Valparaiso


Come visit Valparaiso! A unique city famous for being the cultural capital of Chile. The port is a natural stage where architects, poets, painters, artists, musicians and many other bohemian characters have succumbed to the charms of its colorful cultural landscape beside the sea.

Valparaiso played an important role in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the city served as a major stopover for ships passing between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that had to cross the Strait of Magellan. That was the city’s golden age, when international sailors referred to it as Little San Francisco and the Jewel of the Pacific, when it received large numbers of immigrants, primarily from Europe, which left a unique imprint on the city’s distinctive architecture. Each community built its own churches and schools, while many also founded other prominent cultural and economic institutions. The largest immigrant communities came from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy, each developing their own neighborhoods based around the port’s hills and preserved today as National Historic Districts. Thanks to this legacy, the city of Valparaíso was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.

Experience Valparaiso´s heritage while enjoying the comfort of the area’s top-class hotels and restaurants. Visit La Sebastiana, one of the poet Pablo Neruda´s three Chilean homes, which has been converted into a museum. Stroll around the city’s hills and see the port in action. Walk through the various passageways that invariably lead to spectacular views, and of course, climb on board one of the famous lifts, curious funiculars that take you up and down the hills.

Sportstour suggests:
3 day (2 night) trip
Arrival and departure transfers between Santiago Airport or hotel, as well as daily excursions

Recommended activities:
Visit Viña del Mar, located only 15 minutes along the coast from Valparaíso
Discover the amazing Chilean seafood
Visit the open-air museum of murals painted between 1969 and 1973 by students from the Faculty of Art at the Catholic University. The Espiritu Santo lift behind Plaza Victoria will take you to the center of this open-air exhibition.
Enjoy the views of the port from the Paseo 21 de Mayo viewpoint
Buy local art directly from the artists in their workshops
Take the Queen Victoria funicular to the top of the hill
Enjoy a Pisco Sour on one of the restaurant terraces overlooking the bay