There’s no better place to get an introduction to Chile than in busy and bustling Santiago, our capital city and a place where over one third of all Chileans live (between the city proper and its metro area).

You will often hear people say that “Santiago is Chile,” since all governmental, commercial, and financial institutions have their headquarters here, but the city is about more than just business and politicsl this is also a cultural hub, brimming with museums, theaters, and historic landmarks.

You can see modern skyscrapers in one area and then colonial churches and squares in another. In the city center, we have charming neighborhoods known for their bohemian vibe, street art, and cobblestone streets, and modern, while just a short drive or subway ride away are modern, almost US-like “suburbs” that will have you feeling like you’re in a totally different city.

And if you’re a fan of nature, you’ll love how Santiago connects with the outdoors. The city is framed by the Andes mountains to the east and the Coastal Range to the west, offering breathtaking views almost anywhere you go, especially during sunrise and sunset. Within the city itself, green spaces like Cerro San Cristóbal and Parque Bicentenario provide peaceful escapes, whether you want to hike, picnic, or just take in the scenery.

I think the best thing about visiting Santiago is that it allows you to experience so many different aspects of Chile and Chilean life in just one place, so even if you have very little time here, you can get a solid introduction to the country.

With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the 3-day itinerary that I’ve put together for you!

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My favorite hotels in Santiago

Hotel Magnolia - Santiago's first boutique hotel, and still its best. $300/night
Hotel Boutique La Reve - gorgeous property in the heart of Providencia. $200/night
NH Collection Plaza Santiago - a solid NH hotel in Las Condes. $175/night
Solace Hotel - immaculate, modern, and very well located. $150/night
Hotel Cumbres Lastarria - lovely hotel in the Lastarria neighborhood. $150/night
Casa Noble - cheerful and pleasant for a bargain price. $60/night

Guided tours and activities

Walking tour of Santiago
Day trip to Valparaiso & Viña del Mar (small group)
Winery tour of the Maipo Valley
Horseback riding in the Andes (half day)
Full-day Andes hike in the Cajon del Maipo

How to get around

Car rentals with DiscoverCars
Metro tickets from Metro de Santiago
Taxis & rideshares with Uber and Cabify
Bus routes at Pullman, Condor, and BusBud

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Where to stay

Since Santiago is a large and expansive city, I would advise staying close to the main attractions so as to avoid spending unnecessary amounts of time on the metro or stuck in traffic.

I provide some quick guidance below on choosing a good neighborhood, but for a detailed overview and specific hotel recommendations, have a look at my guide to where to stay in Santiago.

With that in mind, I recommend choosing the comunas (neighborhoods, in this case) of Providencia, Las Condes, or Vitacura, which are safe, pleasant neighborhoods and also where you’ll find the majority of the city’s main attractions.

And while I know that staying downtown (in the comuna of Santiago Centro) may seem attractive, I have to warn you that it’s not especially pleasant or interesting at night, as just about everyone who’s there for work during the day lives elsewhere in the city, so it really empties out by early evening.

For proximity to downtown, I’d suggest Barrio Lastarria, Bellas Artes, Bellavista, or Barrio Italia. These neighborhoods are all relatively bohemian and are well-known for their arts scene. They have a fair deal of museums, art galleries, and shops, as well as some of the city’s most popular restaurants.

Because they’re close to everything, staying in them means you can do quite a lot of sightseeing on foot and will be less reliant on using the metro.

A fair deal farther outside of the center, the eastern neighborhood of Las Condes, technically considered a "suburb” (it’s still totally part of the city), is always popular with visitors. It’s extremely safe, is well connected to other areas via the metro, and is very modern. There aren’t tons of sights here, but there are excellent hotels and lots of very good restaurants and shops. This is a distinctly upscale area.

Itinerary overview

Day 1: Spend the morning touring the downtown area and historic quarter. After lunch, explore the Bellavista neighborhood and head to the top of San Cristóbal Hill. In the evening, make your way about 20 minutes outside the city to have dinner at one of Chile’s oldest and most famous wineries.

