Valparaíso (population 296,000 city, 1 million metropolitan area; the main port of Chile, 120 km northwest of Santiago on the Pacific coast; the capital of the Valparaíso Region) is one of the most visually extraordinary cities in South America — a UNESCO World Heritage Historic Quarter (2003) built on 42 dramatic hillside cerros (hills) that rise steeply from a flat coastal strip (the plan), connected to the lower city by 16 funicular elevators (ascensores — the iconic wooden cable-drawn funicular lifts of Valparaíso, of which 7-8 remain in operation; the most famous are the Ascensor Concepción (1883), the Ascensor Artillería (1893) and the Ascensor El Peral (1902)). The cerros of Valparaíso (the hillside neighbourhoods) are covered in brightly painted houses (the corrugated iron cladding painted in every colour of the visible spectrum — the houses were built from the corrugated iron sheets used as ship ballast from Britain in the 19th century, and the painting is a tradition of individual homeowner expression rather than any municipal programme), lane-wide streets (the most labyrinthine urban street grid in South America — the cerro streets follow the contour lines of the hillside), and the finest urban street art in South America (the murals of Valparaíso: commissioned since the 1990s from Chilean and international artists, the street murals now cover thousands of square metres of the cerro house walls, creating the most extensive outdoor art gallery in South America). Valparaíso was the most important port in the Pacific for the entire period from the 1820s (Chilean independence) to 1914 (the opening of the Panama Canal) — the "Jewel of the Pacific" through which all Pacific trade between the Atlantic and the Pacific passed via Cape Horn; the city's relative decline after 1914 accidentally preserved its 19th-century architecture and urban character intact.
Cerro Concepción and Cerro Alegre (the two adjacent cerros (hills) that form the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Quarter of Valparaíso — the most visited and most photographed neighbourhoods in the city): the neighbourhood character (the two cerros were settled by the British, German, French and Italian merchant communities who established Valparaíso as the most cosmopolitan port city on the Pacific coast in the 19th century; the Victorian and Edwardian architecture (the wooden and corrugated-iron Victorian houses painted in vivid colours — the most characteristic visual image of Valparaíso; the wooden houses with the bay windows, the coloured facade and the views over the Pacific and the Valparaíso Bay)); the street art (the murals of Cerro Concepción and Cerro Alegre — the most concentrated and highest-quality collection of commissioned street art in South America: the murals cover entire house facades (some 10+ metres high) with both representational art (the social-realistic tradition of Chilean muralism, derived from the Mexican muralist tradition of Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros) and abstract work; the local Valparaíso artists (La Robot de Madera, Inti Castro) and international artists (Os Gemeos from Brazil, Etam Cru from Poland)); the Paseo Gervasoni and Paseo Yugoslavo (the lookout terraces (paseos) on the ridge of Cerro Concepción — the finest panoramic views of the Valparaíso Bay and the Pacific Ocean from the city's hillside streets).