Valparaíso

Valparaiso, a legendary port city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Steeped in the legends of the Cape Horn sailors, the city has a distinct charm. Its old funiculars still climb the 45 hills surrounding the city, and the stilt houses clinging to the sides of these “cerros” give the city its vivid colours. Visit its main avenues (Francia, Brasil, etc.), its main squares (de la Victoria, Simón Bolívar, Sotomayor) and its landmarks (the central market, “Casa Matriz”, the Catholic University, the Congress building, the naval museum).

Valparaíso (the “Paradise Valley”) was named by the Spanish conquistador Juan de Saavedra in honour of his hometown. From the 16th century onward, the city gradually became a strategic port, positioned along the route around Cape Horn. Until the first third of the 20th century, it played a pioneering role in the country’s urban progress: public lighting, gas connections, telephone and telegraph. From that era, the city retains a remarkable architectural heritage.

The construction of the Panama Canal marked the end of this golden age, driving the departure of elites and capital toward Santiago, the seat of political power.

Shaped like an amphitheatre facing the sea and climbing the first foothills of the Andes, the city today lives between the glory of a bygone past and the reality of a port whose activity is growing under the country’s strong economic momentum and its proximity to the capital. About fifteen funicular lifts allow visitors to explore the “cerros” (hills bordering the city).