Santiago has emerged from the days of military dictatorship to become a modern city brimming with energy. On our visit to the city we were captivated by the charisma of its people, the harrowing stories of its past and the incredible beauty of its setting. Here are some of the best things to do in Santiago to discover the city’s life, culture and surroundings.
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Things to do in Santiago: sightseeing
1. Take a free walking tour
The best way to start your exploration of Santiago is by taking a free walking tour with Tours 4 Tips. These guys run a range of tours in Santiago, Valparaíso and San Pedro de Atacama, hosted by young guides full of knowledge and energy.
We chose to take the Santiago highlights tour (there is also an offbeat tour available). Our guide was a student called Oscar who had grown up in Santiago. He not only showed us around the main city landmarks, but also gave compelling insights into historic events, in particular the military coup and dictatorship. While endeavouring to remain objective, he talked about the impact it had on his family and city life in general.
Walking tours are perfect for introducing you to a new city and finding your bearings at the beginning of a stay. Don’t forget to ask your guide for recommendations of things to do and places to eat!
2. Climb Cerro San Cristóbal to the Virgin Mary Statue
Many South American cities have symbolic statues. For Rio de Janeiro it’s Christ the Redeemer; Santiago has the Virgin Mary and the Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception. This grand white statue is perched on Cerro San Cristóbal, some 300 metres above the city.
While it’s possible to take a funicular or cable car up to the statue, we chose to reach it the hard way. From the Pío Nono entrance at the south of the park, it took us about an hour to hike up the hill, with a few little breaks on the way.
From the crest of the hill, the view over Santiago against the mountainous horizon is simply breathtaking. The steps at the foot of the 14-metre statue and sanctuary provide a peaceful setting to take it all in.
3. Climb Cerro Santa Lucia to Castillo Hidalgo
Cerro Santa Lucia is a small hill, park and gardens in the city centre. Located just a few blocks east of the Plaza de Armas, it provides an alternative city viewpoint that is more central than Cerro San Cristóbal Hill and takes less effort to reach (although the view isn’t quite as good).
Entrance to the park is free, and there are various lookout points to gaze across the Santiago skyline. The park also features a historic castle in its grounds dating from the early 19th century.
Castillo Hidalgo has been one of the most important buildings in Santiago for 200 years. Over the generations, it has served as a fortress, museum, event centre and meeting point, and is now a prominent tourist attraction.
4. Visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights
The legacy of the military coup and dictatorship is still deeply felt in Chile. The story of this dark period of history is told with compelling originality at Santiago’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights.
This is probably the most stirring museum display I have seen anywhere in the world. Through various exhibits, artefacts and visual mediums, it strikes just the right tone in addressing the effects of an intensely oppressive and divisive regime.
The museum pulls no punches in conveying the human rights atrocities that were committed under the rule of General Pinochet. While many aspects of this history are harrowing to take in, the exhibition also delivers a message of hope and positivity.
5. Explore the museums in Quinta Normal Park
Quinta Normal Park is a lush 88-acre space located in the Santiago district of the same name. It’s also home to several of the city’s most absorbing museums.
The Railway Museum and the Museum of Science and Technology are both within the park grounds, and well worth a visit. Our favourite, however, was the National Museum of Natural History.
Chile is a land of geographical extremes, from the Atacama Desert in the north to the ice fields of Patagonia in the south. As such, its natural history is unique. The museum imparts this through interactive exhibits and hosts some remarkable specimens, including a 17-metre whale skeleton and the world’s oldest mummies.
Quinta Normal Park is easily accessible from the city centre via the Santiago Metro. With the Museum of Memory and Human Rights located just outside the park as well, it makes for a great educational day out.
6. See the exquisite National Museum of Fine Arts
In the green surroundings of Parque Forestal, the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts is another educational gem in Santiago. Founded in 1880, it is the oldest fine arts museum in South America.
The museum is housed in one of the most striking and symbolic buildings in the city. Built to commemorate the first centennial of Chilean independence, the architecture blends baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau styles.
Free to enter, it is more of a gallery than a museum in reality, displaying a selection of works by artists from Chile and beyond.
7. Absorb city life at Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas has been the main city square and centre of activity in Santiago for nearly five centuries. Lined by some of Chile’s most iconic buildings, it’s a great place to stop, relax and watch city life go by.
Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral, standing on the north-west corner, is perhaps the architectural highlight of the square. There are also several museums around its perimeter, including the National Museum of History and the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art.
8. Go cycling on car-free Sunday
Every Sunday, dozens of kilometres of Santiago’s main roads are closed between 9am and 2pm as part of a scheme to promote cycling in the city.
More than 40,000 cyclists take to the city streets each week to participate in the scheme created by CicloRecreoVía. On the website you can find maps of the streets that are closed as part of the scheme. Following success in Santiago, the initiative is being expanded to other cities around Chile.