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideValparaíso ascensores (the funicular elevators that connect the lower city (the plan) to the cerros (hills) — the most distinctive urban infrastructure in South America): the ascensores (the Valparaíso funicular lifts — small cable-drawn counterbalanced cars that travel up and down the steep hillside tracks; the cars are typically wooden cabins on wheeled bogies that run on inclined rail tracks cut into the hillside; the original 1880s-1910s mechanism (the counterbalance system: two cars connected by a cable over a pulley at the summit; the heavier descending car pulls up the lighter ascending car using gravity — the most energy-efficient lift system in existence)): Ascensor Concepción (the oldest surviving funicular in Valparaíso — built 1883; the 69-metre track between the Prat Esplanade on the plan and Cerro Concepción above; fare CLP 100 (€0.10) each way; the wooden cabin in the original condition); Ascensor Artillería (built 1893; connects the Wheelwright Esplanade to the Paseo 21 de Mayo viewpoint on Cerro Artillería — the finest single panoramic view of the Valparaíso Bay, the port and the Pacific; the paseo at the top has the Museum of the Chilean Navy and the viewpoint over the Pacific); Ascensor El Peral (built 1902; the most central funicular, connecting the Justicia Plaza to Cerro Alegre; the most used funicular by tourists).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLa Sebastiana (the Valparaíso house of the Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) — one of the three houses that Neruda built and decorated throughout Chile (La Chascona in Santiago, La Sebastiana in Valparaíso, and Isla Negra on the coast): La Sebastiana (named for Sebastián Collados, the Spanish architect who began the building but died before completion; Neruda bought and completed the building in 1961 and lived there until his death in 1973); the house (the five-storey tower house on Cerro Florida (Valparaíso hill 7) at the address Ferrari 692; the most eccentrically decorated of the three Neruda houses: the wooden bar carousel horse from a 1913 Parisian merry-go-round, the collection of ships' figureheads (the carved wooden female figures from the prows of 19th-century sailing ships), the mechanical birds that Neruda loved to collect, the glass-enclosed dining room with the view over the Valparaíso Bay and the Pacific); Neruda's connection to Valparaíso (Neruda considered Valparaíso the most beautiful city in Chile — "I have always said that Valparaíso is the most beautiful port city in Chile and the whole world, if you include the world"; his collection of poems "Odes to Valparaíso" is the finest literary homage to any Chilean city)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideValparaíso seafood dinner (the Pacific coast seafood of Valparaíso — the most diverse and freshest seafood in Chile): the congrio (the conger eel (Genypterus chilensis) — the most prized fish in Chilean cooking; the caldillo de congrio (the conger eel stew with the potato, the onion, the tomato and the cream) is the most famous Chilean recipe, immortalised in Pablo Neruda's poem "Oda al Caldillo de Congrio" (1954) — "In the tempestuous sea of Chile lives the pink congrio... a chowder of him for two will be incomparable..."); the machas (the razor clams (Mesodesma donacium) of the Chilean Pacific coast — the machas a la parmesana (the razor clams baked with the Parmesan cheese, the butter and the white wine) is the most popular Chilean shellfish dish); the piure (the sea squirt (Pyura chilensis) — the most unusual ingredient in Chilean coastal cooking: the bright red sea squirt (a tunicate — a primitive chordate (related to vertebrates) that lives attached to rocks in the intertidal zone of the Chilean coast) with an intensely iodine-flavoured, blood-red flesh; eaten raw with lemon or cooked in rice dishes); the Chilean wine (the Casablanca Valley (25 km east of Valparaíso) produces the finest Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in Chile (the cool maritime influence of the Pacific Humboldt Current creates ideal conditions for aromatic white wines); the carménère (the "lost variety" of Bordeaux, rediscovered in Chile in 1994 (the DNA analysis of the vine incorrectly labelled as Merlot in Chile since the 1850s revealed it was actually Carménère, a Bordeaux variety thought extinct since the phylloxera epidemic of 1865)).
