What to do in Santiago, Chile, on a weekend – 10/26/2023 – Tourism

Because it’s the gateway to some of the world’s most incredible natural wonders—Patagonia, the Atacama Desert, Easter Island—many travelers just pass through Santiago, Chile’s capital.

But even though the city may not be as impressive as Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires, those who experience it beyond the surface will find a lot of music, art and nightlife, always with the impressive landscape of the Andes in the background.

50 years after the US-backed coup d’état that led to the 17-year dictatorial rule of General Augusto Pinochet, divisions still run deep. So much so that just four years ago, Chile exploded into cathartic and sometimes violent protests, as hundreds of thousands of Chileans protested against social inequalities. The scars are there for all to see. But if you’ve made it this far, you should give it a chance to be impressed by Santiago.

ITINERARY – 36 hours in Santiago

Friday

7:30 pm | Follow the rhythm

To the uninitiated, cueca, which was declared Chile’s national dance by the Pinochet regime in 1979, may look like a jumble of scarves and heels. Learn the basics at Casa de la Cueca, a lively dance hall at the top of a narrow staircase in the up-and-coming Matta Sur neighborhood. On Fridays, it offers dance classes (3,000 Chilean pesos, about R$16) at the sound of live local musicians. María Esther Zamora and her husband, Pepe Fuentes, opened the space in 1996, decorating it with flags and photographs of the city. Unfortunately, Fuentes passed away in 2020 and the pandemic almost forced the place to close, but the dance classes and lively lunches on the first Sunday of each month (22,000 pesos, book in advance) show that Casa de la Cueca is stronger than ever. that never.

9pm | Experience reinvented classics

Pulpería Santa Elvira, a few blocks to the south, has only seen its reputation grow since opening in 2018. The place has a cozy atmosphere, with family photos on the walls and jars of preserves, peppers and spices scattered around the place. On summer evenings you can sit outside on a patio. Chef Javier Avilés’ small, frequently changing menu reinvents seasonal Chilean classics, including a creative bread basket that plays on “la once,” a traditional afternoon meal. Other dishes play with textures, like pumpkin puree served in its hard shell. Three dishes and a glass of local wine cost around 35,000 pesos (R$190) per person. Make a reservation in advance via WhatsApp or the website.

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Saturday

10am | Trace the scars of a blow

In a striking, shipping container-like building, the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos is dark but essential. The museum takes visitors through Chile’s dictatorship, from Pinochet’s coup d’état in 1973, which divided the country, until the return to democracy in 1990. A wall displaying the faces of more than 3,000 men, women and missing or forcibly executed children, best seen from the second floor, is chilling. The museum takes about an hour to visit and is free, although voluntary donations are encouraged if you choose to take an audio guide tour (available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese). There is also a free and intuitive smartphone app in Spanish or English. To schedule a guided tour for up to 15 people, email the museum in advance and check the schedule of talks and events.

11:30 am | Eat and get a haircut

Leaving the museum, follow Compañia de Jesús, a colorful street that crosses Barrio Yungay, a neighborhood of low buildings and lots of personality. In 2022, leftist and millennial president Gabriel Boric and his partner, Irina Karamanos, escaped the ordinary and chose the neighborhood as their new home, instead of a luxurious residence in the center. There, it’s worth appreciating the politically charged murals scattered around the historic buildings and visiting the 155-year-old Peluquería Francesa restaurant, where you can eat well and, strangely, get a haircut. Look for Pasaje Adriana Cousiño, a pretty walkway with checkered sidewalks and palm trees, where you’ll also find Tetería Cleopatra, a teahouse with cats. If you prefer coffee without cats, then an Americano and an alfajor at Café Cité, which has stylish metal furniture in a renovated historic building, will set you back 4,500 pesos (R$64).

1pm | Root for a singing waiter

Take the subway to Franklin, a budding shopping district full of surprises. There, at the Víctor Manuel Persian flea market, you’ll find El Franchute del Barrio, a French-inspired restaurant serving onion soup, duck à l’orange, tagines and creme brûlée. Every inch of the walls is adorned with art and photography, and rays of light cross the beams that support the roof. Every now and then, the restaurant falls into an impressive silence. That’s when Carlos Díaz, a 31-year-old baritone turned waiter, bursts into song. He orders the fresh oysters, which are usually not on the blackboard menu that waiters pass between tables. Just arrive and put your name on the waiting list and listen to the cast of musicians that stop by — it’s worth the wait. The three-course lunch menu, without drinks, costs 17,000 pesos (R$240).

