🇨🇱 Chile
Santiago
Santiago de Chile is the most dynamic and cosmopolitan capital in South America — a modern city of 7 million people in a long valley between the Andes (visible from the city centre on clear days at 5,000+ metres, snow-capped year-round) and the coastal range, just 100km from Pacific beaches and 2 hours from world-class ski resorts. Chile's extraordinary geography — the world's driest desert (Atacama) to the north, Patagonia to the south, Easter Island 3,700km west — makes Santiago the launching point for some of the greatest adventures on earth. The city itself has a sophisticated wine culture (Carménère, Cabernet Sauvignon from the nearby Maipo and Casablanca valleys), a vibrant arts scene in the Bellavista neighbourhood, the finest fish market in South America, and Mercado Central's celebrated seafood.