Tuesday, April 5, 2016

A weekend in Valparaiso


Valparaiso is a town on the coast of Chile one hour by bus from Santiago. The town is known for its large number of steep hills that surround the city centre and are accessible via a number of historic ferniculars.

The fernicular on Cerro Artilleria

The most famous and popular hills are Cerro Concepción and Cerro Alegre which house a number of restaurants and art galleries. These two hills are generally where all of the tourists head when visiting Valparaiso.

A street on Cerro Concepción

There are a number of gourmet restaurants and bars around Cerro Alegre which provide stunning views over the city.

A view of Valparaiso cemetery from Cerro Alegre

Especially at night:

The hills of Valparaiso at night

Valparaiso is also known for its street art which can be found all over the city. However some of the best is found on Cerro Polanco.

Street art on Cerro Polanco


more street art on Cerro Polanco

There is also a lookout on top of the hill which gives good views of Valparaiso.

Valparaiso from Cerro Polanco

Coming down from the hills is the central business district of Valparaiso. This part if the city can be navigated on the city's historic trolley  buses or somewhat confusing collectivo and bus system.

Trolley buses

From this part of the city you can walk along the boardwalk that follows the coastline of Valparaiso.

Valparaiso beach


The coast

There is also a colony of sealions that can be seen from the boardwalk.

A colony of sealions

The walk along the coast goes for several kilometres and ends near the city's port.

Valparaiso port

From here it is easy to walk back to the Cerro Alegre fernicular and grab just one more pisco sour to finish the day ;)

Chilean pisco sour

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