~ where to go in Santiago ~

I don’t consider Santiago to be a very interesting city to visit since we really don’t take much care of our historical buildings or public places (to my mind Chile in general is nice place to visit in terms of landscapes). But still, there are some places that you can go if you’re a tourist visiting Santiago.

First of all. When visiting Santiago one must consider it’s history. For example a very important fact to take into acount is that Chile was ruled by a military regime for almost 20 years. Considering this there are several places related to that subject that one can visit. Such are the “Memory and human rights museum” (“Museo de la memoria y de los derechos humanos” in spanish), “Grimaldi villa” (“Villa Grimaldi” in spanish), and the “Memorial to the detainees and disappeared” (“Memorial a los detenidos desaparecidos” in spanish) located in the General Cementery of Santiago.

The “Memory and human rights museum” exposes some of the human rights’s violations that took place in Chile between 1973 and 1990. “Grimaldi villa” is an extensive property that was used during the dictatorship as a detention and torture center. Currently it’s a “park to the peace” that honors all the women and men that were murdered there. The “Memorial to the detainees and disappeared” is a very large wall that has the names hundreds of victims of the regime. The memorial is located in the General Cementery of Santiago. This Cementery is actually another place that should be visited if you’re a tourist. The General Cementery was founded in 1821 by Bernando O’Higgings and holds a great architectural value. Besides some of Chile’s most famous personalities were buried there (such as Salvador Allende, Violeta Parra, Victor Jara, Manuel Rodriguez and many more).

Going further back in Chile’s history takes us to another place that should be visited. I’m talking about the “Nacional Maipu Sanctuary” (“Santuario Nacional de Maipú” in spanish. It’s most commonly known as “El Templo votivo de Maipú”). This catholic temple was built by orders of Bernardo O’Higgings in the exact same place that the battle that assured Chile’s independence took place. This was done as a payment to the virgin to whom O’Higgins swore that if she helped them win the battle he would build her a temple.

Other places that should be visited are San Cristobal Hill (there you can visit the National Zoo and the statue of Virgin Mary) , Santa Lucía Hill, and “La Chaschona” (the house of the famous poet Pablo Neruda).

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