Day 2: Make a day trip out to the coast to visit the nearby cities of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. Start with Valparaíso and then head over to pretty Viña del Mar in the afternoon to relax on its good beaches. On the way back to Santiago make a stop at a winery in the Casablanca Valley.

Day 3: Another day trip awaits, to either the Cajon del Maipo, the ski resorts, or nearby wine regions.

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Day 1: Downtown, historic Santiago, Cerro San Cristobal

For your first day in Santiago, I’ve put together a plan focused on touring the main sights and neighborhoods of the city center. This will definitely be a busy day, so be prepared for lots of walking, but you’ll cover just about all of the most important places, monuments, and neighborhoods in the city.

Morning

Cerro Santa Lucía

Your first day in Santiago should be dedicated to the must-see sights within the downtown historic quarter, so start off with a pleasant walk through Cerro Santa Lucia.

Located on Santiago’s main street, Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins (we refer to it as Alameda), Santa Lucía Hill is one of the most visited public green areas in the capital, and it has been an attractive promenade since 1872, when the mayor of Santiago, Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, totally redeveloped it.

Go for a stroll here, during which you’ll find lots of different trees, European art, and relics of Chile's colonial past. You can also catch some fantastic views of Santiago from its Neptuno and Caupolicán terraces.

Biblioteca Nacional

Across the hill, on the same sidewalk, you’ll find the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library), built between 1914 and 1924 in French neoclassical style. It contains over four million books and is one of the largest libraries in South America.

Iglesia San Francisco

Just a block away on the other side of the street, is the beautiful Iglesia San Francisco, which was built between 1586 and 1628 and is the oldest monument in Chile. Inside, you’ll find the image of the “Virgen del Socorro”, brought here by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541, as well as a convent and a small Franciscan museum with 54 portraits showing the birth, life, death, and miracles of Saint Francis.

After touring the church, take a walk down the cobbled streets of Calle París and Calle Londres, which were built between 1922 and 1929 in the old gardens of the Iglesia San Francisco convent. The two narrow streets are lined by small mansions in various architectural styles and very charming.

*The Neptune Fountain, in Cerro Santa Lucia. Photo:* *Rjcastillo*, *CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

La Moneda Palace

Your next stop is the Palacio de la Moneda. This Presidential Palace built in 1799 also functioned as Chile’s mint until 1882, when the government palace burned down. Even though it’s no longer the presidential home or the mint for the country, we still call it La Moneda (the Coin) due to its history. Today it houses some of the main governmental offices.

Behind the palace is the Plaza de la Ciudadanía (Citizenship Square), below which you’ll find the Centro Cultural La Moneda, inaugurated for Chile’s Bicentennial in 2010 to bring the arts closer to the people. It houses four galleries, two exhibit halls, a cinema, a reading area, a café, a restaurant, and two unique shops that are truly worth visiting.

The first shop, Fundación Artesanías de Chile, showcases the finest handicrafts from all over the country, while Mundo Rural (Rural World), sells jams, oils, beer, ointments, and liquors, among many other products manufactured by rural communities throughout Chile.

Plaza de Armas & Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago

From here, continue on to the Plaza de Armas, which is the city’s main square and marks kilometer 0, from where all other distances in Chile are calculated. Here, you’ll see several buildings dating from colonial times, among which the most impressive is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. It was built in 1548 and has been restored five times due to frequent earthquakes.

In the center aisle it has statues of the most important Catholic Saints and some of our most noteworthy historical figures are buried here.

Mercado Central

Walk a few blocks north to reach the Mercado Central (Central Market), built between 1868 and 1872. It is one of the most characteristic gastronomic centers of Santiago and it’s a great place to do your shopping and grab a quick bite to eat.

There are lots of little food stalls in addition to the many shops selling handicrafts, fruit, vegetables, fish, and other seafood.

It can be a little overwhelming if it’s your first visit though, as the second you set foot in the building, vendors will start bombarding you to come eat at their restaurant. So just ignore them and explore at your own pace.

*The Palacio de La Moneda. Photo:* *Ministerio Secretaria General de Gobierno*, *CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

*Santiago’s Metropolitan Cathedral and Plaza de Armas. Photo:* *Sfs90*, *CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Afternoon

Have a traditional Chilean Meal at Gallindo

Once you’ve seen the historic quarter of Santiago, head east towards the bohemian neighborhood of Bellavista and grab lunch at Galindo. This is a classic but casual Chilean cuisine restaurant that has been around for over 50 years and is included in most tourist guides (with good reason).

