Trip: March 2018
Below is our Top 5 Things To Do in Valparaiso, Chile, part of the Just Carrying On – Top 5 Things To Do series. These lists are favorite activities, eats, and drinks from our travels around the world—in no particular order.
We stayed in the neighborhood of Cerro Alegre, spending 4 nights here after visiting Santiago in March of 2017. As travelers pretty unanimously will report, we enjoyed our time in what was simultaneously an enchanting and gritty city.
1. La Sebastiana Museo de Pablo Neruda and ‘O’ bus tour
This was a last minute decision on our last day in Valpo and turned out to be our favorite activity. After learning about the dictatorship of Pinochet and the persecution of artists under him, our interest in visiting one of the most famed writer’s of Chile’s past was piqued. The house itself is beautiful, with some of the best views of Valpo and fresh salty sea air flowing through the open windows. These are the same windows the famous poet used to look out when he was here writing. We arrived here via the ‘O’ bus which winds through the hills above the city, jumping on at the base of the Ascensor Artilleria. The O bus provides transport as well as a cheap self-guided tour through what one could argue is the real Valpo, beyond the tourist filled neighborhoods.
2. Fauna Restaurant Valparaiso
You can spend hours meandering through the labyrinth of this city, coming upon elevators and stairways and curving streets that drop you off at previously unknown destinations. This is how we stumbled upon Fauna Valparaiso, after walking down what seemed like a back street and viewing a large terrace perched on one of these hills. We enjoyed beers there one night, wine and an Aperol Spritz the other. As the sun sets and the chill from the ocean sets in, the restaurant provides blankets to keep you warm. We also brought our beanies.
3. Free walking tour with street art
Our walking tour of Valpo was excellent, and long! We received fair warning from our guide Daniel, who said the history of the city he loved was too much to cover in a 3 hour tour. Right he was. We finished our tour 5 hours later, tired and grateful. We learned so much about so many aspects of Chile, from the famed street art in the city, to the abundance of dogs, about Chile’s tensions with Argentina and Bolivia, and about the richness and poverty of this port city that makes it what it is.
4. Pizzeria Ecuador
Food was not always affordable in Chile but it was at Pizzeria Ecuador! We split a pizza, brought in our own bottle of cheap and delicious Chilean Wine (one of our favorites was Casillero del Diablo) and made a night of it. You can request your pizza with vegan cheese and whole wheat crust for no extra charge (if you’re not vegan, get the real cheese). An aside about cheap wine, we found that the best cheap Chilean varietals are Cabernet and Carmenere. In our opinion these are reliably better than a cheap Merlot or other table wine.
5. Boliche Le Pató
If we ranked our Top 5 posts this might be #1 in Valparaiso. The storefront of this empanadería is so small that if you aren’t looking closely you might miss it, although it is so popular there are often a few people lingering in the doorway or just outside. There are multiple types of empanadas to chose from, including a few vegan and vegetarian options. They are baked and not fried and Le Pató makes delicious salsas to add on top, while you scarf them down. One didn’t quite fill us and two each was too much, so we often shared three.
Honorable mentions
Valparaiso Cultural Center: If you take the self guided tour of the city on the ‘O’ bus then it will take you right by the Cultural Center. We showed up on a Saturday and there was a small artisan market in the courtyard, including food trucks and handicrafts. While it wasn’t a must see in itself, if you are already on the bus to Pablo’s house then it is definitely worth a stop.
Follow the music: While we were out one Friday night we heard horns and other instruments playing a type of loud and lively Bohemian folk. We followed the music to Plaza Civica and there was a group of musicians playing alongside dancers with choreographed routines, all for donations. A delight to stumble upon—so follow the music!
Top 5 Things To Do in Valparaiso, Chile is part of Just Carrying On – Top 5 Things To Do series, which offers our best travel recommendations from around the world.