There are several bike hire shops across the city for travellers to take part. Even if you don’t have a bicycle, it’s still a refreshing experience to get out around the city on foot and enjoy the calmness in the absence of traffic.
9. Witness the amazing street art of Inti
Chile has a flourishing street art scene that was pioneered by a network of underground artists who operated in secret during the military dictatorship. Inti, a street artist from Valparaíso, is at the forefront of this movement today.
In 2013 he was commissioned to paint two giant murals next to the Bellas Artes metro station in Santiago. The colourful masterpieces he created invoke characters representing Ekeko, the god of abundance in Andean folklore, blended with symbols of prosperity and political struggle.
On Inti’s Instagram account you can peruse other examples of his fantastic work around the world.
Things to do in Santiago: food and drink
10. Taste fresh fish at Mercado Central
For the traveller who loves to explore local markets, Mercado Central is an unmissable highlight in Santiago. Of the many bustling marketplaces we’ve visited in South America, it stands out among the best.
Mercado Central is a particular attraction for fish lovers. It features many restaurants – small and large – that specialise in seafood dishes, including the Chilean favourite ceviche. Lunchtime is the best time to visit to get a great deal. Try asking for a complementary pisco sour!
Inside you can also find a maze of market stalls where you can buy a wide variety of fresh seafood from the Pacific.
To explore more of this scene in the city, you can take a small group bike tour of Santiago’s food markets. In addition to Mercado Central, this also includes visits to La Vega Central Market and Tirso Molina Market.
11. Eat an empanada from Emporio Zunino
Directly opposite Mercado Central, on the corner of Avenida San Pablo and Paseo Puente, stands Emporio Zunino; one Chile’s most legendary empanada-makers.
An empanada is a pastry snack that originated in Spain and is popular in many South American countries. It is typically filled with meat, vegetables or cheese.
Emporio Zunino, opened in 1930, is Chile’s oldest traditional empanada factory. We tried it out for brunch, and it completely lived up to the hype. You won’t find a better empanada anywhere in Santiago.
12. Drink a terremoto in La Piojera
Tucked away on a side street just a short walk away from Mercado Central you will find La Piojera. This is a somewhat legendary local dive bar, always packed with crowds of drinkers.
This is the place we discovered the Chilean beverage phenomenon that is the terremoto. It translates directly as ‘earthquake’, a fitting name for its effects! A terremoto essentially comprises a large quantity of pipeño (a strong fortified wine) with a dollop of pineapple ice cream floating in it. It’s typically served in a half-litre glass, or – if you dare – a litre.
La Piojera is anything but a tourist trap. It’s been around for nearly a century and stays true to its local roots. You can also order greasy, meaty meals served in huge portions to line your stomach for the terremotos. Be prepared to compete for seats, though.
13. Try a meat sandwich in Fuente Alemana
Another must-try local establishment in Santiago is Fuente Alemana. We were told about this place by an American traveller we met who lived in Santiago for several months. He described it as “very famous, very good and very Chilean”. Of course, we had to try it after hearing this.
The setup in Fuente Alemana is intimate and enjoyable. Chefs work away in an open kitchen area, while customers prop up on seating that stretches all the way around it in a square. You order at the cashier as you enter, then take a seat and watch your hot sandwich being cooked.
I am a big fan of sandwiches and have eaten many thousands in my time. This was one of the best I’ve had; perhaps more burger than sandwich, or at least somewhere in between. It was a delicious feast of meat, grease and sauce. I even wrote a full review about the experience while drowning in my meat coma the day afterwards.
14. Eat a completo Italiano
When we took our Santiago free walking tour, I asked our guide if he could recommend any particular local food to try. The first thing he mentioned was the Italiano, a popular Chilean take on the American hotdog.
To spare you the same confusion that I had, there isn’t anything Italian about it other than its appearance. The Italiano is basically a hotdog smothered with avocado, creamy mayonnaise and tomato sauce. The resulting green, white and red stripes resemble the Italian flag.
The ‘completo’ version of the Italiano is huge, and comes with all the trimmings and lashings of sauce. You can find it in cafés, pop-up stalls and fast-food outlets all over Santiago. We ate our fill in a café on Plaza de Armas, filled with locals watching the big football match between Santiago’s two biggest rivals.
15. Go on a Santiago pub crawl
Santiago has amazing nightlife. We took away great memories of late nights in the city’s pubs and bars, which we often had to walk off the next day up Cerro San Cristóbal!
The bar scene in the city is now recovering after the pandemic. We’ve been sad to hear about some of our favourite bars closing down. One of our fondest memories is of watching the Game of Thrones finale live at the Shamrock, an Irish pub that used to screen big events.
It was so popular that we were the last people allowed into the packed venue at 6pm, for an event that started at 10pm! We have since heard that the legendary Shamrock has closed its doors permanently.
