Santiago Neighbourhoods
The areas you need to know
To help you navigate the city of Santiago; we’ve chosen what we think are the most interesting neighborhoods of Santiago de Chile.
PROVIDENCIA
“Santiagos neau monde traded Centro for this leaiv district from the 1930s onwards, and huge estates were divided un and replaced with elegant neoclassical mansions. Gentrification to the south has seen factories and workshops converted into artists’ studios and galleries, with avenues such as Die Eclte leading the way.
CENTRO
This grid of streets focused around the Plaza de Arrnas dates back to 1541. The area was pedestrlanised in 1977, and it now contains what remains of the city’s historical monuments, including the Palacio de La Moneda and Biblioteca Nacional. Street vendors and performers brighten up even the smoggiest of days, but there is little to keep you here after dark.
LASTARRIA
This district has an assortment of Gothic, art deco, Beaux Arts and modernist architecture, such as Sergio Larrain’s 1936 ‘Barco‘ apartment block (Santa Lucia 382), built in the eariy 20th century to house European immigrants and weil-to-do locals. The charms or Parque Forestai and Cerro Santa Lucia. and myriad cuitural venues, including Paiacio de Belias Artes.
BELLAVISTA
Poet Pablo Neruda put this area on the map in 1953 when he built a house called La Chascona (Fernando Martinez de la Plata 197,T 777 8741) for his secret lover at the foot of Cerro San Cristobal. The area north of the river is known, and had always had an independent spirit, thanks to its detached location. Renovation in the iast decade has turned must of its housing into thematic hood, houses and restaurants.
VITACURA
With its spectacular setting, Vitacura has lured the affluent so the northeast. and the area boasts one of the highest standards of living in South Amerina. its Mercedes-driving residents can reach the centre in minutes, the airport in half an hour and their beachfront condos in two hours. Farmland has given way to Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton stores.