Tours and Activities:

Bellavista Neighborhood

Perhaps few places in Santiago have built such a recognized urban identity as the Bellavista neighborthood. This large area combines the most incredible variety of handicrafts and clothing shops with a wide range of international cuisine restaurants serving diverse specialties.

This place is located between the northern coast of the Mapocho River and Mount San Cristobal and shows the aristocratic and catholic influence of past times. With a peculiar architectural style, it seems to be a kind of outdoor museum. Strolling through the streets, talking with people and tasting its food turn this site into a sort of town within the limits of a big city.

It is Pio Nono Street which divides the Bellavista neighborhood into two municipal areas, namely Recoleta and Providencia. Its glorious time started in the colonial period when a bridge made of lime and pebbles was constructed to join this area to the rest of the city, allowing this neighborhood to grow as an urban development.

Nowadays, this neighborhood mainly features an intensive cultural activity which, together with the hectic nightlife in pubs and discos, is finally chosen by most tourists and residents of Santiago at the time of carrete (having fun).

As this is the favorite spot for intellectuals and artists, such as poet Pablo Neruda (who built one of his houses here), the Bellavista neighborhood is also one of the most important meeting places for Bohemians in Santiago.

Taking a stroll along its streets, visitors come across a great number of art galleries, theaters and lapis lazuli jewelry shops. On Bellavista streets, such as Constitucion, Mallinkrodt, Darcinac, Pio Nono, Purisima and their surroundings, there is one of the major concentration of restaurants where eating well and spending pleasant moments is an everyday custom.

All of these features, in addition to the largest urban park in Santiago, from where visitors may have a panoramic view of the city and enjoy swimming-pools, gardens, the funicular and the teleférico (aerial tram), turns this neighborhood into one of the most remarkable attractions in the city. This place is worth a visit.

See also: Hotels in Santiago and other accommodation venues