VALPARAISO...
Chile's Most Captivating City

The port city of Valparaiso is the most charming coastal town you are likely to find in Chile.
It perfectly captures the topography of the country as a whole, with hills to one side and the Pacific ocean to the other.

Known as the port of Santiago, is Chile's second largest city and capital of the V Region - which includes Robinson Crusoe Island and Easter Island - apart from being home to the National Congress and the Chilean Navy.

Its foundation is attributed to Juan de Saavedra, who arrived in the area in 1576, and has received notorious visitors since then, among others Sir Francis Drake, a nightmare to the Spanish Navy and the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world between 1577 and 1580.

Pablo Neruda, regarded as the greatest poet of 20th. century and Nobel Prize awarded in 1971, used to live here, in a four story house known as La Sebastiana, where he occupied the top two floors with a 360 degrees view of the city.

But his most famous residence is at Isla Negra, where his tomb is located, on a rocky coastline around one hour to the south of Valparaiso.
His other house, La Chascona is to be found in Bellavista district, Santiago de Chile.
To learn more about it, visit Fundacion Neruda.

Do you love poetry?
Read some Neruda poems here.

We love Valparaiso. Is one of our favorite cities in South America.
It has character, personality, and a bohemian charm that has attracted so many writers, musicians and artists throughout history.

Its steeply hills overlooking the bay - residential for the most part - are simply wonderful, with colorful clapboard houses and old Victorian mansions balancing precariously in front of the Pacific ocean.

But the most distinctive and unique experience while visiting the city is to ride one of the ascensores (elevators) that connect the lower part to the hill tops.

A marvel of engineering, they were built between 1883 and 1916 and about 14 of them are still on daily use by locals and tourist alike...

• Artilleria (1893): Connects Plaza Wheelwright and Paseo 21 de Mayo
• Baron(1906): On Avenida España climbs to Avenida Diego Portales
• Concepcion (1893): From Calle Prat to Paseo Gervasoni
• Cordillera (1887): The steepest, from Calle Serrano to the higher level at Eleuterio Ramirez
• El Peral (1902): From Plaza Justicia climbs to Paseo Yugoslavo
• Espiritu Santo (1911): Leaves at Calle Aldunate and the highest point is at Calle Rudolph
• Florida (1906): From Calle Carrera to Calle Marconi]
• Larrain (1909): At Avenida Argentina, climbs up to Avenida Pedro Montt
• Mariposas (1904): Calle Gaspar Martin to Paseo Barbosa
• Monjas (1912): From Avenida Baquedano climbs to Calle Bianchi
• Polanco (1915): From Calle Simpson, it climbs vertically inside the hill for about 60 meters
• Reina Victoria (1902): Connects Calle Elias and Paseo Dimalow
• San Agustin (1913): From Jose T. Ramos to Calle Canal
• Villa Seca (1907): Leaves at Calle Antonio Varas and climbs to Pedro Gallo

Other city attractions include..

• Galeria Municipal de Arte
• Museo de Histora Natural
• Museo del Mar Lord Cochrane
• Naval and Maritime Museum
• Palacio Barburizza
• Palacio Lyon
• Building Optic Hammersley

Don't miss Paseo Gervasoni, Cerro Concepcion and Ascensor Artilleria.
Hang around Plaza Sotomayor, bordering the port, and Muelle Prat (Prat Wharf), where all vessels dock, and enjoy a beer in some of the many sailor's bars around.

As a side trip, just six miles to the north, visit Viña del Mar, Chile's most famous beach resort, also known as the Green City.

Founded as a week-end retreat for the wealthy of Santiago and Valparaiso, it has a Casino, many parks and hosts an international song festival.
Our preference however, is to move further up north to La Serena.

Valparaiso was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 2002 and definitely is a unique South America travel experience in its own right...

How To Get There:

Being so close to Santiago de Chile (120 km), is serviced by many buses. The journey takes about 1,5 hours to complete.

Where to Stay:

There are many options as far as accommodation goes.
Here are just some of them in the middle of the range...

• El Rincon Universal: Avenida 825
• Puerta Alcala Hotel: Piramide 524
• Bahia Valparaiso: Victoria 2830
• Robinson Crusoe Inn: Calvo 389

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