ON THE FUNICULAR OR ON FOOT
A great way to get a bird’s-eye view of Santiago is to head for the green funicular on San Cristóbal Hill. The funicular cars, built in 1925, carry passengers up a steep track that rises hundreds of feet above the Bellavista neighborhood.
At the disembarkation point, you’ll find hiking trails, food kiosks, a chapel, a statue of the Virgin Mary and signs that admonish visitors to keep quiet. Tickets cost $3 per person on weekdays; $4.50 per person on weekends.
If you’re feeling energetic, you can rent a mountain bike from La Bicicleta Verde (labicicleta verde.com) and ride a looping road that will lead you from Bellavista up to the Virgin Mary. You can also hop off and hit some trails in between. Rates are $10 for four hours, $18 for a full day.
San Cristóbal Hill is part of the sprawling Santiago Metropolitan Park, which includes two outdoor swimming pools, a free Japanese garden, the 12-acre National Zoo, with birds and animals native to the 2,653-mile-long country, and playgrounds that draw lots of families. Zoo admission is about $6 for adults and $3 for children.
While strolling in the park, be adventurous and grab a delicious mote con huesillo, a traditional summer drink sold at vendor carts for less than $2. It’s usually made from dried peaches, cooked in sugar, water and cinnamon and mixed with freshly cooked husked wheat, or mote. It’s sometimes called South America’s answer to bubble tea.
Forestal Park is an easy walk less than eight blocks south on bustling Calle Pío Nono. The treelined park runs about six blocks along the Mapocho River in what was once the heart of downtown Santiago.
The park, with fountains, statues and playgrounds, is popular with joggers, cyclists, families and picnickers. When I ambled through it recently, I stopped to listen to a classical guitarist.
The National Museum of Fine Arts is about in the center of Forestal Park off Calle José Miguel de la Barra. The museum, housed in a 1910 Beaux Arts structure, is known for its lovely glass-enclosed ceiling and its collection of works by Chilean and South American artists.
Don’t miss the portraits of Chile’s George Washington, Bernardo O’Higgins, whose father was born in County Sligo, Ireland. Admission is free.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is at the rear of the same building. It has more than 600 paintings, sculptures and watercolors as well as 1,000 engravings, most of which were created by Chilean artists. Admission is free.
Also worth a visit is the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, which is near the Plaza de Armas, eight blocks west of Forestal Park. A permanent exhibit tells the stories of indigenous Chileans, including the Chinchorro in the north — who mummified their dead long before the Egyptians — the Mapuche in the south and the Rapa Nui on Easter Island. Admission is $11; free the first Sunday of each month.