Its menu covers all the most typical Chilean dishes and the portions are quite substantial. I particularly recommend the pastel de choclo (corn pie), which is available during the summer, and is usually served in a clay bowl filled with ground beef, a chicken thigh, sautéed onion, boiled egg, and olives, and all covered with a delicious corn paste. Mouthwatering!

Explore the Bellavista neighborhood

After lunch, set off to explore the neighborhood. With a fusion of cultural influences, Bellavista has become a melting pot and its filled with restaurants, theaters, galleries, and artists studios. The streets of Dardignac, Constitución, Antonia López de Bello, and Mallinkrodt are especially interesting.

This is also a good place to find deals on Lapis Lazuli handicrafts and jewelry, (mainly on Bellavista street). This semi-precious blue stone is only found in Chile and Afghanistan, so if you’re interested this is the area to look for it.

Patio Bellavista

Patio Bellavista, in the heart of the neighborhood, is a great place to check out, especially if you like art and handicrafts. This strip between Pío Nono and Constitución streets is like a big indoor courtyard with a wide range of restaurants and a great selection of art exhibits, handicraft shops, and live performances.

La Chascona

If you’re into literature and/or interior design, don’t miss out on visiting La Chascona, a former home of Pablo Neruda, our Nobel laureate in literature. He loved the Bellavista neighborhood so much that he built one of his three main houses here.

Today it functions as a museum, so you can see how he lived, his collections, enjoy coffee, and also buy his works in several languages at the souvenir shop. There are audio guides available in English, so you can tour the museum at your own pace while learning quite a lot.

Ride the funicular to the top of San Cristóbal Hill

On Bellavista’s eastern border is the enormous Parque Metropolitano, a large green space centered on/around Cerro San Cristobal (San Cristobal Hill), and this is where you should head next.

The largest urban park in South America, it houses the National Zoo, a botanical garden, a Japanese garden, a cultural center, an old-school observatory from 1903, educational hiking trails, and all sorts of recreational facilities (swimming pools, sports fields/courts, etc.).

The highlight for most visitors, however, is the incredible view from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, so be sure to make your way up there.

There are two ways to reach the top: by cable car and by funicular. For a full experience, I recommend going up by funicular - located at the end of Pio Nono Street in the Bellavista neighborhood – and descending via cable car from the top to the final station on Pedro de Valdivia Street.

At the top of the hill, you’ll find a statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception that was commissioned by the Catholic Church and placed there in 1908. At the base of the statue, there’s a promenade with food and handicraft stalls, as well as a lookout with great views of the city.

There’s a kiosk there that sells the best Mote con huesillos (a drink/desert made from dried peaches boiled in water with molasses and wheat) in Santiago, so be sure to grab one and enjoy a snack while savoring the vistas.

*The Cerro San Cristobal cable car. Photo:* *Sfs90*, *CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Evening

Rather than having dinner in Santiago tonight, I recommend hopping in a cab/Uber and taking the 40-minute ride out to the famous Concha y Toro Winery, just outside of Santiago, which offers a lovely dinner combined with a tour and wine tasting.

Dinner and wine tasting/tour at Concha y Toro Winery

You’re not a wine expert until you take Concha y Toro winery’s Casillero del Diablo (Devil’s Cellar) Night Tour!

The experience begins with a walk among the beautiful gardens, followed by a visit to the cellars. Here, you’ll learn the famous legend of the winery’s founding while also enjoying three wine tastings and one sparkling surprise.

Afterwards, you’ll sit down for a three-course meal which includes another 2 wine pairings, giving you a chance to sample quite a few different varieties.

This is a lovely introduction to Chilean wine, the food is great, and the grounds are beautiful. It’s the perfect way to wind down your first day in Santiago.

