Santiago 3-Day Itinerary: Historic Plazas, Hilltop Parks and the Andes

Because Santiago’s historic sights, hilltop parks, and modern eastern communes align along Metro Lines 1 and 5, you can cover a remarkable amount of ground in three days without spending hours in traffic. This three-day route groups adjacent neighbourhoods on foot each day: Day 1 covers the colonial and civic core through to Barrio Lastarria, Day 2 links the Mapocho markets with Bellavista, Cerro San Cristóbal, and Sky Costanera, and Day 3 pairs Quinta Normal’s museums with a half-day or full-day excursion into the Maipo Valley or high Andes.

Day 1: Plaza de Armas, La Moneda, Cerro Santa Lucía and Lastarria

• Morning at Plaza de Armas and the Pre-Columbian Museum: Begin at Plaza de Armas to step inside the gilded Metropolitan Cathedral and climb the clock tower of the Museo Histórico Nacional. Walk one block southwest to Bandera 361 to spend 90 minutes exploring the textile and Chinchorro mummy galleries of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino.
• Midday at Palacio de La Moneda and Barrio París-Londres: Stroll down pedestrian Paseo Bandera to Plaza de la Constitución and Palacio de La Moneda, then cross the Alameda to see the 16th-century Church of San Francisco and the cobbled lanes of Barrio París-Londres.
• Afternoon on Cerro Santa Lucía and Evening in Lastarria: Climb the stone stairways past Terraza Neptuno to the Torre Mirador of Cerro Santa Lucía, then descend its eastern steps into Barrio Lastarria and Parque Forestal for the National Museum of Fine Arts and dinner along Calle José Victorino Lastarria.

Day 2: Mapocho Markets, La Chascona, Cerro San Cristóbal and Sky Costanera

• Morning at Mercado Central and La Vega Central: Start at Mercado Central to inspect its 1872 Glasgow-cast iron roof, then cross the Mapocho River past Estación Mapocho and the Pérgola de las Flores into the lively fruit and spice aisles of La Vega Central.
• Midday in Barrio Bellavista and La Chascona: Walk east along the northern bank of the river into Barrio Bellavista to tour Pablo Neruda’s hillside home, La Chascona, followed by lunch near Calle Constitución.
• Afternoon Ascent of Cerro San Cristóbal and Sunset at Sky Costanera: Board the 1925 Funicular at Pío Nono station to the 880-metre summit of Cerro San Cristóbal, try a glass of cold mote con huesillos, and ride the Teleférico cable car down to Oasis station in Providencia, finishing the afternoon at the 62nd-floor observation deck of Sky Costanera.

Day 3: Museum of Memory, Quinta Normal and the Maipo Andes

• Morning at the Museum of Memory and Quinta Normal: Ride Metro Line 5 to Quinta Normal station to visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights and walk through 1841 Parque Quinta Normal to the National Museum of Natural History.
• Afternoon in the Maipo Valley or Full-Day Cajón del Maipo Option: Spend the afternoon touring a historic vineyard within the southern urban basin (such as Viña Cousiño Macul, founded in 1856 and reachable via Quilín Metro station on Line 4), or dedicate the entire third day to an early-morning excursion up the Cajón del Maipo gorge to Embalse El Yeso at 2,500 metres.