Museum sights in Santiago
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Museo Nacional de Historia Natural
If your kids have a taste for the bizarre, check out the dusty stuffed animals (we’re talking taxidermy, not teddies) in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, where displays look almost as old as the fossils they contain.
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Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende
Picasso, Miró, Tápies and Matta are some of the artistic heavyweights who gave works to the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende. Begun as a populist art initiative during Allende's presidency – and named in his honor – the incredible collection was taken abroad during the dictatorship, where it became a symbol of Chilean resistance. The 2000 works finally found a home in 2006, when the Fundación Allende bought and remodeled this grand old townhouse. The permanent collection sometimes goes on tour and is replaced by temporary exhibitions, and there's a darkened room with an eerie display of Allende's personal effects. Guided tours (email ahead) visit the basement,…
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Museo de Artes Visuales
Exposed concrete, stripped wood and glass are the materials local architect Cristián Undurraga chose for the stunningly simple Museo de Artes Visuales. The contents of the four open-plan galleries are as winsome as the building: top-notch modern engravings, sculptures, paintings and photography form the regularly changing temporary exhibitions. Admission includes the Museo Arqueológico de Santiago (MAS; Santiago Archeological Museum), tucked away on the top floor. The low-lighted room with dark stone walls and floors makes an atmospheric backdrop for a small but quality collection of Diaguita, San Pedro and Molle ceramics, Mapuche jewelry and Easter Island carvings.
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Museo Histórico Nacional
Colonial furniture, weapons, paintings, historical objects and models chart Chile's colonial and republican history at the Museo Histórico Nacional. After a perfunctory nod to pre-Columbian culture, the ground floor covers the conquest and colony. Upstairs goes from independence through Chile's industrial revolution right up to the 1973 military coup but no further – Allende's broken glasses are the chilling final exhibit.
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Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
Exquisite pottery from most major pre-Columbian cultures is the backbone of Santiago's best museum, the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. As well as dozens of intricately molded anthropomorphic vessels, star exhibits include hefty Mayan stone stele and a fascinating Andean textile display. More unusual are the wooden vomit spatulas used by Amazonian shamans before taking psychoactive powders. At the time of writing, the museum was closed while it was undergoing a major expansion; it is set to reopen in 2013. Check the museum's website for updates.
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Museo Colonial de San Francisco
Alongside Iglesia de San Francisco is the Museo Colonial de San Francisco. The dark and dusty rooms contain 17th-century colonial ecclesiastical art, as well as a creepy collection of whips and scourges used for penitential self-flagellation. A small room is rather randomly dedicated to poet Gabriela Mistral and includes correspondence and a replica of her Nobel medal. What the staff are most proud of, however, is their pet chicken, Martín, who patrols the palm- and creeper-filled courtyard.
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Museo de Ciencia y Tecnología
In the middle of Parque Quinta Normal there's an artificial lagoon where you can rent rowboats. Beyond the lagoon is the Museo de Ciencia y Tecnología, which has interactive exhibits on astronomy, geology and other aspects of science and technology.
Other museums in the park include the Museo Infantil and the open-air Parque Museo Ferroviario, which displays lovingly maintained steam locomotives.
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Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
Temporary exhibitions showcasing contemporary photography, design, sculpture, installations and web art are often held at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, also located inside the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Its pristine galleries are the result of extensive restoration work to reverse fire and earthquake damage. Twentieth century Chilean painting forms the bulk of the permanent collection.
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Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
In the park's center is the stately neoclassical Palacio de Bellas Artes, built as part of Chile's centenary celebrations in 1910. Two of Santiago's art museums, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, share the premises. The National Museum of Fine Art features an excellent permanent collection of Chilean art; look out for works by Luis Vargas Rosas, erstwhile director of the museum and a member of the Abstraction Creation group, along with fellow Chilean Roberto Matta, whose work is also well represented.
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Museo Arqueológico de Santiago
Admission to the Museo de Artes Visuales includes the Museo Arqueológico de Santiago, tucked away on the top floor. The low-lighted room with dark stone walls and floors makes an atmospheric backdrop for a small but quality collection of Diaguita, San Pedro and Molle ceramics, Mapuche jewelry and Easter Island carvings.
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Museo de la Moda
This slick, privately operated fashion museum comprises a vast and exquisite permanent collection of Western clothing – 20th-century designers are particularly well-represented. Star attractions include John Lennon's jacket from 1966, the 'cone bra' Jean Paul Gaultier designed for Madonna, and an evening gown donned by Lady Diana in 1981 (but note that only a fraction of items from the 10,000-piece collection are on display at any given time.) Lighthearted temporary exhibits have ranged from a Michael Jackson tribute to a 'Back to the 80s' show to a fútbol-themed exhibit featuring athletic wear from the World Cup held in Chile in 1962. The airy on-site cafe is a…
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Museo La Merced
When you need a breather from the Centro’s busy streets, drop by the Museo La Merced. Most people skip the main collection (it documents the history of the Merced religious order in Chile) in favor of the Easter Island collection, which includes a Rongorongo tablet, and the shady, plant-filled courtyard.
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Parque de las Esculturas
On the north side of the Río Mapocho lies a rare triumph in city landscaping: the Parque de las Esculturas, a green stretch along the river decorated with sculptures by noted Chilean artists. Trees muffle the sounds of the Costner Norte freeway, which runs through a tunnel beneath the park.
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Museo del Huaso
Full-size replicas of rural buildings appear in the park's El Pueblito, along with a clutch of cheap restaurants. The Museo del Huaso honors Chile's cowboys and has an impressive poncho and hat collection.
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Palacio de Bellas Artes
In Parque Forestal’s center is the stately neoclassical Palacio de Bellas Artes, built as part of Chile’s centenary celebrations in 1910. Two of Santiago’s art museums share the premises.
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Museo del Carmen
The historical and religious Museo Del Carmen is worth a look, especially for its detailed portraits of post-colonial Chile. It's a 45-minute bus ride from the center.
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Museo de Santiago
The sweetly amateurish Museo de Santiago has maps, scale models and dynamic pint-sized dioramas illustrating highlights of Santiago’s history.
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Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos
Opened in 2010, this brand-new museum isn't for the faint of heart: the exhibits expose the terrifying human rights violations and large-scale 'disappearances' that took place under Chile's military government between the years of 1973 and 1990. There's no way around it – learning about the 40,000 victims subjected to torture and execution is positively chilling – but a visit to this carefully curated museum helps to contextualize Chile's tumultuous recent history.
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Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Espacio Quinta Normal
This branch of the downtown Museo de Arte Contemporáneo specializes in offbeat and experimental exhibitions. It's housed in the Palacio Versailles, declared a national monument in 2004.
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