2pm | Get lost in a market

After lunch, explore the Víctor Manuel Persian flea market, a former leather factory that is one of the few spaces where Santiaguinos from different socioeconomic backgrounds mingle. Start at Galería La Curtiembre, an art gallery where you can pick up stylized maps of the market, before venturing through the incense-scented alleys of more than 1,200 stalls. Among the market’s characters are Carlos Escobar, who wears welding glasses and sells old cameras, and collector Roberto Ávila, who has maps and monographs of Chile and other places — some from the 19th century. Marvel at Bastián’s photography Stay informed about the social unrest in 2019 and pick up colorful prints at the gallery of muralist Alejandro “El Mono” González (you can find him). For an after-lunch coffee, Kilig, next to the El Mono stall, has the best coffee on the market.

3:30 pm | Relax on a patio

A few blocks east is Factoría Franklin, a new arts and culture space built in former pharmaceutical labs and accessed through a discreet warehouse door. You’ll enter a courtyard with stalls and workshops offering kombucha, homemade beer and gin from Destilados Quintal infused with native botanicals (a gin and tonic costs 5,500 pesos, or R$30). Upstairs are the tiled workspaces of Colombian coffee roaster Andariego and the preserves and sauces kitchen at Bymaria. In the alley at the bottom is the AFA Galería, a modern art gallery, and a large warehouse, which hosts art fairs and sales. The entire space is open daily, but is livelier on weekends.

7:30 pm | Try a full

When it comes to national cuisine, a sausage drowned in mayonnaise, tomato and mashed avocado may not impress you. Still, you should try a full one. As the story goes, in the 1920s, a young Chilean named Eduardo Bahamondes returned to Santiago from the United States with a simple hot dog, igniting passions by adding toppings and quickly establishing a new national obsession. At El Portal Ex Bahamondes, the all-mirrored diner he opened in 1928 in Santiago, on the Plaza de Armas, the most traditional combination is an Italian vienesa (named for the avocado-mayonnaise-tomato layers that resemble the colors of the Italian flag), but you can also opt for a chacarero: tomato, green beans, green pepper and mayonnaise. A full and a pint of Escudo beer cost 3,000 pesos (R$16) each.

8:30 pm | Drink in an artsy bar

Stroll from Plaza de Armas to Lastarria, one of Santiago’s liveliest areas. Start at El Bajo, a bar beneath GAM, a distinctive arts center named in honor of Chile’s first Nobel laureate, poet and educator Gabriela Mistral. After the presidential palace was bombed during the coup, the military junta ruled Chile from the tower above El Bajo until 1981. Order two pisco sours: a Peruvian (with egg white and lemon) and a Chilean (without egg, with lemon), for 6,500 pesos (R$ 35) each. Then head to Café Escondido, a square with tables under a gnarled fig tree. In his youth, President Salvador Allende lived next door. Order a pitcher of borgoña, a strawberry-infused version of sangria, for 12,500 pesos (R$67) and relax as roving musicians play Chilean classics.

11:30 pm | Get on the dance floor

Take an Uber downtown to Blondie, an LGBTQ nightclub in a former movie theater that caters to a wide range of ages and tastes. Enter through a neon-lit shopping arcade, pay your entrance fee of 10,000 pesos (R$55) and descend a series of Escherian stairs, with arcades on the landings, to the dance floor. The room has a stage in the middle, disco balls, and a giant ceiling fan slowly rotating beneath glowing cubes. Drinks cost around 4,000 (R$22) 8,000 pesos (R$44). There is also a small but intense techno room upstairs, through an equally small door. If that’s not your style, head down the Mapocho River, which is now just a trickle of mud, to the lively Bellavista neighborhood, where pulsing bass competes with the stridency of cumbia. There, Salsoteca Maestra Vida (entrance fee 8,000 pesos, R$44) is a good salsa option for the whole night.

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Sunday

10am | Hike a hill in the city center

Ease a headache with a steep climb to Cerro San Cristóbal, a green islet of trees and native plants in the city center. At 10am, the cable car opens, taking you to the top in less than 10 minutes (a daily pick-up and drop-off ticket costs 7,900 pesos, or R$42, and includes the funicular and shuttle buses within Parque Metropolitana, which has an area of 7 thousand square meters). If you prefer to take the one-hour walk, start at the Pedro de Valdivia Norte entrance. As you climb, enjoy panoramic views of the city and mountains, punctuated incongruously by the Gran Torre Santiago, a 298-meter-high building, the tallest in South America. Your reward at the top is a mote con huesillo (about 2,500 pesos, or R$14), a refreshing and sweet juice containing a rehydrated peach and a handful of corn, available at many stalls at Estação Cumbre. To get off, take the funicular on the other side and disembark in Bellavista — just one block from La Chascona, the quirky home of poet Pablo Neruda.