Cerro San Cristóbal and Parque Metropolitano
Ride a historic funicular or a cable car up Santiago’s great green hill to the white statue of the Virgin, with the whole city and the Andes spread out below.
Chile
Santiago
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.
Don't miss
Cerro San Cristóbal and Parque Metropolitano
Ride a historic funicular or a cable car up Santiago’s great green hill to the white statue of the Virgin, with the whole city and the Andes spread out below.
Sky Costanera Observation Deck
A 360-degree glass viewing deck on floors 61 and 62 of the Gran Torre Costanera, about 300 metres above Santiago, with the Andes filling the eastern windows.
Viña Concha y Toro Winery Tour, Maipo Valley
Tour Chile’s most famous winery in Pirque, in the Maipo Valley south of Santiago, with its historic gardens, tastings and the legendary Casillero del Diablo cellar.
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
A jewel of a museum near the Plaza de Armas, with superb textiles, ceramics, gold and sculpture from cultures across the Americas, plus a basement gallery devoted to Chile before Chile.
Things to do in Santiago
Sky Costanera Observation Deck
A 360-degree glass viewing deck on floors 61 and 62 of the Gran Torre Costanera, about 300 metres above Santiago, with the Andes filling the eastern windows.
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
A jewel of a museum near the Plaza de Armas, with superb textiles, ceramics, gold and sculpture from cultures across the Americas, plus a basement gallery devoted to Chile before Chile.
Palacio de La Moneda
Chile’s neoclassical presidential palace, scene of the 1973 coup, which you can tour for free by booking ahead, with a cultural centre and exhibitions hidden beneath the square in front.
1 to 2 hoursDetails →
Cerro Santa Lucía
The rocky hill where Santiago was founded, now a romantic 19th-century park of stairways, fountains, terraces and a little castle, climbing to a lookout in the middle of downtown.
1 to 1.5 hoursDetails →
La Chascona, Pablo Neruda House Museum
Pablo Neruda’s playful Santiago home in Bellavista, a ship-like house of odd stairways, curious objects and art, built for his great love Matilde Urrutia at the foot of San Cristóbal.
Museum of Memory and Human Rights
A powerful, free museum that tells the story of human rights violations under Chile’s military dictatorship from 1973 to 1990, through testimony, documents, film and art.
2 to 3 hoursDetails →
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Chile’s national art museum, free to enter, in a Beaux-Arts palace inspired by the Petit Palais in Paris, with a glass-domed sculpture hall at the edge of Parque Forestal.
1 to 1.5 hoursDetails →
Viña Concha y Toro Winery Tour, Maipo Valley
Tour Chile’s most famous winery in Pirque, in the Maipo Valley south of Santiago, with its historic gardens, tastings and the legendary Casillero del Diablo cellar.
Casas del Bosque Winery, Casablanca Valley
A bookable winery tour in the cool-climate Casablanca Valley, on the road from Santiago to Valparaíso, with vineyards, a barrel room and crisp whites to taste.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago
El Golf (Las Condes)
Santiago’s classic luxury address in the El Golf district, with a glass-roofed rooftop pool and spa looking to the Andes, the Estró restaurant and a lobby bar with a pisco menu.
Rates on Expedia →Hotel Cumbres Lastarria
Lastarria
A stylish design hotel in bohemian Lastarria, with Chilean art throughout, a rooftop terrace and pool looking over Parque Forestal and the Andes, and the city’s best cafe quarter at the door.
Rates on Expedia →Solace Hotel Santiago
Providencia
A comfortable four-star in central Providencia, three minutes from Pedro de Valdivia metro, with a seasonal rooftop pool, the Zafferano restaurant and free parking.
Rates on Expedia →Hotel Plaza San Francisco
Historic Centre (Alameda)
A classic four-star on the Alameda in the historic centre, beside the San Francisco church and the Barrio París-Londres, with an indoor pool, a spa and the Bristol restaurant and bar.
Rates on Expedia →ibis Santiago Providencia
Providencia
A reliable budget hotel on Avenida Providencia, a two-minute walk from Manuel Montt metro, with compact rooms, an Italian restaurant, a 24-hour front desk and small-pet-friendly policies.
Rates on Expedia →Santiago guides
First Time in Santiago: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
The practical primer for a first visit to Santiago de Chile: what to book ahead, how to use the metro, how many days you need, the wine and coast day trips and where the headline sights fit.
Where to Stay in Santiago: Historic Centre, Lastarria, Providencia or El Golf
Where to stay in Santiago de Chile for every kind of trip: the historic centre, bohemian Lastarria, safe and central Providencia and upscale El Golf, with the best hotel for each.
