The Chilean capital is a mix of history, heritage, modernity and cultural diversity. From the iconic General Cemetery and historic Barrio Yungay, to trendy neighborhoods like El Golf and the world-acclaimed gastronomy of Boragó restaurant, the city stands as a multifaceted tourist destination. And a must-see, according to the World Travel Awards.
"When you get to know this city, walk around it, occupy its spaces, see its geography, the mountain range, climb its hills, enjoy its panoramic views, its architectural, artistic and landscape heritage, it is, I think, impossible not to fall in love with Santiago and not become addicted to this city". The words are from Rodrigo Guendelman, founder of @SantiagoAdicto, while guiding a tour that Imagen de Chile made through the capital with the international press.
In July of this year, Santiago was named South America's Leading City Destination at the World Travel Awards 2024, better known as the "Oscars of tourism". Today, Chile's capital is being recognized as an attractive city and not just a place to pass through. One of its main strengths is its contrasts: antiquity and modernity, popular sectors and high sectors, neighborhood gastronomy and other international prestige. Contrasts that blend and complement each other perfectly to make the capital a dazzling and unmissable destination.
A heritage tour: a journey through history
The General Cemetery, one of the largest in Latin America, is a heritage landmark of 86 hectares that houses tombs and mausoleums of most of the former presidents of Chile and renowned personalities such as Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. An uncommon destination among foreign visitors but of great tourist attraction, since it tells by itself the history of the country, its lights and shadows. " It is, why not, one of the most beautiful in the world, where you find specific architecture of the cemetery, great sculptors and sculptresses, centenary trees. Really, a wonderful place," concludes Guendelman.
Not far from the General Cemetery is the largest heritage district of Santiago: Barrio Yungay, dating from the nineteenth century. Its constructions refer to the architecture of those years, with mansions that evoke the mixture of buildings where aristocratic families lived and others destined for community life in cités and conventillos. This neighborhood has managed to preserve its heritage and today houses cultural centers, museums, art workshops, and restaurants. And even the current home of the President of the Republic, Grabriel Boric.
"Barrio Yungay is a unique place in Santiago. A space that has been decanting over the years. I have always felt like the custodian of this corner and that maintaining, preserving, conserving this place, somehow radiated an energy so that others were also soaking up this desire to take Barrio Yungay to another state," says Cristián Lavaud, owner of Peluquería Francesa, founded in 1868, the first hairdresser's in Chile and South America. "Today it is an absolutely touristy place, with its passages, its architecture of the past. It is also the place with the most museums in all of Chile", adds Lavaud, who in 2003 also inaugurated the restaurant, located in the same place, which offers a varied gastronomic proposal with a French seal.
Opposite the Peluquería Francesa, is the Museo Taller, created in 2018 by businessman and collector Francisco Dittborn. It is a museum that rescues the carpentry trade and exhibits more than 800 tools. Since its creation, the museum has been acquiring the neighboring houses and today it consists of four houses built in the early twentieth century, with a large interior garden with a sclerophyllous forest, planted with the Miyawaki technique, which consists of planting plants of different characteristics in a small space, so that they compete for light and grow upwards.
The arts also have many corners in Barrio Yungay. One of them is the Centro Nave, a space for creation and artistic residency inaugurated in 2015 and located in a heritage mansion recovered by the renowned Chilean architect Smiljan Radic. The center focuses on dance, performance, movement and live arts. "It is an innovative space. Every time people pass the façade, which is also very patrimonial, it is mixed with innovative architecture, which is also captivating," says Constanza Espíndola, head of production at Centro Nave. "For us it is very important that anyone in Barrio Yungay can enter Nave. One of our important lines is Open Space, with events that link the community in two major activities: the danzoteas, spaces for free social dances, and the bingos," she adds.
Modern Santiago
On the other east side of the capital, closer to the Andes Mountains, is the El Golf neighborhood, which stands out for its mix of early 20th century mansions and modern buildings of internationally recognized avant-garde architecture. Architect Alberto Cruz Montt designed the neighborhood in the 1920s to create an exclusive place for the Chilean elite of the time.
"It is a neighborhood that stands out for its very attractive mix of designer stores, clothing, gastronomy, high-end offices, with a location very close to the financial sector. There are important firms and there are notable architectural buildings, such as the Manantiales building, which was exhibited in a MoMA show of the Top Buildings, for its architectural proposal," says Guendelman.
Another area of Santiago's life that has also received wide international recognition is gastronomy. The innovative and praised Boragó restaurant, located in Vitacura, is one of them. With its endemic cuisine that recovers and introduces different ingredients from the Chilean territory, it has been included in the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024, in 29th place.
"I would say that in Chile we have the best product on the planet because of this cold and long sea, the forests, the high mountains. To the extent that restaurants and chefs not only use these ingredients, but use them with skill and knowledge, Chile will shine like Japan, I have no doubt, or as the most important gastronomic destination in the world," says Boragó's chef creator, Rodolfo Guzmán. "Gastronomy is everything because it is the same as culture. It is a very direct and very fast and efficient way of getting to know the deepest culture of a country," he adds.
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