to enjoy too.

Get active while enjoying the fresh air at Parque Araucano, known for its sporting and kidds’ facilities. Relax among the colourful, fragrant roses, shoot some hoops on court or watch the kids strap on their knee- and elbow-pads as they make the most of the skate park.

This is Santiago’s oldest park, established in the mid-19^th century. Here, you can rent a paddle boat on the pond or get a history lesson or two at the on-site National Museum of Natural History or Children’s Museum.