What to do in Santiago

Santiago is the capital of the Republic of Chile, is the cultural, administrative and financial center in the country. It's located in the Maipo Valley and surrounded by the Andes Mountain.

If I someone from another country ask me what he/she can see in Chile, I woul tell him/her that if someone comes to Chile needs to visit San Pedro de Atacama, see the geyser in "el Tatio", go for a walk through the Moon Valley, see all the crafts and tasting the food from that place. Also places like "Las torres del paine" or "la carretera austral", or cities like Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, or Pucón and Frutillar.

Personally I don't like very much Santiago, I don't think that there are many things interesting to see or beautiful places, I mean there are many places to go and things to see, but it's not like a city where you can spend a lot of time staying there, I think that will be boring. When I go to another place, I prefer to see lakes, the nature, and beautiful landscapes, but not so much go shopping or going just to museums. I think If someone comes to Chile must go to Santiago and at least to the north or the south, because if you just go to Santiago you won't see how beautiful Chile really is.

So... my top 5 will be:

1) City Center: There you must see El Palacio de la Moneda (Mint Palace) that it's the presidential house, the Plaza de Armas (Main square) , the cathedral and La Casa Colorada. There are also many museums of several styles and many art galleries. I think that my favourite place it's the cathedral, it's very pretty, I think I will go there soon, because I haven't been there since a long time. The cathedral also has a museum inside and also a library.

2) Bellavista: Is a Bohemian neighborhood where you can find many distinguished restaurants, pubs, art galleries and a lot of little shops with beautiful crafts. There are also discos. It's a place with an intense night life and very touristic. If you go there, and you are not from Chile, you should try chilean food, there are many restaurants that you can choose.

3) Cerro San Cristobal: If you want to see a beautiful panoramic sight of the city you must visit this mount, and also you can visit the Zoo, the japanese garden, there are also restaurants, La casa de la cultura anahuac (is an important enclosure for the development of different cultural expressions) and also the tupahue zone. You can walk around or rent a bike, it's a perfect place for pleople of all ages.

4) Concha y toro neighborhood: it is characterized by its cobblestone streets and old mansions that reflect the elegance and richness of the early twentieth century. You can go there taking the subway to republica station, there you must walk to the alameda street. This place it's between Alameda, Brasil, Cumming and Erasmo Escala street.

5) If you like ski: you can visit the ski centers that are not far away from the city, like the Valle nevado, La Parva, El colorado and Farallones. I haven't been there, but many people have told me that the Valle nevado it's very pretty, and these ski centers are really good, many people from other countries come to Chile because of them.

Of course that everywhere you can find chilean restaurants, even more in the areas close to touristic places, so the tourist should try chilean food, also the wine... the best place for that will be La piojera, where you can try food and drinks from Chile. Everytime that I go there I see that like 50% of the people are tourist. This place it's just on the way out from the Cal y canto metro station. It's also close to the central market, where you can also try the variety of fishes that we have in Chile.