After pickup from your hotel in Santiago, your private guide will accompany you on the metro -- just like a local -- to Universidad de Chile station, where you’ll stop to admire Mario Toral’s murals, called ‘Visual Memory of a Nation,’ which record Chilean history.
Then, join Santiago’s bustling downtown and see its vibrant urban culture firsthand. You’ll walk with your guide through a classic, colonial-style building that houses the stock exchange. Afterward, experience a cheeky piece of Santiago culture as you sip a cup of coffee at a caf? con piernas (coffee with legs), where female servers show off their limbs in high heels and miniskirts, bikinis or lingerie.
Next, meander through the Paseo Ahumada, a 4-block-long pedestrian mall filled with retail shops and shoeshine stands. Follow the promenade to Plaza de Armas, a gathering spot for Chilean immigrants. You’ll visit Chile’s largest cathedral and snack on some classic street food such as sopaipilla (or sopapilla), a pastry made of deep-fried pumpkin dough.
Continue along Puente Street, lined with shoe stores, until you reach the Mercado Central (Central Market), a national monument built in 1872. Watch the fishmongers cut fillets before stopping for lunch at one of the many seafood restaurants frequented by the locals. Here, try tangy ceviche, fish marinade or razor clams!
After a satisfying meal, walk across the Mapocho River to La Vega Central, a market brimming with seasonal produce like figs, quince, persimmons and chirimoyas (custard apples).
Then, walk through Barrio Bellavista, Santiago’s Bohemian district, where famous poet Pablo Neruda lived. Artists and intellectuals still reside here, along with boutiques and galleries housed in old mansions. Your guide will take you to a local bar to try a Terremoto (Earthquake), a typical Chilean drink made of pipe