Travel in Santiago, Chile

Question

I'm a 24 yearold American who just got back from a trip to Latin America last week and had so much fun I thought I'd look to go to South America. Much cheaper than Europe, and just as fun. I was looking at Santiago in February. I am interested in seeing the historical sites, but also having a little fun in the nightlife scene. Could anybody suggest Santiago? If so, where are some places I must see. Any types of tips would be very much appreciated!

Answer 1

Santiago is massive with plenty to do to keep you busy and having fun.  I lived in Chile 2 years ago, but spent most of my time in Valparaíso, which I would highly recommend visiting also while in Chile.  It's around 1.5-2 hours from Santiago and is right on the coast.  Southern Chile is also very beautiful with lots of mountains and lakes, a good place to start in that part of the country would be Pucón.

As for Santiago, the attractions and nightlife are good and there's a solid transportation system.  I spent a little time in Barrio Bellavista (an artsy quarter of Santiago) and enjoyed it a lot.The metro is clean and efficient and can transport you directly to bus stations to take you to other parts of Chile should you decide to explore the rest of the city.  Definitely worth looking into.  Here's a couple websites that might get you started:

general travel info:

http://www.santiago.cl/enjoy/top_dest.ht...

santiago metro:

metrosantiago.cl

suerte

Answer 2

The nightlife... that would really depend on your taste. There's a wide variety of stuff to do, mostly in Providencia, Las Condes, Vitacura, & Bellavista.

I personally loved Publicity in El Bosque Norte (www.publicity.cl)... lots of tourists from all over, excellent service, great food & drinks. Live DJ most nights of the week.  El Bosque Norte is excellent!

Another GREAT place, is a club in Providencia called Subterraneo... the music is amazing, and the crowd is great, too. There's a balance between kids who are there studying abroad or working and locals, too.

http://www.subterraneo.cl/

Thing is, it's not open until about 12 sometimes, & you can have drinks outside of the club, but it's not so great...so you can check out the great bars in that "hallway". My favorite was Surreal

http://www.surrealrestobar.cl/,

but there's about 4 other ones:

http://www.pubs.cl/pub-discotheque-santi...

These are some cool spots in Providencia, too... all very close to eachother... accesible by just walking, or a very cheap taxi fare.

http://www.barcentral.cl/

http://www.liguria.cl/

There's also a bunch of bars and clubs down Manuel Montt Ave.

Hmm... Vitacura:

www.auraclub.cl (My favorite club - rented it out to have my 20th bday there, & so did Moby, lol!)

http://www.lasurracas.cl/ (My 2nd favorite club)

On Av. Vitacura, there are also a bunch of places next to eachother... you can chose from various pubs & clubs.

http://lamulounge.cl/ This is Borde Rio. Expat nights on Thursdays.

Hmm, what else... try www.800.cl (Discotecas & Pubs - as they call them there)... it's a great guide!

As for historical sites... I would suggest definitely checking out:

Valparaiso. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valpara%C3%... & while you're there check out Vina del Mar (which is right next door)... check out the Casino & Antartica Ice Bar http://english.ntdtv.com/?c=156&a=1923

Pablo Neruda's house "Chascona" in Bellavista (address: Marquez de La Plata 0192, in Bellavista)

Check this site out, too: http://www.chipsites.com/

Hope this helps! :) If anything, contact me through my profile... as I know a lot of English speaking people in Santiago, or can help you further.