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Barrio El Almendral is a neighborhood in the UNESCO World Heritage listed port city of Valparaíso. It contains a couple of plazas, historic buildings, and churches. It’s in the seedier part of town and away from the touristy parts.
Plaza Victoria
On the west end you will find Plaza Victoria. It’s a lively plaza with lots of children running around and a few street vendors. The church on the plaza is the Cathedral of Valparaíso (Catedral de Valparaíso), a Gothic building constructed between 1910 and 1950.
On the southwest corner of the plaza are two colorful buildings. One of them is the Naval Club (Club Naval), an officer’s club formed in 1885. A block west of there on Condell is Lyon Palace (Palacio Lyon). It was built in 1887 and now houses the Natural History Museum of Valparaíso (Museo de Historia Natural de Valparaíso). Entrance is free and it’s open daily except Mondays.
East of Plaza Victoria
To the east of Plaza Victoria, there really isn’t much of interest worth going out of your way for. I walked down Calle Independencia and visited the Church of the Sacred Hearts (Iglesia de los Sagrados Corazones), which was built in 1874, and Parque Italia, which has a monument of the Capitoline Wolf. There are a few street vendors in the park and some benches to relax.
Imperio Theatre
Finally, to the west of Parque Italia on Calle Pedro Montt is the old Imperio Theatre (Teatro Imperio). It opened in 1922 and is a Chilean national heritage site.
