| On the northern bank of the Mapocho, a
couple of kilometres east of the Mercado Central is barrio Bellavista.
Nestling at the foot of the green slopes of Cerro San Cristóbal,
Bellavista is a warren of quiet, leafy streets lined with brightly
coloured houses, steeped in a village-like atmosphere. It has a reputation
for being the capital’s bohemian quarter, thanks in part to the fact
that Pablo Neruda lived here, along with several other artists, writers
and intellectuals. It’s packed with restaurants, many of them small and
atmospheric, and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights the district
becomes one of Santiago’s main nightlife centres.
Another attraction is the evening handicraft
market that spreads along the length of Pío Nono at weekends and is a
good place to come for gifts or souvenirs. You might also be tempted by
the dozens of lapis lazuli outlets running along avenida Bellavista,
between Puente Pío Nono and Puente del Arzobispo, but be warned that this
semi-precious stone is not cheap, and there are few bargains to be found.
There’s no metro in Bellavista itself, but it’s a short walk from
Baquedano metro. |
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| Cerro San Cristóbal
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| A trip up to the summit of
Cerro San Cristóbal is one of the highlights of a stay in
Santiago, particularly on clear, sunny days when the views over the city
and to the Andes are quite stunning. The hill is, in fact, a spur of the
Andes, jutting into the heart of the capital and rising to a peak of 860m,
a point that’s marked by a giant 22-metre-high statue of the Virgen
de la Inmaculada. The easiest way to get up is to take the funicular
from the station at the north end of Pío Nono in Bellavista (Mon-Fri
9.45am-8pm, Sat & Sun 9.45am-8.30pm; CH$900 return or CH$1500 return
combining cable car ticket) which shoots up to Terraza Bellavista. From
here a path leads west to the teleférico (cable car) station known
as Estación Cumbre. This provides hair-raising rides across to Estación
Tapahue, then descends to Estación Oasis at the foot of the hill (and a
long walk from anywhere). Get off at Tapahue for the expensive but
fabulous open-air Piscina Tapahue (Nov-March Tues-Sun 10am-7pm;
CH$4000), or to switch cable cars to return to Estación Cumbre.
La Chascona
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| Tucked away in a tiny
street at the foot of Cerro San Cristóbal - at Marquéz de la Plata 0192
- you’ll find La Chascona, the house that Pablo Neruda shared
with his third wife, Mathilde Urritia, from 1955 until his death in 1973
(guided tours Tues-Sun 10am-1pm & 3-6pm; CH$1000 in Spanish, CH$2000
in English or French). Named in honour of Matilde’s thick red hair (La
Chascona means "tangle-haired woman" in Spanish), the house is
packed to the rafters with objects collected by Neruda, illuminating his
loves, enthusiasms and obsessions. Beautiful African carvings jostle for
space with Victorian dolls, music boxes, paperweights and coloured
glasses; the floors are littered with old armchairs, stools, a rocking
horse, exotic rugs and a sleeping toy lion. Also here is Neruda’s
library, containing over nine thousand books, as well as the diploma he
was given when awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, and a
replica of the medal. |
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