Parque Bicentenario, Vitacura, Photo Credit: tifonimages/iStock
Santiago is a collection of very different neighborhoods. Just when you think you’ve discovered the best parts of the city, another smaller, more tucked away but equally attractive part of town emerges.
Chile’s capital city is growing and new boutiques, cafés and restaurants are popping up in districts that were once either rundown or quiet and residential.
Here is our list of the main, must-visit neighborhoods:
Providencia
Providencia is busy, buzzy and loved by people of all walks of life. The main drag is Providencia Street, but little streets branch off this busy road, and it’s here that you find the real gems: be it Orrego Luco, a street lined with restaurants and bars, or the residential area around Colon Metro, where coffee shops like Espresso line the leafy streets.
Lastarria
Lastarria is slightly more boho than Providencia. There are more hidden areas, with cobbled squares surrounded by restaurants and quirky boutiques selling original pieces of clothing and jewelry.
There are some great wine bars here as well. A particular favorite is Bocanáriz, where you are given three glasses of wine chosen by region rather than grape
Vitacura
Then there’s tree-dotted Vitacura, a well-to-do residential area with restaurant row Nueva Costanera as well as Santiago’s version of Fifth Avenue, Alonso de Córdova. This is the place for fashionable dining and fashionable shopping.
Plus it’s home to Hotel Noi Vitacura, which has one of the best roof terraces for a pisco sour sundowner.
