Santiago Audioguides

On a clear winter morning in Santiago, the snow-capped peaks of the Andes rise above the smog line to the east like a wall someone forgot to take down. The mountains are always there when the air clears, which happens reliably after rain, and their presence gives the city a specific kind of grandeur that its streets alone cannot provide. Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago in 1541 on a loop of the Mapocho River, and the Plaza de Armas he laid out is still the city's ceremonial centre, flanked by the cathedral, the post office and the Municipalidad.

The interesting Santiago is the one layered around and above that colonial core.

Barrio Italia has become the neighbourhood architects and graphic designers moved into when rents in Barrio Lastarria got too high -- converted old homes now host record shops, natural wine bars and the occasional dog-friendly bookshop. Cerro Santa Lucia, a park carved into a rocky hill in the middle of the city, offers views across the low-rise urban spread towards the cordillera. The pisco sour is the national argument everyone agrees on, and empanadas de pino (beef and olive) from a market stall is the kind of lunch that doesn't ask for more than it needs to be.