But the late night economy is now springing back to life, and one of the best ways to introduce yourself to it is by taking an organised pub crawl. Check out Pub Crawl Santiago’s Instagram account for details of what they have coming up.
Things to do in Santiago: day trips
16. Discover Chilean wine
Chile is renowned around the world for its excellent wines, in particular red varieties like Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Santiago is within close reach of the Maipo Valley, one of the country’s most prominent wine-producing regions. If you’re willing to put the effort in, it’s possible to visit the Maipo Valley independently without taking a tour.
But if you would prefer to have all the arrangements taken care of, there are several Santiago wine tours you can book through GetYourGuide. Here are two popular options:
17. Visit colourful Valparaíso
The colourful coastal city of Valparaíso is considered by many as the cultural capital of Chile. Once a rich and flourishing port, it had to reimagine itself after the Panama Canal opening meant that ocean vessels no longer needed to traverse around South America.
Today Valparaíso has become a thriving hub of music and art, distinguished by multicoloured houses scattered over its many hilly neighbourhoods. It can be reached by less than two hours by bus from Santiago, or you can book a full-day tour to Valparaiso and nearby coastal town Viña del Mar.
Street art has been at the core of Valparaíso’s revival. Having developed in secret as an underground movement during the military dictatorship, today street art is legal in Valparaíso – the only place in Chile where that’s the case. For more background on this, check out our article on Valparaíso street art.
You can also plan your trip with our guide to things to do in Valparaíso.
18. Visit Farellones, Chile’s first ski centre
Santiago’s close proximity to the Andes opens up opportunities for adventurous exploration. The village of Farellones, high up in the mountains, is home to the first ski resort to be opened in Chile.
You can take a full-day group tour from to Farellones for a scenic guided drive to this historic place and learn about its beginnings, with a stop at another top ski resort, Valle Nevado. If the season is right you can rent some gear and hit the slopes yourself, or just relax and enjoy the view.
19. See the gorge of Cajón del Maipo
Chile has no shortage of spectacular scenery, and some of it can be reached in a short drive from Santiago. Cajón del Maipo is an area of true natural beauty, packed with canyons, volcanos, glaciers, massifs and quaint mountain towns.
On a Cajón del Maipo day tour from Santiago you can see these beauties for yourself, and get up close to the stunning but hard-to-access reservoir of Embalse del Yeso.
20. Witness Laguna Del Inca
For a rewarding blend of nature and history you can take a day trip from Santiago to Laguna Del Inca. This stunning lagoon is set in the mountain town and ski resort of Portillo.
Wedged between Andean mountains in the Aconcagua Valley, the lagoon is connected to old legends of an Inca king. On the trip you can also catch a glimpse of the peak of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, and stop to see historic monuments along the way.
21. Explore the hometown of Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda is a national icon in Chile and one of the country’s most prominent historical figures. Both a poet and a politician, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature and served as a diplomat and senator for many years.
Neruda spent his final days at his house in the coastal town of Isla Negra, where he and his wife are buried. Today, the building is a museum dedicated to his legacy. On a tour to Isla Negra from Santiago you can explore the house that he built himself and admire some of his greatest artworks and masterpieces.
The tour also includes stops at the seaside resort town of Algarrobo and the small pottery community of Pomaire.
Things to do in Santiago, Chile: map of attractions
The map below shows the places of interest in Santiago that are detailed in this article:
Where to stay in Santiago
When travelling in South America, we often like to stay in hostels and other sociable accommodation. But these days we also mix in some self-catered accommodation. It’s nice sometimes to have your own space!
So, here are two well located and reasonably priced self-catered apartments we found in Santiago for solo travellers or couples:
- Huge private balcony – at the foot of Cerro San Cristóbal and near the lively Bellavista district
- Great apartment in Providencia – tucked away in one of the coolest parts of the city with fabulous views
On our last visit to Santiago, we stayed at Ají Hostel, close to the city centre in the Providencia district. We loved this hostel because it provided free dinner every night! The only hostel we’ve ever known to do this. In general, the facilities at Ají Hostel were very good, with a large kitchen, good wifi, secure lockers, hot water, and a comfortable social space.
You can book Ají Hostel here: booking.com | hostelworld
For more accommodation options, see the Santiago section of booking.com.
Chile travel: more destinations
If you are spending more time in Chile, you might find some of our other articles useful:
- Chile itinerary: two weeks | San Pedro to Santiago
- How much does a Chile trip cost? Here’s what we spent
- Pisco Elqui: travel to the heart of Chile’s stargazing valley
- 21 best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
- Torres Del Paine W Trek: a complete guide for first-timers
- Patagonia itinerary and travel guide (includes both Argentine and Chilean parts of Patagonia)
Have you visited Santiago before? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.
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