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Day 2: Day trip to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar

*Valparaíso. Photo:* *Julia Sumangil*, *CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Morning

Make your way to Valparaíso

Hop in the car and head for coastal Valparaíso, one of the most important ports in Chile. A historic city of about 300,000 people, there is quite a lot to see and do here, and this is where you’ll even find the country’s parliament! In fact, this is the first building you’ll see as you enter the city, driving along Argentina Avenue.

So park your car and then make your way to Plaza Sotomayor, in the historic quarter, right next to the port.

Catch the views by riding the funiculars

Valparaíso was built on 44 hills, so there are plenty of stairs and funiculars that will take you up and down the main sites. Ascensor Artillería will take you to one of the best lookout points of the city on Cerro Artillería, where you’ll find a short promenade known for its handicraft stalls that offer lapiz lazuli jewelry at reasonable prices.

Museo Marítimo Nacional

If you have time, visit the Museo Marítimo Nacional (National Naval Museum) to learn more about our seafaring history, with both temporary and permanent exhibitions.

La Sebastiana

After, drive to the top of Cerro Bellavista to see La Sebastiana, one of the three houses of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda, which now operates as a museum run by a Foundation established by his estate. Just like at his house in Santiago, you can use the audio guides available in English, among other languages, to tour the property at your own pace.

After the tour, relax at the museum’s café and enjoy a refreshment while admiring the amazing views.

*Ascensor Artilleria funicular. Photo:* *SebaTomas*, *CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Afternoon

Onward to Viña del Mar

After touring Valparaíso, you should head on to the neighboring city of Viña del Mar. On arrival, you should of course stop for a photograph at the Flower Clock, which is an iconic site in the city.

From there, it’s time for lunch. So walk down Avenida La Marina until you reach the Castillo del Mar (Sea Castle), also known as the Club Árabe. This restaurant has a wonderful terrace overlooking the ocean. Their centolla magallánica (Magellanic king crab platter) is the star of the menu, but I personally really like the trilogía parmesana (a platter with razor clams, scallops, and shrimps topped with grated cheese) and the crab pie.

If you prefer meat, I recommend the beef steak with au gratin potatoes or mushroom sauce. Everything is mouthwatering!

Tour the main sights of Viña del Mar

After lunch, continue with your sightseeing. Nearby is the impressive Castillo Wulff, jutting out into the water. I wouldn’t bother visiting, but it’s nice to snap a pic of.

From there, it’s time to head into the downtown area. To get there, walk east down Avenida Valparaíso until you get to Plaza Vergara (one of the city’s main squares) and then take a detour to the Quinta Vergara Estate. Walk around its breathtaking park - which harbors trees and plants from all over the world - and visit the amphitheater where the Viña del Mar Music Festival is held each year at the end of February since 1960.

The historic part of town

From Quinta Vergara, cross over the Libertad bridge to reach the oldest part of town, with many manors and beautiful gardens. Make sure to visit the Fonck Museum, where you can take a photograph with an original Moai!

From there, I suggest heading to the coastal area of the city. If you follow Avenida Perú, you’ll see the Municipal Casino and will then reach the beaches, like Acapulco. Enjoy walking down the promenade, filled with handicraft stalls, a human-size sundial, an open-air naval artillery museum, and wonderful views of the sun setting over the sea.

Reñaca Beach

At the end of the promenade, you’ll reach the famous Reñaca beach. Besides being a great place for swimming and learning to surf, its shoreline is filled with restaurants.

*Castillo Wulff. Photo:* *EDMUNDO.12*, *CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

*Reñac beach. Photo:* *MMLDND*, *CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Back to Santiago, with a winery stop in the Casablanca Valley

Whenever you’re ready to return to Santiago, hop back in the car and start heading south. Along the way, you’ll pass through the Casablanca Valley, which is one of our winemaking regions, so you should of course stop off at a winery.

This area is blessed with a special microclimate thanks to the camanchaca, a dense fog that rolls in from the Valparaíso bay and helps keep temperatures cool, allowing for excellent wine production.

I really like Veramonte winery, as they focus on organic production and give great tours which include a walk through the vineyards, a visit to the cellars, and a tasting of three of their signature wines.

Afterwards, continue back to Santiago.