Valparaíso Port and Maritime History (the "Jewel of the Pacific" — the most important Pacific port in the world from 1820-1914): the port history (Valparaíso was founded in 1536 by the Spanish conquistador Juan de Saavedra; the city became the main port of the Spanish Pacific colonial trade (the Manila Galleon trade route included Valparaíso as the key South American waypoint for silver and spice); after Chilean independence (1818) Valparaíso became the most cosmopolitan city in South America: the British merchant community (the Valparaíso British Chamber of Commerce was the most powerful commercial body in the Pacific); the German mercantile houses; the Chilean ship-building industry (the Pacific Steam Navigation Company — the British shipping company whose regular steam service from Liverpool to Valparaíso via Cape Horn (founded 1840) was the first regular Pacific steam shipping route)); the Paseo Yugoslavo (the viewpoint on Cerro Alegre built by the Yugoslav immigrant community of Valparaíso in 1910 — the most elegant of the Valparaíso viewpoint terraces; the panorama of the port, the bay, the surrounding cerros and the Pacific beyond); the Barón Esplanade (the historic waterfront promenade with the views of the working port, the grain silos and the container terminal — the working port of Valparaíso is still the busiest port in Chile by tonnage and the most important copper export terminal in South America).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideViña del Mar (the "Garden City" — the seaside resort city immediately north of Valparaíso (contiguous urban area, accessible by bus or metro in 20 min); the most famous beach resort in Chile): the contrast with Valparaíso (while Valparaíso is bohemian, colourful and labyrinthine, Viña del Mar is flat, ordered, prosperous and floral — the two cities form the most striking urban contrast in Chile: the anarchic, artistic port city adjacent to the manicured, bourgeois resort city); the Viña del Mar parks (the Quinta Vergara — the most famous park in Chile: the formal gardens of the 1908 Vergara family estate; the open-air amphitheatre (the Quinta Vergara amphitheatre is the venue for the Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar — the most important music festival in Latin America, held every February)); the Casablanca Valley wine route (the wine country 25 km east of Viña del Mar: the cool-climate vineyards of the Casablanca Valley (the most fashionable wine region in Chile for white wines — the Sauvignon Blanc, the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir from the valley are the finest cool-climate wines in South America; the valley wineries: Matetic, Emiliana, Casa del Bosque)); the Viña del Mar beaches (Playa de Viña del Mar, the Playa de Reñaca — the long sandy Pacific beaches north of Viña del Mar; the Pacific water temperature (15-18°C year-round — the Humboldt Current keeps the Chilean Pacific coast cold even in summer).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCasablanca Valley wine tour (the 25 km east of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso; the most acclaimed cool-climate wine region in Chile; accessible by taxi or tour from Valparaíso): the Casablanca Valley (the valley runs perpendicular to the Pacific coast at 200-400 m altitude; the cool Humboldt Current maritime influence creates the ideal conditions for aromatic white wine grapes (the night temperatures drop to 10-12°C even in summer — the temperature range of 15-20°C between the night minimum and the afternoon maximum concentrates the aromatics in the grape skin)); the dominant varieties (the Sauvignon Blanc (the fresh, citrus-and-herb aromatic style of Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc is the most internationally recognised expression of Chilean white wine); the Chardonnay (the richer, barrel-fermented style of the Casablanca wineries (the Casa del Bosque and the Matetic Chardonnay are regularly rated among the top 20 Chardonnays of the Southern Hemisphere)); the Pinot Noir (the cool-climate Pinot Noir of Casablanca — the most burgundian-style red wine produced in Chile; the Santa Rita "Floresta" and the Casa Marin "Miramar" Pinot Noir are the benchmark Casablanca reds)); the winery visit (the Emiliana Organic Vineyard or the Casa del Bosque — both offer winery tours, barrel tastings and vineyard walks in English).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCerro Alegre evening scene (the most animated evening neighbourhood in Valparaíso): the bar culture (Valparaíso has the most active bohemian bar scene in Chile (the city has the highest concentration of artists, musicians, students and writers relative to its population of any Chilean city): the Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción bars are the most characteristic; the Playa Ancha bars (the working-class neighbourhood bars (botillerías — the Chilean word for bars that also sell off-licence alcohol) of Playa Ancha and the lower plan are the most authentic port-city drinking establishments)); the live music (the Valparaíso live music scene: the cueca (the Chilean national dance — a courtship dance between the rooster and the hen; the man uses a handkerchief (the pañuelo) to seduce the woman who evades; the cueca was declared the national dance of Chile in 1979; the Valparaíso version (the cueca porteña) is faster and more urban than the rural cueca of the Chilean countryside)); the late-night street art walk (the Cerro Alegre murals at night — the street lights illuminate the murals differently from the daytime; the night walk between the cerros with the view of the bay lights is the most atmospheric moment in Valparaíso).
