Must-see attractions in Middle Chile

The spectacular setting on a windswept ocean headland makes it easy to understand why Isla Negra was Pablo Neruda’s favorite house. Built by the poet when…

Bellavista's most famous resident writer was Pablo Neruda, who made a point of watching Valparaíso's annual New Year's fireworks from his house at the top…

This cultural center built from the bones of a prison has a little bit of everything the thinking traveler could ask for. There are excellent murals in…

This little village has good ocean views and a few restaurants and cabins. Head to the bridge for a 30-minute boat tour of the Laguna de Cahuil (CH$5000…

There are over 3000 plant species in the nearly 400 hectares of parkland that comprise Chile's Jardín Botánico Nacional. It's 8km southeast of the city…

This national park covers the entire archipelago, a total of 93 sq km, though the township of San Juan Bautista and the airstrip are de-facto exclusions…

The upper basin of the Río Claro marks the beginning of the ecological transition between drought-tolerant Mediterranean vegetation to the north and moist…

Exhibiting the impressive private collection of controversial entrepreneur and alleged arms dealer Carlos Cardoen, this is the largest private museum in…

The great range of challenging hikes at this well-organized, easily accessible national park will leave you as short of breath as the fabulous views. Its…

Between Angol and the Pacific, the coast range rises to 1550m within the 68-sq-km Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, one of the last non-Andean refuges of…

Looming large within this national park are two of the highest mountains in the coastal range, Cerro El Roble (2200m) and Cerro La Campana (1890m), which…

Some 93km east of Los Angeles you'll find the 116-sq-km Parque Nacional Laguna del Laja. Within the park is the symmetrical cone of Volcán Antuco (2985m)…

Cannons still stand ready outside this naval museum. Much space is devoted to Chile's victory in the 19th-century War of the Pacific. Other exhibits…

As colorful as Valparaíso's trademark houses – and built almost as high – are the fruit and vegetable displays in the Mercado Cardonal, bordered by Yungay…

Plaza Sotomayor is dominated by the palatial blue-colored Edificio Armada de Chile. In the middle of the square lies the Monumento a los Héroes de Iquique…

Nowhere is Viña's nickname of the 'Garden City' better justified than at the magnificently landscaped Parque Quinta Vergara, which you enter from…

The massive, fiercely political mural La Presencia de América Latina is the highlight of the university art museum La Casa del Arte. It's by Mexican…

The city's most illustrious, influential and infamous residents rest in peace in Cementerios 1 and 2, where the tombs look like ornate mini alaces. Nearby…

The original moai (an Easter Island statue) standing guard outside the Museo de Arqueología e Historia Francisco Fonck is just a teaser of the beautifully…

This stunning 14-hectare park is down the road from Mina Chiflón del Diablo, an undersea mine that's now a popular tourist attraction. Paths wind through…