Museo Colonial de San Francisco (La Alameda 834, La Alameda, Santiago) – this museum (which has a collection of colonial and religious art) is located in the San Francisco convent that was built in 1628 (one of the oldest structures in Santiago – remarkable, considering that it survived three massive earthquakes!). Many of the colonial-era […]
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Bandera 361, Santiago) – this museum exhibits pre-Columbian art from not only Chile, but all of Latin America. Because of its sizable collection, many who visit Santiago say that this is among the first sites worth visiting. The building that this museum is housed in is the Royal Customs House […]
La Chascona (Fernando Márques de la Plata 0192, Bellavista, Santiago) – this house once belonged to Nobel Prize–winning poet Pablo Neruda – which was built for this third wife (Matilde Urrutia), and nicknamed it “La Chascona” (because of her unruly hair style). This home (one of three that Neruda owned) contains an array of collectibles […]
Gran Torre Santiago (Avenida Andrés Bello 2425, Providencia, Santiago) – this modern billion-dollar architectural wonder is the tallest skyscraper not only in Chile, but throughout Latin America (300 meters tall) and is part of the Costanera Center complex (which is to be completed in 2014-2015). Two hotels and additional office towers are being built here […]
Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts (Parque Forestral, near Av. Ismael Valdés Vergara) – designed by architect Jorge Enrique Dubois and opened in 1910, this museum has an extensive collection of Chilean art, as well as artwork from other Latin countries. Admission: 600 pesos (general), 300 pesos (students and seniors). Free entrance for all on […]
Chilean National History Museum (Plaza de Armas 951, Santiago) – locally known as MHN (Museo Histórico Nacional), this museum is located in the Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago. Paintings, archival materials and artifacts are used to highlight the country’s history from the pre-Columbian period to the 1970s. Admission: $600 pesos (adult), $300 (seniors). […]
Casa Colorada Museo de Santiago (Calle Merced 860, Santiago) – this colonial structure was built by prominent Portuguese resident Don Joseph de la Vega in 1769. This blood-red colored building shows a typical home owned by the Santiago elite over 200 years ago. Given the frequent earthquakes that Chile has endured over the centuries, few […]
Chile’s pre-Columbian history goes back to the Inca Empire, when the northern and central portions of present-day Chile were part of it. While Spanish conquistadores (led by Francisco Pizarro) conquered the Inca Empire in nearby Peru and established a colonial presence there by 1534 (in the Spanish crown’s quest for gold), Chile wasn’t settled by […]