*The Casablanca Valley. Photo:* *Romulo A. Ceccon*, *CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Evening

Happy hour drinks before dinner

After a very busy day, I’d suggest winding down with some happy hour drinks like a local, taking advantage of the buy-one-get-one specials that many bars and restaurants offer in the early evening.

Ambar restobar is one of the places you can visit to try the famous 2x1 drinks! Their offers include a promo of the day for cocktails, but they also have a great menu that allows you to taste some typical Chilean appetizers such as the Chorrillana, a platter of French fries covered in caramelized onion, sausage, cut up beef, and a fried egg sunny side up!

The portions are very generous so you can probably share a platter. They also have the empanadas de queso, fried cheese turnovers which are a must if you go to a bar in Chile!

Try a Chilean barbecue at Ciro’s

For dinner, I recommend Ciro’s Isidora Goyenechea in Las Condes. First established in 1961, they are best known for their barbeque, which combines a bit of everything. Only for the bold, it includes sausage, intestines, beef, chicken breast, and blood sausage, and is served on a hot grill with French fries and salad on the side!

They also serve Cola de Mono all year long. This drink is similar to eggnog but without the egg and its alcohol percentage is close to 50°. So, even though it’s sweet, you should sip it slowly!

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Day 3: Day trip to the Cajón del Maipo, ski resorts, or wine valleys

1. Get active in the Cajón del Maipo

If you want to experience something a bit more off the beaten path, I suggest visiting the Cajón del Maipo, an awe-inspiring section of the Andes foothills. Within the area, you have the Embalse el Yeso reservoir, which is gorgeous both in summer and winter (when covered in snow), and the Monumento Natural el Morado, which is a spectacular national park whose most famous attraction is a hike up to a hanging glacier within a lovely valley.

There are also various little towns where you can have a soak in thermal waters.

You can reach the area via public transport via the semi-official buses that travel between it and Santiago once per day, but in most cases, you’re likely to want to visit as part of a guided tour or with a rental car.

*Laguna El Morado in the Cajón del Maipo. Photo:* *Alvaro Tapia from Curicó, Chile*, *CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

2. Visit the ski resorts

Another option, even if during the summer, is to visit one of Santiago’s nearby ski resorts. If you go in winter, you’ll have excellent skiing, but during other times of year, you also have options for hiking, mountain biking, and even horseback riding.

The ski resorts closest to Santiago – and also near the mountain town of Farellones – are Posada Farallones, La Parva and Valle Nevado. Posada Farallones was the first ski resort in Chile, so is almost obligatory to pay a quick visit to.

Meanwhile, at an altitude over 11,000 ft, La Parva offers easy access to tracks suitable for skiers ranging from beginner level to world level competitors, and its downhill slopes are approved by the International Ski Federation. Valle Nevado is famous for powder skiing and for having phenomenal views of the Andes Mountains. Here, you can go over 12,400 ft above sea level.

Another popular and beautiful option is to visit Portillo Ski Resort. It is located in the Valparaíso Region, very close to the crossing to Mendoza in Argentina and sits at an elevation of 8,500 ft. The views as you climb up the mountain’s slopes are breathtaking, and once you arrive at the resort, you can visit the Laguna del Inca, a beautiful lagoon reflecting the peaks of the Andes mountains.

While these are of course best visited in winter, they are open throughout the year and offer decent hiking, as well as other

*La Parva ski resort. Photo:* *Saint Ex*, *CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped from original.*

*Skiers on a patch of slope at Valle Nevado ski resort.*

3. Tour the vineyards & wineries in the nearby wine regions

Santiago is surrounded by various well-known and highly regarded wine producing valleys, so you can easily spend a whole day touring wineries, learning about the different production processes, and sampling a range of local wines.

The Maipo Valley, just to south of Santiago, is often considered to be birthplace of Chilean wine and is known for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Lots of wineries in this area will be less than an hour away from Santiago’s city center.

About an hour west of Santiago (near the coast and close to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar), the Casablanca Valley, with its cool micro-climate, specializes in colder weather wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noit.

Further afield, the Cachapoal Valley is about 1.5 hours south of Santiago, while the Aconcagua Valley is about 1.5 hours north, and both areas produce excellent wines. They’re just a little far for a pleasant day trip.

