Blogs from Santiago, Santiago Region, Chile, South America

We arrived in Santiago, frankly, expecting to see a very dirty city from what we have heard about the pollution, but we were very pleased and surprised by how clean and modern it was. We got straight off the bus, on to the tube which was clean and efficient, straight into the centre and checked into our hostel in about 20mins. We decided to start our stay with a free walking tour of the city, it was really imformative and took us passed a lot of important builings and sites (Main square, cathedral which has been rebuilt 5 times over the years due to earthquakes, congress which is currently closed due to earthquake damage, judicial court currently being repaired due to earthquake damage, government house which was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by Pinochets bombers, santiago ... read more

Séance de rattrapage pour le 2ème et dernier jour dans la capitale chilienne. Les musées sont fermés le lundi ici aussi, donc ce sera en extérieur et cela tombe bien car il fait une magnifique journée automnale de 25 degrés. C’est d’ailleurs dans le quartier résidentiel de Vitacura, dans une banlieue ‘chic’ de Santiago où nous accueille un copain de Pipou que pour la première fois je remarque l’automne et ses couleurs jaunâtres et rougeâtres. Bref, Eric nous a conseillé d’aller faire un tour vers Barrio Italia, quartier d’antiquaires (et rénovation de meubles), et de restos, petites boutiques entre deux garages, un quartier en devenir, bientôt le Soho Parlermo chilien ? et bientôt dans tous les guides touristiques ! Ceci méritait une pause-déjeuner en terrasse. Puis vadrouillage dans les rues avec des bonnes surprises architecturales (un ... read more

Hi all, Finally managed to get access back to the world wide web so a few posts to describe our Journey in Santiago, our short but worthwhile visit to Valparaiso, and finally our stay in the Atacama desert. Santiago had been described to us as a city where you'd only need to spend a day but our experience was totally different. We used tours4tips for a couple of walks through the city and the off the beaten track nature of them made it a special experience. We discovered a city of contrast where although prawned to repetitive hearthquakes throughout its history, the list of monuments and buildings to see is endless; some of the city's architecture has been inspired by other cities and so you can find London, New York or Paris street right the middle ... read more

Having just arrived in MVD, I was already sent even further away from home on a short business trip – 1 night in yet another hotel bed, a nice one though - to meet our new colleagues in... Santiago, which is the capital of Chile (520 m above sea level) and was founded in 1541. The city is shaped by lots of hills around the city and the imposing Andes mountains which can be seen from most points in the city. Santiago's economic growth is obvious all over the place, it is a modern and booming metropolis. The city is home to a lot of restaurants, shopping centers, theaters, and even has a subway. The rising skyline, including the tallest building in Latin America, the Gran Torre Santiago is very impressive. I felt home in an ... read more