The easy way is hopping in the cable car, which is a nice scenic ride across the park. Another must-try local establishment in Santiago is Fuente Alemana. As an avid climber myself, I wouldn’t mind climbing the mountains, taking free walks or cooking classes! Find them on the map here. Following success in Santiago, the initiative is being expanded to other cities around Chile. You can find it on the map here. Learn how to make money on the road, so you can travel forever. Punta Arenas, Chile: The City at The End of The World, What To Pack For a Camping and Trekking Trip in Torres del Paine, Chile, Trekking Torres del Paine: The Ultimate Guide to The “O” Circuit, Our Experience On The Famous O Circuit Trek in Torres del Paine. Cerro Santa Lucia. 1. Both a poet and a politician, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature and served as a diplomat and senator for many years. As you can see Santiago really offers a lot and the variety and diversity of attractions is really big – everyone should find something interesting for his taste. While you’re here, you may as well try a local favourite – a completo. What to say more? Breakfast was free if staying in a private room, or available for a small fee if staying in a dorm. Below, we’ve listed out a few of our favorite highlights and hidden gems to help you pick and choose the best things to do in Santiago, Chile. Tucked away on a side street just a short walk away from Mercado Central you will find La Piojera. Mercado Central is a particular attraction for fish lovers. Climb Cerro San Cristóbal to the Virgin Mary Statue, 3. This is probably the most stirring museum display I have seen anywhere in the world. Things to Do in Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region: See Tripadvisor's 302 199 traveller reviews and photos of 1,022 Santiago attractions. The rooms were spacious and comfortable, with free strong wifi. Thrones is sadly no longer, alas. You can hike (approximately 45 minutes up) or cycle to the 300 meter high summit. Today, the building is a museum dedicated to his legacy. These are just some of the many awesome things to do in Santiago Chile. Inside the museum, you’ll find a wide variety of quirky artifacts that Neruda collected. If you are not pressed for time and can stay longer in Santiago de Chile, you can explore districts a little bit further away from the city center, but also other worthwhile places such as Valparaiso, vineyards or mountains which are easily accessible from the city. In January, Santiago a Mil is a performing-arts festival where over 1,000 shows take place across the city. We have reviews of the best places to see in Santiago. Santiago, the capital of Chile, is an eclectic mix of architectural styles. Discover the best top things to do in Chile including Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Cotelé, Parque Nacional Patagonia. ... (Museo Histórico Nacional), which houses fascinating exhibits cataloguing Chile's history from the pre-Conquest period to the 20th century. Built to commemorate the first centennial of Chilean independence, the architecture blends baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau styles. This vineyard has been operating since way back in 1856. Uncorked is a popular choice for a cooking class in Santiago. The only hostel we’ve ever known to do this. Take a free walking tour. When you’re new in a city, it’s a great idea to take advantage of the free walking tours on... 3. Santiago, the capital of Chile, is a buzzing, densely-packed metropolis sandwiched between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The Chilean capital has festivals for literature, film, music, dance, food, and more. Emporio La Rosa is a local favourite, which you’ll notice right away from the long queue out the door. A terremoto essentially comprises a large quantity of pipeño (a strong fortified wine) with a dollop of pineapple ice cream floating in it. While endeavouring to remain objective, he talked about the impact it had on his family and city life in general. The atmosphere for the show was incredible! It’s alright – I totally understand. You can also order greasy, meaty meals served in huge portions to line your stomach for the terremotos. Disclaimer: Career Gappers is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites at no additional cost to you. Chile is a land of geographical extremes, from the Atacama Desert in the north to the ice fields of Patagonia in the south. With a few days in Santiago, you can enjoy the sights, go trekking in the Andes, cycle to vineyards for wine tastings, explore local markets, partake in the city’s fun nightlife, and much more. Cerro San Cristobal. Best time to visit: Spring (October to November) brings mild temperatures, and... 2. This striking cultural and performing-arts center – named for Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral,... Boragó. Founded in 1880, it is the oldest fine arts museum in South America. Quinta Normal Park is easily accessible from the city centre via the Santiago Metro. For more accommodation options, see the Santiago section of booking.com. As is the case with most major cities in South America, this “Square of