*Fields of grapes in the Aconcagua Valley. Photo: Public domain, via* *Wikimedia Commons*

A few other ideas for things to see and do

In case you have more time to explore the city or you want to swap any of the activities suggested in the itinerary, here are some other things to consider, with a focus on museums and shops.

Visual Arts Museum (MAVI - UC) & Museo Arqueológico de Santiago (MAS)

Located in the Lastarria neighborhood in the artsy patio of Plaza Mulato Gil, you’ll find a 2 in 1 art collection:

The Visual Arts Museum (MAVI - UC) is a contemporary art museum showcasing local crafts that holds many events throughout the year. The collection is curated in collaboration with the help of Catholic University.

Within its walls you will find the Santiago Archaeological Museum (MAS) that houses the Ancestral Chile exhibition, which displays important aspects of pre-Columbian art in Chile. Here, you can admire a mummy from the Chinchorro culture, that flourished in the Atacama Desert and whose mortuary practice predates that of Egyptian mummies by 3,000 years.

Likewise, you will see everyday objects used by Aymaras, Mapuches, Fueguinos, and Pascuenses, who are living ethnic groups, descendants of Chile’s native peoples.

Plaza Mulato Gil and its surroundings also have plenty of shops, restaurants, and cafés for you to grab a bite and relax in.

Museo Ralli Santiago

This is the second of the five museums created by the Harry Recanati Foundation in different countries. It’s located in the residential neighborhood of Vitacura and houses an important collection of Latin American and European art.

The museum has works by world-famous masters like Dalí, Chagall, Miró, and Rodin, as well as others by artists such as Wilfredo Lam (Cuba), Manuel Pailós (Uruguay), César López Claro (Argentina), Oswaldo Sagastegui (Perú), Roberto Matta (Chile), and Mario Toral (Chile).

Museo de la Moda

Just 10 minutes away from the Museo Ralli Santiago, you will find the Museo de la Moda (Fashion Museum), founded in 1999 by the Yarur Bascuñán family. The collection includes over 7,000 pieces including clothing, accessories, textiles, decorative arts, and sports since the 15th century until today.

The museum also has a conservation and restoration center and a documentation center that offers access to bibliographic, photographic, and audiovisual collections on fashion and textiles.

In addition to its impressive architecture built in 1961, it’s surrounded by a 107,000 square ft park and highlighted by elements of Japanese culture in its design.

Museo Andino

Located in Viña Santa Rita, a historic winery in the Maipo Valley on the outskirts of Santiago, the Museo Andino houses two floors of bilingual exhibits on the pre-Columbian cultures that once inhabited Chile.

Besides visiting the museum, you can book a tour through the area’s vineyards and the winery and enjoy a delicious lunch at its restaurant. It’s definitely worth the trip!

Discover Barrio Italia

Barrio Italia, is a very hip neighborhood in Providencia, with lots of quaint cafés, ateliers, boutique hotels, antique shops, and unique stores. This is a great place to search for old and restored items that you won't find anywhere else.

I recommend visiting Antigüedades Arismendi (Av Italia 1494), along with other hidden gems such like the Mercado Mapuche (Av. Italia 817), which promotes healthy, sustainable, symbolic, and sensible products of the Mapuche indigenous peoples. You can find everything from food to clothing there.

Another great option is Mercado Condell (Av. Italia 1371), a warehouse turned marketplace that offers restaurants, cafés, and shops with unique products made and sold by small entrepreneurs.

Pueblito Los Dominicos

Located at the end of Apoquindo Avenue, this authentic miniature village is a true haven in the middle of the city and it attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Next to the San Vicente Ferrer de Los Dominicos Parish, the Pueblito reproduces the characteristics of a traditional town from colonial times, with narrow dirt streets flanked by small adobe houses with thatched roofs house workshops where artisans work in front of visitors. This is one of my favorite places in Santiago!

Costanera Shopping Center

In case you’re looking to do some luxury shopping while in Santiago, you should absolutely head over to the Costanera Center, a large mall filled with high-end stores. It also has a viewing tower (Sky Costanera) that you can go up in, from where you’ll have awesome views over the city.