Things to do in Puerto Montt
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Fogón de Cotelé
Reviews are mixed as to whether it’s still the best steak in town, but the experience at this intimate quincho-designed steakhouse with just seven tables surrounding an open hearth is priceless. Watching the owner methodically slow-cook your chosen weight of bife chorizo evokes Picasso in his prime. Just down the road in Pelluco, it can easily be reached by colectivo or buses from the terminal marked Chamiza (CH$300). Reservations are a good idea, especially Thursday through Sunday.
reviewed
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Parque Nacional Alerce Andino
Although lightly visited, the mountainous 40,000-hectare (98,842-acre) Parque Nacional Alerce Andino provides excellent opportunities to hike through rare and protected old-growth alerce forest. Lush evergreen forest ranges from sea level to 900m (2953ft), a thick twisting medley of coigue and ulmo, ferns, climbing vines and dense thickets of quila.
You can camp at a dozen Conaf campgrounds, and backcountry camping is another possibility. Several agencies in Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas arrange hikes and tours of the park. It's well worth the effort, if you have the time!
reviewed
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Av Angelmó Street Stalls
Along busy, diesel-fume-laden Av Angelmó is a dizzying mix of streetside stalls (selling artifacts, heaps of smoked mussels, cochayuyo - edible sea plant - and mysterious trinkets), crafts markets and touristy seafood restaurants with croaking waiters beckoning you to a table. Enjoy the frenzy, but keep on going..
The best quality crafts and food are found at the end of the road at the picturesque fishing port of Angelmó, 3km west of downtown. It's easily reached by frequent local buses and colectivos
reviewed
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Tablón del Ancla
This soccer-fueled, caricature-walled bar-restaurant on prime Plaza de Armas real estate has a great bunless hamburger de lo pobre (hold the eggs), but insanity surrounds the parilla mixta, a mountain of mixed grilled meats served in a flame-contained bucket that feeds you, four friends and your unborn child for CH$18,500. They throw in pisco sours, too, just in case you need something to wash it all down.
reviewed
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El Balcón
This stylish, all-wood urban café is a little too hip for Muerto Montt. Chilax tunes stream overhead as contemporary spins on classic dishes like humitas del mar (corn cooked in tusks with king crab and shrimp) and revolutionary sopaipillas (fried batter bread) with spicy ají and eggless mayonnaise delight the palettes of the artistic and culturally inclined crowd that gathers here.
reviewed
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Sherlock
It doesn’t take much investigation to find out that Sherlock is one of the better places to hang out in town. Based on the fact that Detective Holmes was supposed to have paid a visit to Puerto Montt, this bar-restaurant has a touch more style than the cookie-cutter competition. It has nearly the full gamut of Kunstmann and Austral beers, and downstairs sees live music most nights of the week.
reviewed
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Hole-in-the-Wall Lunch Counters
Heading to Angelmó's plethora of hole-in-the-wall lunch counters is as much of a cultural experience as a culinary one - though it can be pretty touristy in high season. Anything with seafood is your best bet, including curanto (meat, potato and seafood stew). Chilotito Marino stands out from the crowd and Caleta Angelmó is another recommended spot.
reviewed
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Pueblito de Melipulli
This being a regular stopover for tourists and cruise ships, Av Angelmó is wall-to-wall with souvenir stands selling crafts from throughout the country and an amazing amount of stuff (some junk, some decent) from more northerly countries. Try the labyrinthine waterfront market Pueblito de Melipulli, opposite the bus terminal, or the crafts fair at Angelmó.
reviewed
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Museo Juan PaBlo Ii
Puerto Montt’s waterfront Museo Juan Pablo II has displays on natural history, archaeology, the island of Chiloé, maritime history and weapons, religious iconography, German colonization and local urbanism. Check out the gaudy bracelets from singer and ballerina, Tilda Tibau, and the prehistoric radio by Telefunken – our next band name.
reviewed
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OK Corral
A barn of a place serving up hamburgers and sandwiches that are big enough to impress a real Texan, the OK is outfitted in pseudo Old West-style replete with big screen TVs showing ESPN. It's a relaxed place by day that gets crowded, smoky and energetic at night. The bar has a wide choice of drafts and cocktails to help you forget about the decor.
reviewed
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Boule Bar
Old Rolling Stone covers and other musical propaganda dot this multi-roomed bar lit with candles and featuring several tables and a bar rack made from tree bark. The perfect-volume music jumps from, ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ to hip-hop. It’s a good spot to carry on late into the evening with a crowd that appreciates a smart soundtrack.
reviewed
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Balzac
Touch up provincial Chilean cuisine with some French culinary accents and you have Balzac. Order from the expansive (and expensive) wine list and sample congrio in a cream sauce, Caesar salads, baked scallops in parmesan, grilled salmon and beef bourguignon. Appropriate for a place named Balzac, it attracts a swanky crowd.
reviewed
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Chilean Fjords
4 days (Puerto Montt or Puerto Natales)
Explore the dramatic fjords and channels of Chile between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt.
Not LP reviewed
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Di Piazza
For some reason it can be a bit more difficult to find pasta places in Puerto Montt than in other towns. Di Piazza is considered the best pizzeria around (that doesn't say much) and also serves plenty of mix-and-match pasta and sauces. The pastas are filling, but relatively devoid of flavor.
reviewed
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Kalabaza
Stylish in an edge-of-the-civilized-world Puerto Montt type way, Kalabaza is more attractive than most other cafés in town, with sandwiches, Kuntsmann and fixed-price lunches (with lots of vegetarian options). The lunches and cruditos are more than filling.
reviewed
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Fogón del Leñador
The menu at this best steak in town states that all meat takes a minimum of 40 minutes to cook. That says it all, really, and they aren’t exaggerating. Sopaipillas are served with four house-made sauces, all of which are just as tasty on the superior filet.
reviewed
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Kalabaza
A burger-and-pitcher kind of place, but with a touch more style than the ubiquitous trash found up and down Antonio Vargas. They serve the kind of burger that’s great when you’re drunk at 2am, but not necessarily the one you’d want for lunch at noon.
reviewed
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Chilotito Marino
Chilotito Marino is one of Angelmó's hole-in-the-wall lunch counters and stands out from the crowd with such temptations as picorocos (giant barnacles) in herb sauce, served in a small cozy corner overlooking the port.
reviewed
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Casa del Arte Diego Rivera
The upstairs Sala Hardy Wistuba at the Casa del Arte Diego Rivera, a joint Mexican-Chilean project finished in 1964, displays work by local and foreign artists and photographers.
reviewed
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Patagonia Deli
This spot packs ’em in at lunch, when its set menu featuring an appetizer, main, a drink and an espresso is a steal at CH$3600. There are also sandwiches, pasta and a few veggie choices.
reviewed
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Café Central
This café is a smart choice for drinks, snacks and cakes. You can easily feeds two to three people on grilled meats from the parrilla and there are specials for kids.
reviewed
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Iglesia Catedral
Built entirely of Alerce in 1856, the Iglesia Catedral, located on the Plaza de Armas, is the town’s oldest building, and its only attractive one.
reviewed
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Sala Pablo Neruda
Next door to the museum, Sala Pablo Neruda hosts exhibitions by some of the region’s best artists and is definitely worth a peek.
reviewed
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Andina del Sud
The agency wing of the Cruce de Lagos bus-ferry combo trip to Argentina, but they can also arrange excursions throughout the region.
reviewed
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Puerto Montt City Tour
by Viator
Explore the streets of Puerto Montt on a two hour city tour. You'll see Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Town Hall and monuments to the German Colonizers before admir…
Not LP reviewed
from USD$30.99
