Location: Santiago
Top Things to do in Santiago
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Top 10 Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region
Santiago is one of those metropolitan joys where the more you look, the more you find. Funky cafes and dance clubs dot Bellavista, Forest Park art collections range from pre-Columbian to contemporary, and architecture runs the gamut from the 16th-century San Francisco Church to mirrored office towers. Shop with the locals at Mall Panora¡mico and give your palate meals to remember with hearty Chilean fare.
Restaurants in Santiago
1. Vina Santa Carolina
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 543 reviews
Enjoy the excellent wines and delightful atmosphere of one of Chile’s most prestigious traditional wineries. An engaging guided tour of our facilities, including the park, colonial manor house, old winery, and the large cellar built using the “cal y canto”—limestone and eggshell—technique in the 1880s. During the tour you will taste 3 wines, the experience ends in our new shop.
Reviewed By progresodave - Progreso, Mexico
Having lived 2 hours from Napa for many years, we've been to a lot of wineries. This tour has a completely different focus: it's not a tour of production facilities as much as the best class I've ever had in how to really taste, select and enjoy wine. We took the premium tour that includes higher-end wines, with the time to sit down afterwards, enjoy two wines with paired appetizers, and ask questions of our expert guide. You WILL see the beautiful cellar which has withstood major earthquakes. A couple of hours beyond expectations.
2. Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,321 reviews
Reviewed By nickd18 - Calgary, Canada
when we visit the main church in a capital city we expect it to have great art, wonderful sightlines, an altar complete with paintings and sculptures, large yet intricate stained glass pieces, murals and frescos on the interior ceiling or dome and a massive pipe organ. We expect this but some churches are just more awe -inspring than others. This cathedral has everything and more. Beautiful side chapels, carved pulpit and an open an airy feeling because of the interior height. Well worth the visit
3. Casa Museo La Chascona
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,382 reviews
Tour the eclectic architecture of this home which served as the romantic hideaway for famed poet Pablo Neruda and his wife Matilde, as portrayed in the 1995 film "Il Postino."
Reviewed By kanemochi - Seattle, United States
This is a fabulous museum paying tribute to the great Nobel Prize poet Pablo Neruda. The museum is literally the house Neruda built and lived in with his wife Matilde Urrutia in Santiago. Please note you are not allowed to take any photographs inside the house. You’re free to take as many photographs outside the house, however. You’re given an audio guide which explains the different parts of the house. This was the most underrated site I visited in Santiago. I would recommend this museum as a must visit for anyone who has even a slight interest in literature. Even those who are not interested in literature will appreciate this museum as a great tribute to one of Chile’s greatest sons.
4. San Francisco Church
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 991 reviews
The immense red walls and vast great room leave visitors in awe as this 16th centruy structure is Santiago's oldest building.
Reviewed By WImom - Fond du Lac, United States
Spent about 20 minutes here. Took the metro University of Chile to here and walked a short distance. Free entry. The first stone was laid here in 1586 making it Santiago's oldest surviving colonial building. There is an attached colonial-art museum for a fee.
5. Teatro Municipal de Santiago
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 621 reviews
Reviewed By frankb102
Santiago is a wonderful city. Terrific restaurants and many wonderful sights to see but the night we went to the ballet was one I will never forget. The theater is magnificent, reminiscent of the Paris Opers House. We had lovely seats and were shocked by how inexpensive they were. I have seen ballet performances all around the world but their production of Raymonda was breathtaking. The costumes and sets were lavish. The company was one of the finest I’ve ever seen. Go!
6. Biblioteca Nacional (National Library)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 614 reviews
Reviewed By juliaandbrad
We stayed across the street from this beautiful building and took a walk over to see inside. It was well worth the visit if you love architecture and books, or antiquarian books. It is free, and has beautiful marble staircases, high ceilings, old wooden bookcases, some with glass doors, and a beautiful collection of old books donated to the library. Give yourself about an hour or more and just walk around all the floors you can access. It is still used as a reference library, and probably very good for genealogy.
7. Iglesia de La Merced
8. Museo Interactivo Mirador
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,142 reviews
Museo Interactivo Mirador is a huge interactive science museum with more than 350 exhibits and other type of educational activities for children and young adults. It also has a playground outside..
9. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,856 reviews
The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino) in Santiago, Chile is a jewel among the world's museums and a highlight to any trip to Chile. Widely regarded as one of the best museums in Latin America, this unique establishment houses an impressive collection of artifacts from ancient Central and South America, which underscores the rich cultural diversity and artistic splendor of the Pre-Columbian Americas.
Reviewed By SophiaK - Athens, Greece
An ultra modern, beautiful museum with the most fascinating display of Chilean treasures, and not only. The amazing exhibits include pottery, sculpture, jewelry and textiles from the Chilean territory as well as from central America. We followed the free English tour (which was excellent) for about half hour and then we wondered through the floors on our own. Make sure you don’t miss the room with the textiles, which is part of the permanent exhibition. It is a room on the first floor, usually dark with revolving doors in order to preserve the artworks. Truly amazing.
10. Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,112 reviews
The Museum of Memory and Human Rights seeks to draw attention to human rights violations committed by the Chilean state between 1973 and 1990. Its mission is to allow dignity for victims and their families, stimulate reflection and debate and to promote respect and tolerance in order that these events never happen again. It is a Bicentennial project, inaugurated on January 2010, by then President Bachelet. Its purpose is to promote educational initiatives that enhance knowledge and consideration. Its location, on Matucana Street, is also part of an ongoing effort to promote the cultural circuit of Santiago's West Side. Through objects, documents and archives presented in different settings and formats, as well as a innovative sight and sound presentation, it is possible to learn part of this history: the military coup, the repression that took place in the following years, the resistance movement, exile, international solidarity, reparation policies.
Reviewed By yheisler - Toronto, Canada
This is a sobering look at the atrocities committed in Chile under the Pinochet Regime, and a must-see for visitors to Santiago. The museum itself is beautiful and well laid-out, and the exhibits inside are easy to follow and really reveal a lot of details about the darker history of Chile.