Weapons” was designed to be the city centre. The guides are super friendly and knowledgable, and they’re always happy to point you in the right direction with recommendations on where to eat, shop, and party. This bustling market has been in business since way back in 1872 and continues to be a popular place to shop and eat. Goats on the Road Posts » Things To Do » 21 Things To Do in Santiago: Chile’s Cool Capital. For more background on this, check out our article on Valparaíso street art. We were told about this place by an American traveller we met who lived in Santiago for several months. Pio Nono 445, Recoleta Parque … This was one of the best I’ve had; perhaps more burger than sandwich, or at least somewhere in between. It opened in 2010 to mark the bicentennial of Chile’s independence and serves as an important reminder of the country’s recent dark past. I’m really not a huge fan of sweets, so you know a place has got to be good if I’m recommending ice cream as one of the top things to do in Santiago! Santiago’s main plaza has been just that since the city was founded back in 1541. Top 20 Things to do in Santiago, Chile. This museum commemorates the many victims of human rights violations during the brutal regime of Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990. 2. The plaza is full of Chilean palm trees and benches, making it a popular place to relax and socialize during the day. First of all, this hill is the remnant of a 15 million-year-old volcano. Centro Gabriela Mistral. You can also peruse other examples of his fantastic work around the world. Being surrounded by mountains and hills means you have some fantastic opportunities to see Santiago from above. This grand white statue is perched on Cerro San Cristóbal, some 300 metres above the city. Art lovers will definitely want to pay a visit to the National Museum of Fine Arts. Your best bet for exploring all that Cajon del Maipo has to offer is hopping on a tour out of Santiago. Find what to do today, this weekend, or in December. Explore the Plaza de Armas. This Chilean hot dog comes loaded with chopped tomatoes, avocado, sauerkraut, and a big ole’ glob of mayonnaise. On a tour to Isla Negra from Santiago you can explore the house that he built himself and admire some of his greatest artworks and masterpieces. Both tours last around 3 hours and cover a few kilometers. Free Things To Do in Santiago. Walking around the plaza, you might find people engaged in a heated game of chess, busting a move with some group dancing, or just laughing hysterically at a clown show. It’s also free and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10AM to 6:45PM. Finally, you’ll want to be sure to check out some street art in Santiago as well. The story of this dark period of history is told with compelling originality at Santiago’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights. Witness the amazing street art of Inti, 13. The day after, I wrote a full article about the experience – check that out here. Sign up for our weekly newsletter and we’ll send you our 101 Ways To Earn Money For Travel eBook for Free, plus we’ll send you a series of emails to show you how to earn money and travel in a financially sustainable way. Upon entering the park, you’ll be greeted by the gorgeous Neptune Fountain. You can find it in cafés, pop-up stalls and fast-food outlets all over Santiago. Along the way, you’ll pass by the Castillo Hidalgo, which was built in 1816 to protect the city. The Railway Museum and the Museum of Science and Technology are both within the park grounds, and well worth a visit. It was badly damaged in 1973 during the military coup. From the crest of the hill, the view over Santiago against the mountainous horizon is simply breathtaking. This large park is located in the city centre just a few blocks away from the Plaza de Armas and is a great place to spend an afternoon. The best place to begin your exploration of the Chilean capital is the Plaza de Armas. Not only do you get to learn something about the place from a local, but you’ll also make new friends in the process. We ate our fill in a café on Plaza de Armas, filled with locals watching the big football match between Santiago’s two biggest rivals. It can be reached by less than two hours by bus from Santiago, or you can book a full-day tour to Valparaiso and nearby coastal town Viña del Mar. On a Cajón del Maipo day tour from Santiago you can see these beauties for yourself, and get up close to the stunning but hard-to-access reservoir of Embalse del Yeso. There is so much to want to go to Santiago. The resulting green, white and red stripes resemble the Italian flag. Currently the office of Chile’s president, it was once the official mint of the country. If you made it all the way to Chile, chances are you’re planning on heading to Patagonia. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions. For Rio de... 3. Santiago de Chile is a gateway hub for South America and yet for many people, Chile’s capital is often just a transit to somewhere else. They have half-day tours where you take in the highlights of Santiago and visit several markets. Seeing a show at one of the city’s many venues is one of the top things to do in Santiago Chile. For a rewarding blend of nature and history you can take a day trip from Santiago to Laguna Del Inca. They run two different tours every day of the week. One of these and some fries will fill you up for a while and only cost you a couple of bucks! There are plenty of cooking classes available in Santiago, so get in the kitchen and get cooking! On a full-day group tour from Santiago you can take a scenic guided drive to this historic place and learn about its beginnings. Santiago’s close proximity to the Andes opens up opportunities for adventurous exploration. Sky Costanera. Explore Torres del Paine in Patagonia. After a tough hike, there’s nothing better than soaking in some natural hot springs, and that’s exactly what you can do out here! Climb Cerro San Cristóbal to the Virgin Mary Statue. The folks at Huaso Bike Tours have several excellent options for you to explore Santiago on two wheels. You can find Chipe Libre on the map and get directions here. We loved this hostel because it provided free dinner every night! June through September are for driving one and a half hours into the mountains and hitting the slopes. A trip to Cajon del Maipo is a great choice for spending a day out in nature. If you’re on a budget, you can just head to the food court in the Costanera Centre Mall. You can combine a visit here with a trip to the hill and Neruda’s house to make for one exciting day in the capital. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions. Cool Chile indeed. 2. Neruda spent his final days at his house in the coastal town of Isla Negra, where he and his wife are buried. La Piojera is anything but a tourist trap. Their classes are a bit cheaper as well, at $80 per person. The ‘completo’ version is huge, and comes with all the trimmings and lashings of sauce. Actually, she was his secret lover when he started work on the house. 18,372 reviews. Chile is renowned around the world for its excellent wines, in particular red varieties like Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Note: Photos in the post are courtesy of Shutterstock. Street art has been at the core of Valparaíso’s revival. The first was Princesa Insolente Hostel, located in the Brasil district about 2 kilometres west of Plaza de Armas. Tickets cost about $5 for adults and $2.50 for children. Tickets cost about $10 and include an audio guide. We asked 3 of Santiago’s best tour guides to tell us the city’s secrets, from must-sees to hidden gems, from the best bars, restaurants and museums to things to do for free. In Santiago, the best free walking tours are run by Tours 4 Tips. I rarely buy those tickets but feel like they’re still good items to include on a list like this. Visiting a vineyard easily makes the cut on this list of the best things to do in Santiago. Some believe it was an assassination and not a suicide, as the official story goes. It starts with visits to some of the city’s markets to pick up some fresh ingredients, and you’ll then head into the kitchen to whip up some Chilean classics. That’s a wrap for this list of the top things to do in Santiago Chile. This beautiful neo-classical theatre was built in 1857 and hosts performances of opera, choir, and ballet. The museum pulls no punches in conveying the human rights atrocities that were committed under the rule of General Pinochet. Other activities available include horseback riding, ziplining, and whitewater rafting. MORE THINGS TO DO IN SANTIAGO DE CHILE. The screening itself was amazing, with the packed crowds cheering and groaning along to the big moments. Santiago Tourist’s Things to Do in Santiago! In 2013 he was commissioned to paint two giant murals next to the Bellas Artes metro station in Santiago. Lined by some of Chile’s most iconic buildings, it’s a great place to stop, relax and watch city life go by. With the Museum of Memory and Human Rights located just outside the park as well, it makes for a great educational day out. I also tried their empanadas and they were fantastic! Check the location on the map here. 9 Amazing Things to Do in Santiago, Chile. The seafood here is all super fresh and delicious, whether you order a plate of ceviche, king crab, or clams au gratin. Check out El Colorado, La Parva, Valle Nevado or Portillo. You can go off in search of street art on your own, or sign up for a tour with Urban Adventure. For a stunning 8 kilometer hike in the canyon, click here. Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral, standing on the north-west corner, is perhaps the architectural highlight of the square. They have an outdoor seating area that still has a great view, even if it isn’t the tallest in Latin America. As an alternative to the tours for tips model, you can book a full four-hour Santiago city tour or try a sightseeing bike tour. Santiago is surrounded by the Andes Mountains, so why not plan for a day trip out there while you’re in town? Things to Do in Chile 1. Book your tickets online for the top things to do in Santiago, Chile on Tripadvisor: See 839,392 traveller reviews and photos of Santiago tourist attractions. It was also here that the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago in 1541. As... 2. If you’re ready to plan a big trip to Chile for hiking in Patagonia or exploring the Atacama Desert, be sure you dedicate at least a few days to taking in all that the capital city has to offer. When you’re new in a city, it’s a great idea to take advantage of the free walking tours on offer. From here you can follow the system of trails and stone staircases to the top of the hill. You can find them on the map here. The beautiful building it’s housed in dates back to 1910 and was a commemoration of the centennial of Chilean independence. There’s actually quite a bit of history behind this park. Click here to learn more about the bike tours in Santiago. If you visit on a clear day, you’ll get some fantastic views of the city and the surrounding mountains. 21 Things To Do in Santiago: Chile’s Cool Capital 1. It features many restaurants – small and large – that specialise in seafood dishes, including the Chilean favourite ceviche. But the Shamrock will continue to screen major events, including US election debates and sports such as football, UFC, basketball, ice hockey and more. 5. The Italiano is basically a hotdog smothered with avocado, creamy mayonnaise and tomato sauce. Speaking of Valpo, it’s one of the best places to ring in the New Year in all of South America. In general, the facilities at Ají Hostel were very good, with a large kitchen, good wifi, secure lockers, hot water, and a comfortable social space. There are several ski resorts within a 60-90 minute drive. Plaza de Armas has been the main city square and centre of activity in Santiago for nearly five centuries. On the trip you can also catch a glimpse of the peak of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, and stop to see historic monuments along the way. Since you’re going to eat plenty of delicious Chilean food in Santiago, why not learn how to cook some of it yourself? Many of the resorts run shuttles that leave between 8-9AM and return between 4-5PM. However you decide to get there, your ultimate goal is to reach the sanctuary dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. Once winter rolls around, the snow-capped Andes are the place to be if you enjoy skiing. I just got back from my first trip to South America (I visited Colomiba) and it left me wanting more. Of the many bustling marketplaces we’ve visited in South America, it stands out among the best. This solved our problem of how we were going to watch the season finale. He’s also an online English teacher and a video producer. Having developed in secret as an underground movement during the military dictatorship, today street art is legal in Valparaíso – the only place in Chile where that’s the case. Inside you can also find a maze of market stalls where you can buy a wide variety of fresh seafood from the Pacific. Great article – lots of things to do for my 2 day stopover in Santiago in October. Chile has no shortage of spectacular scenery, and some of it can be reached in a short drive from Santiago. "Went on 3 private tours with Jaime - Santiago City Tour, Cajon del Maipo and Valparaiso." Of course, we had to try it after hearing this. It’s the only pub in the city that shows live screenings of TV shows like Game of Thrones. Among the things to do in Santiago Chile is walking up Cerro Santa Lucia. Another can’t-miss museum in Santiago is the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. If you are already all packed for your trip to the Andean capital; but all the organizing, the hours spent brushing off your Spanish added to the excitement of a holiday in South America did not leave you time to plan the things do in Santiago. While it’s possible to take a funicular or cable car up to the statue, we chose to reach it the hard way. When we took our Santiago free walking tour, I asked our guide if he could recommend any particular local food to try. Facebook Twitter Pinterest. This means we earn commissions if you click links on our blog and purchase from those retailers. Visit Isla Magdalena and Play with the Penguins. The setup in Fuente Alemana is intimate and enjoyable. Best time to visit: November to March is the only … It’s typically served in a half-litre glass, or – if you dare – a litre. For nature lovers who are wandering what to do when in Chile, a hike through the Andes Mountain in Santiago’s outskirts might just be what is pending off your ‘Things to do list’. They definitely know what they’re doing when it comes to making wine here! The museum imparts this through interactive exhibits and hosts some remarkable specimens, including a 17-metre whale skeleton and the world’s oldest mummies. If you want to take in the views of Santiago from above, don’t miss out on a trip to Sky Costanera. Things to see and do in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. Try a meat sandwich in Fuente Alemana, 18. From $22 for a visit with tastings. The great news is you don’t even have to travel very far out of the city centre to visit a vineyard. If you can’t get on a tour, you should still come to check out the changing of the guard ceremony. In the Bellavista neighborhood of Santiago, you’ll find La Chascona. 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