1 destination · 10 things to do

Chile

Santiago de Chile is a capital with the Andes as its backdrop, a city of leafy hills, grand civic squares and glass towers set in a broad valley with snow-capped peaks rising just to the east. Founded by Pedro de Valdivia at the foot of Cerro Santa Lucía in 1541, it is now home to a large share of all Chileans, and it rewards visitors who come for more than a stopover on the way to Patagonia or the Atacama. In the historic centre you can tour La Moneda, the presidential palace, see one of the finest collections of ancient American art at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, and confront the country’s recent past at the free Museum of Memory and Human Rights. Bohemian Lastarria and Bellavista bring cafes, street art and Pablo Neruda’s whimsical house, La Chascona, while the funicular and cable cars of Cerro San Cristóbal and the Sky Costanera observation deck, about 300 metres up, show off the whole valley. Beyond the city lie some of South America’s great wine regions, from the historic cellars of the Maipo Valley to the cool-climate vineyards of Casablanca on the road to Valparaíso. This guide covers what to book, what is free, how to get around by metro and where to stay, from El Golf luxury to good-value Providencia.