Lady’s Itinerary for 1 Day in Santiago, Chile

Today I want to share my travel itinerary for 1 day in Santiago with you. The capital of Chile has a lot to do and see, and it’s worth spending time here when you’re traveling in South America.

1 Day in Santiago

My Santiago sightseeing took place piecemeal while I was traveling in Chile. First there was my amazing day of wine tasting in the Maipo Valley.

Then came my evening of exploring bits and pieces of the Santiago restaurant scene after a day in Valparaiso.

But it was only at the end of my trip to Chile that I had the opportunity to spend 1 day in Santiago exploring the city center and doing some sightseeing.

Santiago, Chile

After 3 days in Patagonia, my flight from Punta Arenas arrived in Santiago in the afternoon. Given I’d been popping in and out of the city for two weeks, I knew the airport bus well.

After dropping my bags off at the left luggage office at Santiago airport, I hopped on board for the 30-minute ride to the Los Heroes metro station. Alighting, I walked east along the busy road.

I didn’t have a set agenda for my 1 day in Santiago, so I decided to meander and see what I would see.

First I passed by a large square flanked by government buildings and presided over by the largest national flag I’ve ever seen.

Then I came across the main building of the Universidad de Chile in all its historic grandeur.

Shortly thereafter I wandered through the pretty cobblestone streets of Londres and Paris before making my way up San Francisco street. Between the three street names, I felt very much at home in Santiago.

Continuing my 1 day in Santiago, I worked my way north where crowds of people spent their Saturday along the pedestrianized shopping street leading up to the Plaza de Armas.

The plaza itself was bustling. An outdoor concert drew a large crowd, and an open-air art fair attracted the curious.

Lining the square was an eclectic mix of buildings ranging from the historic Cathedral of Santiago to several museums and modern office buildings.

Continuing north, my 1 day in Santiago took me to the Parque Forestal, a pleasant strip of green space sandwiched between two major roads. In front of me was the beautiful Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

From there I headed south and found myself in front of a large elevator attached to the side of an inner-city hill. Intrigued, I hopped on board.

About halfway up, I remembered my crippling fear of heights. I sprinted out of the glass box as soon as I reached the top.

Suddenly I found myself in a serene garden, complete with fountains, flowers, and other flora. Cerro Santa Lucia was a beautiful place of respite from the busy city with stunning views of Santiago and the Andes in the distance.

I spent some time walking around and soaking up the calm before taking the elevator back down to street level. I held my breath the whole way.

By that time I was starting to get hungry. Disappointed I hadn’t been able to try the food at Coquinaria last time I was in Santiago, I took the metro to the closest station and walked through the quiet leafy neighborhood back to the cafe.

I arrived at 5pm to learn they weren’t serving much besides small bites, but I was still able to order some ceviche and a great glass of Pinot Noir.

Afterwards I was still hungry, so I did as I saw many of the locals do: I went inside and got ice cream. I took it across the street to the park and ate my chocolate-and-orange helado while sitting on a bench in the late afternoon sun.

I can’t remember the last time I ate ice cream in a park, but the experience was so pleasant I vowed to make a habit of it.

Not done being hungry, I continued my 1 day in Santiago by making my way to a nearby restaurant called Oporto, where I settled in for dinner. Despite the fact that I arrived at 8pm and stayed until 10, I was the only diner in the whole place.

I had a decent meal of prawns and risotto, but the service was surprisingly slow given I was the only one there.

When I finished my meal, I made my way back to Santiago airport and checked in for my slightly delayed flight to Dallas. My 1 day in Santiago had been great, and I was glad I’d finally been able to explore the city properly.

I quickly stopped by the airline lounge for some snacks and a shower, then hopped on my flight to enjoy the penultimate business class upgrade of my trip to Chile.

As the plane took off and I settled into my last glass of Chilean Carmenere, I waved good-bye to the city of Santiago and to Chile as a whole.

I was thankful for the two amazing weeks in which the country had shown me busy cities, the Atacama Desert, monumental moai in Easter Island, and bright blue glaciers in Patagonia.

There was more geographical diversity in Chile than in some countries far larger, and I was happy to have visited even the handful of places I went to on my trip. As for the rest, there’s sure to be a next time in Santiago and other parts of Chile.

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