Santiago
A city with the Andes at the end of every street — visible only on the day the wind clears the smog
- When to go
- September 12° · 7 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€€price 4 of 5
- How many days
- 3days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 15 km Santiago
- Right now
Santiago sits in a basin between the Andes and the coastal range, which explains both the view and the smog: the mountains hold the air, so the snow on the peaks shows up only after rain or wind. The city is three days, and a base for Valparaíso, the wine country and skiing ninety minutes away.
The metro is the best way to move and the only one independent of traffic: seven lines, clean, and a ride costs €0.66–0.81 depending on the time of day. The bip! card is bought once for €1.40 and topped up at stations; it also works on the Red bus network. Taxis are ordered by app, not hailed.
The city reads through two hills and one palace. Cerro Santa Lucía is a rock in the middle of the centre turned into a park of staircases and terraces; Cerro San Cristóbal is bigger, with a funicular and a cable car and a view across the whole city to the Andes. La Moneda palace is where the 1973 coup happened and is open to visitors; the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which tells that story, is the one museum in the country we would call compulsory.
For food and evenings there are three districts and they differ clearly. Bellavista sits under San Cristóbal, with Neruda's house and the bars; Lastarria and Bellas Artes are for restaurants and bookshops; Barrio Italia is a former artisans' quarter of workshops and cafés in old houses. The Mercado Central is for lunch rather than dinner — the fish is excellent and the atmosphere switches off after four.
Guides for Santiago
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Santiago in 3 days
→The palace opens only on weekdays, and the museum and Neruda's house close on Mondays — so the one day for both is…
What to see in Santiago
Cerro San Cristóbal
A hill 880 metres above sea level, with a funicular on one side and a cable car on the other. The view runs across all of Santiago to the Andes, but only after rain or wind — the rest of the time it is haze.
The Museum of Memory and Human Rights
On the years 1973–1990, with documents, footage and the names of the disappeared. Entry is free. Three hours — the hardest, and the most important you will spend in the city.
La Moneda
The presidential palace bombed on 11 September 1973. Tours are free with advance registration; underneath the square is a cultural centre with exhibitions and a cinema.
La Chascona
Neruda's house in Bellavista, built for Matilde Urrutia and fitted out to feel like a ship. The audio guide is excellent and runs an hour. His other two houses are in Valparaíso and Isla Negra.
Cerro Santa Lucía
A rock in the middle of the centre that a nineteenth-century mayor turned into a park of staircases, fountains and terraces. Fifteen minutes up and the best free view in the city.
Barrio Italia
A former artisans' quarter of workshops, furniture shops and restaurants in the yards of old houses. Go in the afternoon and on a Saturday; half of it closes on Sundays.
Two things you probably did not know
Since 2018 the Santiago metro has run largely on solar and wind power. It was the first metro system in the world to be powered mainly from renewable sources.
The Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago is dedicated to the victims of the Pinochet dictatorship. It opened in 2010, and La Moneda palace, where the 1973 coup took place, is still the president's seat.
Ready for Santiago?
Within reach from here
Places sorted by straight-line distance from Santiago — day trips or weekends.
Chile
→A country 4,300 kilometres long and 180 wide — driest desert on earth to glacier, without a single turn
Argentina
→A country 3,700 kilometres long, where the far south is seen in December and the whales and the snow in August
Brazil
→A country where the flight between two cities is often cheaper, and always faster, than the overnight coach
All 277 places we write about sit on one page — narrow them down by continent, country, price or what you are travelling for.
Within reach from here: Valparaíso, Mendoza and Bariloche
See how much of that actually suits you — or pin Santiago if you have been.
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