Brujo Glacier
Chile Comes out from the Cold
Clue Up On Culture In Capital City Santiago Experimental restaurants, a sophisticated arts scene and a general, all-round nod to eccentricity make Chile’s mountain-fringed capital one of the most intriguing cities in South America. Small enough to discover in a long weekend, Santiago is made up of several easily navigable neighbourhoods, all radiating their own special character. Considered a cultural heartland, the leafy Lastarria district offers pleasant pavement cafes and distinctive
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boutique hotels, many housed in the few colonial-style buildings spared by a succession of devastating earthquakes. Influenced by neoclassical French architecture, the grand Singular Santiago is one of the most spacious and atmospheric hotels in the city. Sip coffee in an elegantly cluttered lounge supervised by waiters attired in smart waistcoats, or zip right up to the 21st century at the hip rooftop cocktail bar. Many museums and historical buildings can be found in the 16th century Plaza de Armas, the city’s main square, where old men furrow brows over games of chess beneath the shadow of the ornate 18th
century Metropolitan Cathedral. But a more offbeat attraction is La Chascona (meaning ‘wild mane of hair’), the house built in the mid-Fifties by Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda for his lover Matilde, who had striking curly red locks. Like the man himself, the property is wonderfully eccentric: a secret doorway links the dining area and bedroom, allowing the host to surprise guests or disappear for a quick nap; and decorations include an enormous pair of men’s brogues, once used by a shoe shop to advertise their wares to the illiterate. The poet, along with his friend, social activist and singer Violeta
Living Along The Thames | JULY / AUGUST 2016