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Just west of Barrio Brasil in Santiago lies Barrio Yungay. I walked through the area after exploring Barrio Brasil. It seems to be much less explored than Barrio Brasil but has some architectural gems.
You can immediately feel a change from Barrio Brasil. It seems to be the sketchier cousin of Barrio Brasil, so be a bit more alert here.
Calle Compañía de Jesús
Coming from Barrio Brasil, I walked down Calle Compañia de Jesús to enter Barrio Yungay. There are several buildings covered in graffiti and street art. A few are good but for the most part the work isn’t nearly as creative as in other areas of the city.
One building of note is the Peluquería Francesa, an old French hairdresser. It’s now Boulevard Lavaud, a restaurant.
Cités
About six blocks from Avenida Cumming on Compañia de Jesús are three incredible cités that seem extremely out of place in such an area. They were all constructed in the first half of the 20th century and are a close-knit block of beautiful homes. Some of the homes are run down and are undergoing restoration while others have already been restored.
Pasaje Hurtado Rodríguez
The first cité you will encounter is Pasaje Hurtado Rodríguez, built in 1926.
Pasaje Lucrecia Valdés
The next cité is Pasaje Lucrecia Valdés, built in 1924. It’s the least restored cité of the three, but still has some impressive homes.
Pasaje Adriana Cousiño
My favorite and the most beautiful cité is the third one, Pasaje Adriana Cousiño, built in 1937. It’s the only one of the three that is pedestrian only. The middle of the entire street is full of lush greenery and palm trees, and on each side are homes that have had amazing restorations done.
Plaza Yungay
Next, I walked back down Compañia de Jesús to Libertad and turned left. From there, it was a couple blocks to Plaza Yungay, the heart of the barrio. In the middle of the square is a monument to the Roto Chileno, the anonymous hero of the Battle of Yungay in 1839. About safety – there are certain times I’ve felt I shouldn’t be in an area, and this was one of them. I was extra careful here.
The most visible building on the square is the Church of San Saturnino (Iglesia de San Saturnino), built in 1844. It is closed for restoration for damage that occurred during the 2010 earthquake. Ironically, Saint Saturninus is Santiago’s patron saint for protection from earthquakes.
Ignacio Domeyko House
A couple blocks from Plaza Yungay, down Calle Cueto is the Ignacio Domeyko House (Casa Ignacio Domeyko). It’s a national monument built in 1848 by Ignacy Domeyko (1802-1889), a Polish geologist and naturalized Chilean.
Calle Catedral
At the next block, Catedral, I made a left and started walking toward the metro. There were two buildings of note along the way. The first was the Teachers College (Colegio de Profesores), and the second the Capuchin Church (Iglesia de los Capuchinos), built in 1861. Once I got to the corner with Avenida Cumming, I jumped on the metro and headed home for the day.
