2 days in Santiago

We were very excited to start our adventures in South America after a short break back home. Santiago, the capital of Chile, sounded like a great place to start. After a 21-hour journey, we arrived on the 5th July greeted by a crisp, cold morning. Wrapped in layers and a warm coat, over a coffee near our Airbnb, we drew out a plan of our 2 days. It looked something like this: 

 

 

Transportation

Santiago is a wonderful place to explore. The metro makes it very accessible to reach various destinations; you can either buy a paper ticket for every journey, which often requires queuing for a few minutes, or invest in a card similar to an Oyster card and top it up for easier entrance, which is also more eco-friendly. A one way trip, regardless of where you are travelling to, is about 700 pesos (80p). Being there for only 2 days, the metro was such a time-saver and meant we saved our energy to walk and wander around our places of choice. 

Roads & Architecture 

Santiago has a winter New York look with an Eastern European feel. Wide roads, both smooth and pebbly pavements, often intermittent with small parks harbouring the locals. The city has various 'Barrios' (neighbourhoods) that transpires different architecture and culture. Some that we visited were Paris-London, Brasil, Italia, Lastarria, Providencia and Bellavista. Modern buildings, skyscrapers, traditional Chilean colonial architecture, baroque style churches, and simple houses made up the streets. The sun beamed from a side angle making the city feel like the day had never got going. Just next to one another, Bellavista was filled with street art, groovy bars and cafes, whilst Providencia was the Canary Wharf of Santiago. Even though 40% of Chileans call Santiago home, the roads felt uniquely peaceful and reserved. 

Sunset views 

There are two main viewpoints of the city. 

The first, Cerro Santa Lúcia, is a good place to start. Located in the heart of the city, it is a remnant of a 15 million year old volcano. You can take a beautiful walk with several stops of increasingly higher viewpoints, coming across a Japanese park, a fountain, some monuments and statues and various types of flowers. 

 

 

 

 

The second, Cerro San Cristobál, is by far the most stunning and breathtaking view we've ever seen of a city. Located above Barrio Bellavista, it is 300m above the city. To reach it, either hire a bike and cycle up (45 minutes) or head to the funicular station that takes about 30 people at a time on an old looking train carriage, passing the zoo on the way. A return ticket costs about £4 per person. Getting there before sunset means you can spot the different Barrios and absorb just how big the city is. We were stunned by the beautiful mountain backdrop of the city, the Andes cordillera with snow white tops. Once the sun begins to set, the city lights turn on and the cars on the roads make for a great long exposure. It's like silently spying on a peaceful giant. 

  

 
 

 

Cultural 

Santiago is full of great cultural experiences, filled with museums, galleries and cultural centres. Whatever your interest is, I'm sure you'll find something to your taste. We explored the Ciência y Tecnologia Museo, Museo de História Natural and Centro Gabriela Mistral. Living in London, we know we are spoiled with the quality of our museums. Yet, it is such an interesting experience to wander around museums in a different city and country because they are always tailored to its own culture, history and science. 

Food and Coffee 

For a quick fix, there are juice vendors on the roads who make freshly squeezed natural juices of whatever fruit they have available for less that £1. In terms of food, the set menu of the day is always a bargain! Plenty of choices for restaurants and cafés but here are our favourites: 

El Huerto, a vegetarian restaurant in Providencia, has a delicious menu and calm atmosphere. The soups are creamy and incredibly tasty, the main dishes were large and juices very fresh. They also have a lovely tea blend. 

Colmado Coffee and Bakery, tucked away in the the corner of a square on road Merced, this gorgeous coffee place has high wooden tables, a modern rustic vibe, and a gorgeous selection of sandwiches and pastries, as well as juices and of course, amazing coffee. 

We wish we could have spent a couple more days in Santiago, it definitely has lots to explore and is a great place to settle in a park or coffee shop and catch up on some writing or reading. But with so much to see in South America, we were excited to head off to La Serena and the Elqui Valley.