Santiago de Chile gives an underwhelming first impression. Packed with road traffic and the air thick with smog, the city has the air of an industrial smoke hole. This may be true, but there is much more to this, the capital of long, narrow Chile, on the western coast of South America.
Neighbourhoods
The enclaves of Providencia and Bellavista are the neighborhoods that offer the most to visitors of Santiago. Local cuisine is to be found in abundance here, with even the pointy end of the menu topping out at around $50 for dinner for two, including drinks. The bohemian quarter of Barrio Brasil (Brazilian Neighborhood) is a treat for street theater, art galleries and cafes where leisurely afternoons can be spent over the good South American coffee and people-watching.
Galleries
This kind of culture is big in Santiago (the galleries and theater that is, not just the people watching). There are more than 40 art galleries (although this changes all the time depending on who is opening up and who is going out of business – the local economy does not always extend to the arts) and 30 museums dedicated from everything from the broader history of Chile to more obscure topics like the history of coffee.
Downtown
Downtown Santiago is the best place to find the city's best architectural and historical sites. Here, with a comfortable pair of walking shoes, visitors can take in the Town Hall, the National Museum of History, the Metroplitan Cathedral (on the western side of the Plaza de Armas) and the Post Office. All of these were built between three and five hundred years ago, and are in keeping with the then-new and forward thinking development of Santiago, spearheaded by Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia who founded and designed the city in Spanish checkerboard style.
Off the Beaten Track
Off the beaten track attractions in Santiago involve wandering the streets and keeping your eyes peeled for hole-in-the-wall bars and impromptu street performances and exhibitions. Outside of the city is the spectacular natural beauty of Chile. Santiago is notable for being one of only a handful of capital cities worldwide that offers easy access to beaches and ski resorts. The villages that dot the coastline are inhabited by friendly locals who are welcoming to passers-through, and some of the world's best stretches of white-sand beaches lie between them, only a hundred kilometers from downtown Santiago.
Outdoors
The Andean mountain range, only fifty kilometers from downtown Santiago, is the home of world-class ski runs with a good reputation for plenty of powder snow throughout the winter. The valleys that skirt Santiago are also full of wineries, which export the famous drop to the rest of the world – although there is still plenty to be sampled and purchased at the cellar door.
Hotels
Hotels in Santiago are, as usual with major cities, more expensive than the inns and hostels that are peppered around the rest of Chile. Nonetheless, rates are not high, with three star hotel rooms selling for as little as $40 a night (very basic facilities and no guarantee of a private bathroom). More expensive, but more comfortable options are the four and five star hotel rooms in the center of the city from $100 and $180 respectively.
Use the Hotelsio Rate Finder to find top accommodation and cheap hotels in Santiago de Chile.
(Photo:Fotolia/Tifonimages)
