Santiago City (some things to do in)

Santiago of Chile is a stressing city, but not if you know how to treat it (and if you have enough time). Any foreigner who come to Santiago must know some things, obviously; but I don't like official holiday's packs nor guided tours: the best way to know a city is, I think, touring with a friend or some friendly people who knows it well.





So I think that the places and things a foreigner must visit and do in Santiago aren't necessarily those that appear in touristic guides. I'll write some points about some interesting places and activities in the city, just according to myself.


A nice green area in the center. Cerro Santa Lucía (Saint Lucy Hill) is one of the main places in the City. An historical one. There are trees, grass, fountains, and sculptures. You be careful: sometimes there are thieves.

Rest in peace. I like cementeries. What can I do? Well, you must know the main one in the city (Cementerio General), or you'll never know Santiago. It's very old and large, like a little city. You must know the historical part, with its wonderful graves and mausoleum.

Churchs. I'm atheist, but I like old churchs more than museums. It's culture in context. So you gotta visit the city's Cathedral (at Plaza de Armas), the San Francisco church (the oldest one in the city), the San Agustín Temple, the basilicas of La Merced, Los Sacramentinos and El Salvador, among others.


Where to eat/drink/lunch/ have a dinner. I don't know what kind of meal do you like, so I just can talk about my own taste. I don't like luxury restaurants. So if you want to know the local food and drinks you can go to some typical restaurant or tavern, such as El Hoyo, Monte Rosa or La Tinaja, where you can ask for a "terremoto" (earthquake, a drink made of cheap wine, pineapple ice cream and some liqueur) or a pork sandwich. If you like loin sandwiches, you go to Fuente Alemana in Alameda, it's amazing. For chinese food, Los Chinos Pobres in Plaza Brasil.

Some Fun. I don't know. If you like chic gigs I'm afraid I can't help you. But anyway, I like Bellavista, a kind of bohemian district with a lot of pubs, bars and restaurant. You can also go to Lastarria.

This Public Transport

I don't think I have to describe the Transantiago system. If you don't know what is it about, you can find it on the Net.

One thing is clear: I hate it.

It started to work, I think, about three years ago. Then, THEY said it would be something like "the transportation of the future": faster, cleaner, nicer, more comfortable. They said it would reduce the noise and air pollution. I don't know if it did. Anyway, the previous system (yellow buses) was awful, I think, even when there are people who miss it now. Well, I don't. It was horrific. But Transantiago isn't much better.

In the previous system, depending on the hour and on the route, the minibuses could be completely full or almost empty. In the first case, you couldn't always get in the vehicle, then you could arrive late to your destiny (and, what is the worst, in some cases, people fell out the bus and they got wound or simply died). All this was supposed to change with Transantiago. But actually, it didn't. It didn't then and it didn't yet now. I have to get in a bus (I can hardly do it) full of people almost every morning, all of them sad or angry. It happens even on the large buses ("caterpillars"). It's depressing. What can I say?

Well, the worst mistake with Transantiago, and of this I am sure, is that the organizers, and the goverment, didn't plan it rightly, with time: and they applied it to soon, because they wanted the people to be impressed with it before they left. Then, shit happened. I think they have to improve many things, including the freqcuency of the trips, but the drivers don't use to cooperate. Because most of them ar not interested in a better system, they don't need it. Anyway, I don't know what else those ineffective engineers, performers and shitty companies can do.

I'll say it again: I hate it.