Santiago Travel Guide

Cerro San Cristobal is among Santiago's highest hills, about 880 m, in the Metropolitan Park - a great viewpoint over Santiago. Ride the historic funicular or cable car up; the summit has a 14 m white Immaculate Conception statue overlooking the city. On clear, haze-free days the Andes snow peaks form a backdrop. The hill also has a botanical garden, pool and zoo. A must-see viewpoint.

Plaza de Armas is the heart and historical origin of Santiago, founded in 1541, for five centuries the city's political, religious and social center. Around it stand solemn colonial and Neoclassical buildings - the Metropolitan Cathedral, Central Post Office, National History Museum (old Royal Court) and Town Hall. The square is green with fountains and sculptures, centered by the equestrian statue of founder Valdivia. Lively with street performers, chess players, pigeons and people - vivid daily life. The core of Santiago's historic center.

Cerro Santa Lucia is a 69-metre hill in the heart of Santiago, where Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia founded the city in 1541. Remodelled in 1866 by architect Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna, the hill became a European-style park of neoclassical terraces, fountains, statues and old cannons. Winding stone paths climb about 30 minutes to the hilltop castle platform, opening 360-degree views over the Avenida O'Higgins corridor, red rooftops and the snowy wall of the Andes. At dusk the peaks glow gold and red — the city's favourite free viewpoint — while mornings belong to joggers and local dancers.

The Iglesia de San Francisco stands in Santiago, Veraguas province—a stone church of strong colonial and popular-faith character, deeply revered by the local community. Its façade is plain yet dignified; the interior is noted for wooden vaulting and displays of saints. It is the hub of pilgrimage and festivals for surrounding villages. Santiago, where the church sits, is a transport crossroads between Panama City and the Chiriquí highlands, a natural rest stop where travelers feel authentic inland Panamanian religious culture. During festivals, banners, bands and faithful converge in fervor—one of the most genuine glimpses of Panamanian folk faith.

The Palacio de la Moneda is the Chilean presidential palace and a world-class neoclassical building in central Santiago, designed by Italian architect Joaquín Toesca in the late 18th century with a solemn, symmetrical stone façade. The daily noon guard-changing ceremony on the plaza is a popular spectacle, and the palace opens for cultural exhibitions and guided tours. A pivotal site in Chile's modern history in 1973, today it symbolises democracy and culture; its gardens and Plaza de la Ciudadanía make a dignified downtown walk.Garden fountains soften the solemn palace walls with a gentle note.

Cerro Santa Lucía is a historic hill in central Santiago where the city's founder Valdivia fortified himself in 1541. Castle remnants, fountains, gardens and lookouts cover the hill; the summit views Plaza de Armas and the Andes — the city's most historic viewpoint.