Other sights in Santiago
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Parque por la Paz
During Chile’s last dictatorship some 4500 political prisoners were tortured and 266 were executed at Villa Grimaldi by the now-disbanded DINA (National Intelligence Directorate). The compound was razed to conceal evidence in the last days of Pinochet’s dictatorship, but since the return of democracy it has been turned into a powerful memorial park known as Parque por la Paz. Each element of the park symbolizes one aspect of the atrocities that went on there and visits here are fascinating but harrowing – be sensitive about taking pictures as other visitors may be former detainees or family members. Take the yellow bus D09 (you need a Bip! card) from right outside t…
reviewed
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Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda
Underground art takes on a new meaning in Santiago’s newest cultural space: the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda is beneath Plaza de la Ciudadanía. A glass-slab roof floods the vaultlike space with natural light, and ramps wind down through the central atrium past the Cineteca Nacional, a state-run art-house movie theater, to two large temporary exhibition spaces. The uppermost level contains a fair-trade crafts shop, a café and a gallery celebrating Chilean folk singer, artist and activist Violeta Parra.
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A
Plaza de Armas
Since the city’s founding in 1541, the Plaza de Armas has been its symbolic heart. In colonial times a gallows was the square’s grisly centerpiece; today it’s a fountain celebrating libertador (liberator) Simón Bolívar, shaded by more than a hundred Chilean palm trees. Parallel pedestrian precincts Paseo Ahumada and Paseo Estado disgorge scores of strolling Santiaguinos onto the square on weekends and sunny weekday afternoons: clowns, helium-balloon sellers and snack stands keep them entertained.
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Museo de la Moda
The slick set-up comprises an exquisite permanent collection of western clothing – 20th-century designers are particularly well represented – and, more unusually, tennis wear. From Escuela Militar metro, take bus 305 from the west side of Américo Vespucio (you need a Bip! card) and get off at the intersection with Av Vitacura.
reviewed
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Patio Bellavista
Upmarket eateries and posh souvenir shops ranged around a huge courtyard make up Patio Bellavista, a clear attempt by developers to spruce up the barrio’s tattered charm. True, it’s very ‘for export,’ but they’ve kept things classy enough to make it worth a wander.
reviewed
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Museo Artequín
Education and entertainment also come together at the Museo Artequín, a museum of copies of famous artworks hung at kiddy height in a striking cast iron and glass structure used as Chile’s pavilion in the 1889 Paris Exhibition (think Eiffel Tower).
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Parque Quinta Normal
Strolls, picnics, pedal-boating, soccer kickabouts and soapbox rants are all popular activities at the 40-hectare Parque Quinta Normal, west of Barrio Brasil. Several museums are also here, though sadly it’s a question of quantity over quality.
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Zoológico Nacional
The dinky Zoológico Nacional houses an aging bunch of neglected animals. It is, however, probably the only place in Chile where you are assured a glimpse of the dinky pudú deer, Chile’s national animal.
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B
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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