El Plan (the lower city of Valparaíso — the flat coastal strip between the sea and the base of the cerros; the commercial and administrative district of Valparaíso): Plaza Sotomayor (the main square of Valparaíso — the most important public space in the city; the square faces the Grand Harbour and is flanked by the Intendencia Regional (the regional government building — a 19th-century Neoclassical building in the French style) and the Navy Headquarters; the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique (the marble monument in the centre of the plaza commemorating the naval heroes of the Battle of Iquique (May 21, 1879 — the most famous naval battle in Chilean history: the battle between the Chilean corvette "Esmeralda" (commanded by Captain Arturo Prat) and the Peruvian ironclad "Huáscar" during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884); Prat boarded the Huáscar alone after his ship was sinking and was killed; his death made him the greatest hero of the Chilean Navy); the underground crypt below the Plaza Sotomayor contains the remains of Prat and the other naval heroes of Iquique)); the Palacio Baburizza (the Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) palace built 1916 on Cerro Alegre for the Croat mining millionaire Pascual Baburizza — now the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts of Valparaíso; the finest Art Nouveau building in Chile).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCerro Barón and Cerro Florida walking tour (the less touristed cerros away from the Cerro Alegre/Concepción tourist centre): Cerro Barón (the cerro immediately west of the main tourist zone; the neighbourhood is more residential and less commercialised than Cerro Alegre; the street art (the Cerro Barón murals are some of the largest in Valparaíso — the side walls of the 4-storey buildings provide the largest "canvases" for the major commissioned murals (some 20+ metres tall))); the panoramic walk (the ridge path connecting Cerro Barón to Cerro Florida (where La Sebastiana is located) passes through the residential cerros of Valparaíso at the ridge-line, providing continuous views over the bay and the city below; the walk is the most authentic experience of the working cerro neighbourhood (the older residents with their market bags, the dogs, the children playing, the laundry lines above the street art murals)); Cerro Florida (the most bohemian of the inner cerros — the neighbourhood favoured by the Valparaíso arts community; the most residential feel of any cerro accessible from the city centre).
Valparaíso sunset panorama (the finest viewpoints for the sunset over the Pacific and the Valparaíso Bay): the Paseo 21 de Mayo on Cerro Artillería (the most panoramic terrace in Valparaíso — the wide terrace at the top of the Ascensor Artillería provides the most comprehensive single view of the Valparaíso Bay: the working port (the container terminal, the grain silos, the cruise ship berths), the Barón Esplanade, the Pacific horizon, and the surrounding cerros; the sunset from Paseo 21 de Mayo is the most photographed Valparaíso scene; the Chilean Navy Museum (Museo Naval y Marítimo) occupies the former Naval School building at the top of Cerro Artillería — the collection documents the history of the Chilean Navy from the Battle of Iquique (1879) to the present); the naval salute (at sunset (approximately 18:00-19:00 depending on season) the Chilean Navy performs the flag-lowering ceremony (the Arriado del Pabellón) at the Naval Headquarters on Plaza Sotomayor — the most atmospheric formal military ceremony in Valparaíso; accessible to the public from the plaza).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFinal Valparaíso evening (the experience of the city at dusk and into the night): the port bars (the Valparaíso port neighbourhood bars along the Barón Esplanade and the Prat Esplanade — the working seaman's bars that have served the Valparaíso port community since the 19th century; the most historic is the Bar Inglés (British Bar) on Cochrane Street (in operation since the late 19th century, serving the British merchant sailors who dominated the Cape Horn trade; the original Victorian bar furniture and the copper railings)); the Chilean empanada (the most ubiquitous Chilean street food — the baked or fried pastry filled with: the pino (the classic filling of minced beef, onion, hard-boiled egg, olives and raisins), the cheese (queso), the seafood (mariscos)); the chicha morada (the Peruvian-Chilean purple corn drink — made from the dried Peruvian purple corn boiled with spices (cinnamon, clove, star anise) and sweetened; the most distinctive non-alcoholic drink of the Pacific coast of South America)); the view of the bay at night (the Valparaíso Bay at night — the port lights, the ascensor lights on the cerros, the illuminated houses in every colour on the hillsides, and the Pacific darkness beyond — is the most atmospheric nightscape in Chile).