The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino), in the historic city center of Santiago, opened in 1981. The collection is among the best pre-Columbian art in the world and is definitely worth visiting.
Plaza de Armas is the heart of historic Santiago and one of the best places to understand the history of the city. The plaza is a huge open square with a fountain in the center, filled with trees and benches, and surrounded by some very important historic buildings.
Inland from La Serena is one of the most beautiful valleys in Chile, the Elqui Valley (Valle del Elqui). There are several small towns scattered throughout the valley that I wanted to visit, along with some astronomical observatories.
La Serena is a peaceful city on the Chilean coast, about six hours drive north of Santiago. It’s free of high-rises and traffic, small and compact, and cheap compared to Santiago. In the city, there’s not much left from the colonial days, but enough things to see to keep someone occupied for more than half a day.
The main road through the historic city center of Santiago is called Alameda. Sort of. The official name is Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, but that’s a mouthful, so locals call it Alameda.
One of the areas I had to walk a lot through in Santiago is Parque Forestal. There are a few decent things to see around the boundaries of the park.
I thought it would be a good idea to check out the best and most well-known of the wine producing areas in Chile, the Colchagua Valley. Chile has an excellent wine industry, and Chilean wines have been getting noticed more and more the past few years.
One of my must-sees for my time in Chile was Isla Negra, the favorite home of Nobel Laureate poet Pablo Neruda. Of his three houses, the others being La Chascona in Santiago and La Sebastiana in Valparaíso, Isla Negra is the best-preserved and the most interesting. It’s definitely worth the trip from Santiago.
My Chilean friends all told me to go to Viña del Mar. My expat friends told me to avoid it. Because of the difference of opinion, I decided to check it out for myself.
If there is one must-see in UNESCO World Heritage listed port city of Valparaíso, it’s La Sebastiana. La Sebastiana is one of three homes of Chilean Nobel Laureate poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973). It was built on the top of one of Valpo’s hills in a central location so he could see the entire bay.