Santiago Pictures
Chile

Take a Chile holiday with the South American travel specialists! Adventure Life offers nature, culture, hiking, Patagonia cruises and Easter Island tours. Brochure | Easter Island | Atacama Desert | Pure Patagonia | Chile Tours

Back | Next

Santiago on a summer day, backed by the Andes mountains, shot from the top of Cerro San Cristobal.

Travel Information: Chile Travel Guide | Chile Map | South America Map | Chile Tours

Chile Pictures: Atacama Desert | Torres del Paine | Rapa Nui

Chile's capital city Santiago is notorious for its lack of sights or ethnic culture and excess of air pollution - caused by vast herds of fuming buses, inefficiently controlled industry and the Andes chain of mountains sitting in the background holding the noxious stew in the valley.
However, the smog is not that bad outside of a wind-less winter when it can be deadly, there are a few interesting buildings around, and the pedestrianised centre is not unpleasant. In other words, if you have to stay a couple of days in Santiago for transport connections or trip organisation, don't sweat it; besides, you need to see where one third of Chileans live if you have any intention of getting a feel for the country as a whole.
Santiago is affluent and westernized relative to most other Latin America countries but comparatively safe, with a shining and efficient metro and a good selection of restaurants and accommodation.

Best season: September-November is the best time to be in Santiago with warm, dry days and much less smog; June-August the worst time for both rain and smog, though skiing and snowboarding in the Andes is superb at this time.

Skiing/Snowboarding: Day trips are just 1.5 hours out to the Farellones village hub of three ski resorts, with excellent powder, good sunshine and varied runs. Season: mid-July to September but avoid the last two weeks of July [Chile's winter holiday] and weekends if possible.

Santiago main sights: The Palacio Cousiño is a wonderful example of extreme wealth spent lavishly, the Plaza de Armas [central square] offers an insight into how Chilenos chill, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino presents a superb overview of old cultures of Central and South America with some stunning statues and other artifacts [with English explanations], the Mercado Central is no longer much of market having been taken over by fish restaurants, but this is the plaice to eat seafood in the capital [in the centre of the building if your budget is generous, on the periphery if not], a couple of big churches are worth a look, and finally the viewpoint - via funicular [railed cable car, not the gondolas pictured above] - of Cerro San Cristobal provides the best city overlook.

Santiago Photos © bugbog.com. All rights reserved.

Images of other interesting South American countries: Argentina Pictures | Peru Pictures | Galapagos Pictures | Brazil Pictures