2025 Sep 28: Santiago

Sunday. Set out to follow the GPSmyCity Bellavista walk.

Passed through Barrio San Borja, a neighborhood adjacent to our Barrio Isidro:

Parque San Borja:

Happened upon an exhibit by students of the University of Chile Architecture school, in the ruins of a gothic church:

The view toward Bellavista and Cerro San Cristobal:

On Sundays they close several of the thoroughfares in the city to autos, & people come out in droves to bike or run:

OK Barrio Bellavista. This is the Santana Row of Santiago: clean, upscale, touristy, frequented by 20-somethings:

it has one absolute must-see attraction - La Chascona, Pablo Neruda’s house. You tour inside & out with an audio guide that describes his life:

(You’re not allowed to photograph the interior)

After our tour we had a really good lunch on the adjoining plaza at Zacarias. He was there, greeted us. Apparently it had just opened 4 days ago:

The short walk from there to the base of Cerro San Cristobal:

Then we climbed the 880 meters to the top. Another must-do (there’s a funicular if you’re not up for the hike):

We took the funicular back down. Fun!

On the walk home, we discovered what is currently our favorite Barrio: Lastarria. Very nice; lots of bars, restaurants & ice cream. Tasteful, not many tourists (although it’s in a wine bar here where we met the only other native English speakers of our entire stay):

That is all. Walked 8 miles!