From Welcome to South America by Colin Tanner

Theater and dance, inspiring exhibits at posh museums, lively cafes smelling of fresh lattes, colorful market places bustling with people, dance clubs buzzing with the excitement of night – the wonders of the city life. If you’re feeling like experiencing the culture and excitement of a great metropolis while still having the option to enjoy a nice hike in the mountains, or a day on the slopes, try Santiago, Chile’s culturally sophisticated and naturally beautiful capital city. Santiago’s winter (June – August) is a lovely time to go. Temperatures hover around 60 degrees, offering relief from Chile’s hot, dry summers. Visitors may see an exhibit at the National Museum of Fine Arts, visit the zoo and botanical gardens at Parque Metropolitano, or get hip at one of the city’s jumping jazz joints.

On his round-the-world trip, Colin Tanner, a RealTraveler from Ireland, enjoyed both the culture and outdoor adventure Santiago has to offer. He spent part of his time skiing at many nearby resorts, and the rest exploring the city’s treasures.

Here’s an excerpt from his journal, Welcome to Santiago:

“The city is nice enough to stroll around, but my main priority was to figure out the best places to go skiing in the Andes, which are visible from throughout the city. In the end I did a 3 day backpacker trip to the ´tres valles´ with SkiTotal, which worked out very well with one day of skiing in each resort. Its much cheaper to get a bus up to the Andes each day from Santiago but you waste most of the morning just getting to the slopes.

Despite being the middle of winter a few of my days here were spent with perfect blue skies and the sun shining and on one such day I got the funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal from where you have great views of the city, can see the virgin mary statue up close and take a gondola ride across the huge park. Within the city itself there is a great vibe among the main pedestrian streets with lively markets and plenty of street entertainment such as singing, dancing, mimes, puppet shows and my personal favourite the guy dressed upside down that tumbles out in front of the traffic when the lights go red. (Hilarious to see the look on the drivers’ faces!)” (more…)

Read more travel tales from Santiago by RealTravelers Wendy2007, Ben Conner, and French & Liquor — they’ll be sure to inspire!

More Useful Links about Santiago
Santiago Travel Guide
Santiago Tourism
Things to Do in Santiago