A Day In…
9am
Check into the chic, boutique hotel The Aubrey, a 15-room former regal mansion that has been loving restored. While many of the guest rooms have terraces or patios, our favourite, the Art Deco Suite, is a chic, spacious hideaway with plenty of natural light, 300-thread count linen, high-speed wireless internet, and a warm, bright design persona. Be sure to make time in the evening for your complimentary Pisco Sour cocktail, made with South American sugarcane brandy and best enjoyed beside the hotel’s outdoor heated swimming pool. Suites from US$450, Constitución 299 - 317, Bellavista, Santiago, +56 2940 2800; www.theaubrey.com
10am
Head out on one of the three free walking tours conducted by Spicy Chile. The tours start from the Salvador Allende statue next to La Moneda Palace, and delve into local markets, old neighbourhoods, and key tourist attractions of Santiago over three to four hours. The highly entertaining guides all speak fluent English, and if you’re looking for something a bit more bespoke, they also do private tours. www.spicychile.cl
1pm
If you’ve worked up an appetite then the place to go is the Mercado Central de Santiago, the city’s central markets. Opened in 1872, this maze of stalls and stands serves as a central grocery for the city’s kitchens, and a palatepleaser for gourmet tourists looking for fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as the city’s best seafood. A few casual restaurants are located within the former railway station, serving up the likes of almejas con limón, raw clams with lemon juice; empanada de mariscos, a traditional turnover filled with chopped seafood, onion, and seasoning; and eye-catching pastel de jaiba, Chilean crab pie served in its own shell.
4pm
Walk off your lunch in the Parque Metropolitano, a vast park with the peak of Cerro San Cristóbal at its centre. Take the funicular to the top for stunning views of the Andes from outside the summit’s Catholic church, where Pope John Paul II once gave mass, and while away the afternoon heat in the botanical gardens or the park’s two public swimming pools. www.explorer-magazine.com 25