Free Walking Tours of Santiago (in English and Spanish)

Tours Gratuitos de la Ciudad, courtesy of the Municipalidad de Santiago

In addition to its spiffy new bilingual-staffed tourism office in the Plaza de Armas, beside the Correos building (face the cathedral and it’s to the right, on the north side of the plaza with the Andes behind you), the municipality of Santiago has got another trick up its sleeve, this time in the form of free bilingual (English/Spanish) walking tours in the city.

Two tours take you alternatively around some of the bigger central attractions near the Plaza de Armas, or up to Cerro Santa Lucía (the smaller of the two hills, with the entrance right by the metro of the same name, or from Bellas Artes.

• Santiago Paso a Paso (Santiago Step by Step)

This tour leaves from the municipal tourism office mentioned above at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and takes you around the area, including the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral (on the plaza), the Ex National Congress building, the Courthouse (Palacio de Tribunales), the Bolsa de Comercio (stock market) and through the public portions of La Moneda (the presidential palace).

M/W/F 12:00, Tourism Office on north side of Plaza de Armas

• Caminando por el Cerro Santa Lucía (A Walkabout on Cerro Santa Lucía)

This tour leaves from Terraza Neptuno (near the Cerro Santa Lucía metro exit, leave the metro on the north side, towards the street Miraflores) Mondays at ten, and Saturdays and Sundays at 11, for a walk around and up this historic hill, including different terraces and plazas, old architecture and a trip up to the top for a panoramic view of the city. Footing is precarious at points, consider your footwear carefully.

M 11:00, Sat/Sun 12:00 Terraza Neptuno, Cerro Santa Lucía

Telephone contact 713-6745 or 713-6746, or by email cerrosantalucia@munistgo.cl