Santiago is one of my favourite cities in South America! Surrounded by the snow-capped Andes mountains and rich with colonial history, these are just some of the reasons why you should visit Chile’s capital city!

WHERE IS SANTIAGO CHILE

Santiago is located in the middle of Chile and it is the country’s capital city with an estimated population of 5.6 million people.

3 BEST THINGS TO DO IN SANTIAGO CHILE

#1 SANTA LUCIA HILL

Santa Lucia Hill, also known as Cerro Santa Lucia, was the first awesome location that I visited upon arriving in Santiago de Chile and, in my opinion, it’s the perfect place to start your one day Santiago tour.

Santa Lucia Hill is the remnant of a volcano from 15 million years ago, located in the centre of Santiago City. The Santa Lucia Park has many features including ornate facades, water fountains, stone staircases, a small castle and a panoramic viewpoint at the top of the 70m tall hill.

It is approximately a ten-minute walk to reach the top of Santa Lucia Hill and marvelling at the city from the topmost viewpoint is one of the best things to do in Santiago Chile.

view from St Lucia hill

fountains at St Lucia Park

awesome city views

#2 PLAZA DE ARMAS

The Plaza de Armas is the main square in Santiago City and a must-see on everyone’s one day in Santiago itinerary. Surrounded by large palm trees and historic buildings such as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, Central Post Office building and Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago.

Take a rest on one of the bench seats, feed the birds circulating the central fountain and take a happy snap sitting in one of the letters at the ‘Santiago’ sign. Wandering around Plaza de Armas was one of my favourite things to do in Santiago Chile.

plaza de armas santiago

metropolitan cathedral

santiago sign

#3 SAN CRISTOBAL HILL

San Cristobal Hill, also known as Cerro San Cristobal, is my favourite location in Santiago City. At 850m above sea level, the summit of Cerro San Cristobal boasts the most amazing 360° views of Santiago City and surrounding regions.

Atop San Cristobal Hill is a 22m statue of Virgin Mary, along with a chapel and an amphitheatre. It is free to visit San Cristobal Hill if you decide to hike up to the top, which takes around forty-five minutes, or alternatively, you can take the easy option and ride the funicular to the summit which costs 1500 Pesos one way or 2000 Pesos return trip.

I decided to hike up San Cristobal Hill as the queue of people lining up for the funicular was ridiculously long and time was of the essence to make it to the top in time for sunset. If your legs aren’t painted on and you are keen to hike, just follow the sidewalk to the left once you enter the park for about five to ten minutes until you see the trailhead on the right-hand side of the road. The trail is not steep at all and there are several park benches to take a rest along the way if you wish. The trail will lead you right to the top, emerging at Terraza Bellavista roughly forty minutes later.

Watching the sunset at San Cristobal Hill is one of the best things to do in Santiago Chile and a perfect way to end the day exploring this magnificent city!

drone shot of san cristobal hill

the view from san cristobal hill

sunset at san cristobal

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions at all about Things To Do In Santiago Chile, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can!