Valparaíso Travel Guide

La Sebastiana is one of the three houses of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, perched on a hillside in Valparaíso with quirky windows overlooking the port and Pacific.

Plaza Sotomayor is Valparaiso's grandest public square, facing the busy waterfront near the port. Its centerpiece is the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique, honoring the sailors who died in the 1879 naval battle during the War of the Pacific and crowned by an allegorical figure of glory. The square is framed by the imposing navy headquarters, the Edificio de la Armada, and historic port buildings painted in the city's signature patchwork of colors. From here you can wander down to the piers, catch a boat tour of the bay, or ride the nearby Ascensor Artilleria funicular up into the hills.

Cerro Alegre, together with neighbouring Cerro Concepción, forms the painted hillsides of Valparaíso, Chile's historic port. Corrugated-iron houses in every colour cling to steep stairways, and murals cover nearly every wall — the hillside works like an open-air gallery. Nearby La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's last home, still holds his books and a telescope for watching the bay. The century-old funicular ascensores still rattle up the slope, the cheapest and most nostalgic way to climb. Spend half a day getting lost in the lanes, then reach a mirador at sunset as the harbour lights flicker on below.

Cerro Concepción is the most colourful quarter of Valparaíso, full of sea views, painted houses, murals and funiculars, offering a distinctly bohemian outlook over the harbour.