Discover Santiago de Chile

Santiago de Chile combines the historic heritage of Chile’s capital with museums and distinctive views of the city and the Andes. In the centre, history and pre-Columbian art take centre stage; elsewhere, viewpoints offer panoramas, and Parque Metropolitano can be reached in different ways. This lets you plan your trip around whether you want to focus on discovering culture or include scenery and outdoor activities.

Historic Centre and Pre-Columbian Art

The historic centre preserves the capital’s founding and republican heritage. Plaza de Armas is at its heart. One block away, on the corner of Bandera and Compañía streets, is the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. Its collection includes more than 11,000 pre-Columbian and ethnographic objects from across the Americas, offering a broad view of the continent’s cultural diversity.

The museum currently presents three permanent exhibitions: “Pre-Columbian America in Art”, “Textile Gallery” and “Chile Before Chile”. Even their titles point to different areas of focus: art from pre-Columbian America, textiles, and the history of Chile before Chile. If you are interested in a particular subject, you can bear these themes in mind when planning your museum visit.

Metro stations are also useful for finding your way around the centre: the Metro connects key sights in the historic centre via Plaza de Armas on lines 5 and 3, Universidad de Chile on lines 1 and 3, and Bellas Artes on line 5. If you are planning to spend several days in the city, you can use these three stations as reference points for exploring the historic centre.

Art and Architecture in Santiago

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes presents the permanent exhibition “145 años. Historias de una Colección”, featuring more than 300 works by over 250 artists. The museum’s institutional collection comprises more than 6,000 works. These two figures give an idea of the many layers to Santiago’s engagement with visual art: the exhibition focuses on a selection, while the collection extends far beyond it.

The museum is housed in the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The palace was inaugurated in 1910 as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Chile’s independence. A visit to the museum can therefore also include a look at the building’s architecture and history, while keeping the two perspectives distinct: the art collection and the occasion of the inauguration tell different stories about the Chilean capital.

Another setting for art and culture is the Barrio Arte alliance. It brings together the Museo de Artes Visuales (MAVI), the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC) and the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM) in the Parque Forestal–Lastarria area of the commune of Santiago. If you would like to include several cultural venues in your trip, this alliance can help guide your choice. The institutions mentioned remain independent destinations, each with its own focus.

City Views and Routes in Parque Metropolitano

For a change of pace from a museum visit and a view across the city, head to the viewpoints in the summit area of Cerro San Cristóbal: from there, the panoramic view stretches across Santiago to the Andes. It offers a different perspective on the capital from the one you get while exploring Plaza de Armas and the historic centre.

Parque Metropolitano can be reached via hiking and cycling trails, a scenic cable car ride, and the historic funicular. These options can shape your plans for the day: depending on your interests, you can choose trails, a ride, or a combination of both. When choosing a holiday rental, you can also keep your preferred focus in mind—for example, spending more time at museums and in the historic centre, or enjoying the facilities at Parque Metropolitano.

If you would like to explore pages for other places in addition to Santiago: Buín, El Canelo, El Monte.

For the broader travel overview: Metropolitan Region.