Things to Do in Santiago, Chile: Walking Guide

Santiago, Chile’s capital, sits in the Mapocho Valley with the Andes as a dramatic backdrop, blending colonial heritage, vibrant neighbourhoods, and striking mountain views. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Santiago with 139 narrated places, letting you explore the city at your own pace.

Explore Santiago’s highlights

Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts

Located in Parque Forestal, the museum occupies the Palace of the Fine Arts, a Beaux‑Arts building inspired by Paris’s Petit Palais and designated a national historic monument in 1976. Opened in 1880 as the National Museum of Paintings, it was Latin America’s first museum of its kind and now holds over 3,000 works, including Chile’s foremost sculpture collection and a broad survey of national art from the colonial era onward, plus Spanish, Flemish and Italian paintings.

Palacio Versailles (Quinta Normal)

In Quinta Normal Park, the Palacio Versailles was erected in 1918 for the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura, later becoming the University of Chile’s Faculty of Agronomy and then an outpatient clinic for Hospital San Juan de Dios. Since 2005 it houses the Quinta Normal branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art, linking its past in agriculture and medicine to today’s creative programmes.

Palacio de La Moneda

This imposing block‑long building is the seat of Chile’s president and the centre of government activity. Its façades face Moneda Street to the north, Morandé to the east, the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins to the south and Teatinos to the west, with the Plaza de la Constitución to the north and the Plaza de la Ciudadanía to the south.

Palacio Larraín

An early‑twentieth‑century residence designed by Gustavo Monckeberg, the Palacio Larraín belonged to the Larraín Mancheño family for decades until around 1970. It stands as a testament to the architectural ambitions of Santiago’s elite during that period.

Posada del Corregidor

Situated at the corner of Corregidor Zañartu and Esmeralda streets, this building was declared a National Historic Monument on 29 October 1970 (Supreme Decree 3861). It remains one of Santiago’s recognised historic landmarks in the downtown area.

Museo del Ahorro

Found beneath BancoEstado’s headquarters at Morandé 25, the Museum of Saving opened in 1992 after being created by Banco del Estado in 1990. It preserves objects from four predecessor institutions—the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario, Caja Nacional de Ahorro, Caja de Crédito Agrario and Instituto de Crédito Industrial—and traces BancoEstado’s history from independence. Exhibits include old coins and banknotes, nitrate‑office tokens, commemorative medals, historic piggy banks, clocks from North America, Germany and France, and vintage office machines.

Altar de la Patria

Below the Plaza de la Ciudadanía, facing La Moneda, lies this underground crypt that houses the remains of Bernardo O’Higgins, remembered as Supreme Director, Liberator General and Captain General of the Chilean Army. The monument serves as a pantheon for the nation’s heroes.

Museo de Artes Visuales (MAVI UC)

Set in Plaza Mulato Gil de Castro beside the Museo Arqueológico de Santiago, this private museum in the Lastarria neighbourhood focuses on visual arts and offers rotating exhibitions alongside its permanent collection.

Chilean National Museum of Natural History

Known locally as the “whale museum” for its towering Balaenoptera borealis skeleton, this institution in Quinta Normal Park was founded in 1830 by the French naturalist Claudio Gay. Since 1876 it has occupied its current building and ranks among Latin America’s most important natural history museums, forming one of Chile’s three national museums alongside the Fine Arts and History museums.

Londres 38

This building in central Santiago is a national monument that functioned as a detention and torture centre for DINA, Pinochet’s intelligence agency, under the code name Yucatán. Today it operates as a space of memory, reminding visitors of the country’s recent past.

Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral

Dominating Plaza de Armas, the cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago and a national monument. The present structure is the fifth church on the site; earlier temples existed before construction began in 1748 under Governor Domingo Ortiz de Rozas. It was consecrated in 1775, with the towers completed in 1800 to designs linked to Joaquín Toesca and Ignacio Cremonesi. Restoration work in 2005‑2006 revived the main altar and crypt.

Chilean Museum of Pre‑Columbian Art

Housed in the former Palace of the Royal Customs at Bandera and Compañía streets, this museum opened in 1981 as a public‑private initiative supported by the municipal government and collector Sergio Larraín García‑Moreno. Its permanent exhibitions—Pre‑Columbian Americas in Art and Chile before Chile—are organised by cultural area, with three additional galleries for temporary shows, and it remains a centre for the study of ancient American cultures.

Monumento a Salvador Allende

A three‑metre‑tall bronze statue in Plaza de la Constitución honours President Salvador Allende. Unveiled in 2000 on the anniversary of his birth, the work by artist Arturo Hevia was presented in the presence of President Ricardo Lagos and stands as a prominent tribute to his life and presidency.

Bandera Bicentenario

Rising from the central promenade of the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins at Plaza de la Ciudadanía, the monumental Bicentennial Flag marks two centuries of Chilean independence and serves as a striking civic landmark.

Castillo Hidalgo

Perched on the summit of Santa Lucía Hill, this fortress was built in 1816 during the Reconquista under Governor Casimiro Marcó del Pont, with engineering by Manuel Olaguer Feliú. After independence it was renamed Manuel Hidalgo in honour of a captain who fell at the Battle of Chacabuco. Over time it became a historical museum (1874), a municipal warehouse, and today functions as an events centre, offering panoramic views of the city.

Experience Santiago with Neywo

Neywo’s free audio guide turns your walk into a personal storytelling tour. In Santiago you can choose from 7 walking routes, 1 bus line and 1 bike route. Each tour’s length, duration and number of narrated stops are:

• “Where Chile Was Founded: Plaza de Armas to La Moneda” – 1.82 km, 101 min, 12 stops
• “Parque Forestal, Lastarria and Santa Lucia Hill” – 1.91 km, 100 min, 12 stops
• “Convents, Culture and Memory Along the Alameda” – 2.27 km, 85 min, 10 stops
• “Quinta Normal: Museums in the Park” – 2.27 km, 93 min, 11 stops
• “Colonial Santiago: Merced, Casa Colorada and the Old Convents” – 1.36 km, 62 min, 8 stops
• “Calle Dieciocho: Palaces of Santiago’s Golden Age” – 1.31 km, 69 min, 10 stops
• “Barrio Brasil: Concha y Toro and the Palaces West of the Alameda” – 2.33 km, 86 min, 10 stops
• Bus line “Line 401 down the Alameda: from Barrio Bellas Artes to Sagrado Corazón” – 4.6 km, 20 min, 12 stops
• Bike route “Cycle Lane Ride: Universidad de Chile to Parque Forestal” – 2.8 km, 14 min, 7 stops

As you reach each point, the app plays the story of that place, letting you explore at your own pace with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Discover more of Chile

If your travels take you beyond the capital, consider visiting the otherworldly landscapes of San Pedro de Atacama, the southern gateway of Punta Arenas, or the scenic trails near Puerto Natales. For a coastal contrast, the vibrant ports of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar are easy to reach, while the enigmatic Hanga Roa on Easter Island offers a wholly different adventure. All of these destinations are part of the diverse tapestry of Chile.