At times eclipsed by Buenos Aires’ old-world splendor and Lima’s gastronomic panache, Santiago is starting to realize its own cultural potential as one of South America’s most alluring places to live
Nearly three decades after the end of a military dictatorship that stifled a previously flourishing cultural scene, the art, design, and culinary renaissance in Santiago is in full swing, fast making it one of South America’s most desirable cities to live in.
With a heady blend of Spanish colonial and neoclassical architecture, modern buildings, and skyscrapers, the city effortlessly weaves tradition, colonial customs, and modern international philosophies into its tapestry. Visitors are often surprised to behold the colonial buildings that give the city its European feel and are equally impressed by the interconnected nature of its clean and efficient transport system, which makes every neighborhood easily accessible—unusual for a South American city. Such an infrastructure has contributed to Santiago’s cultural emergence, with restaurants, bars, parks, and museums and galleries within easy reach.
The areas of Vitacura, Las Condes, and Lo Barnechea are some of the city’s most upmarket districts—three residential havens with sun-soaked parks, tree-lined avenues, and safe neighborhoods, all evolving in their own unique fashion.
“We have seen a surge in demand for properties in these areas,” explains María José Bórquez Yunge of Bórquez & Asociados, the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in the city. “Mainly for the transport links, the good schools, and the high standard of local restaurants and shops. The city’s unique connectivity has opened up new areas for investment. Santiago has transformed into a very important cultural center, and now has everything to offer property buyers, from the best brands to the best restaurants.”
The cultural change in Santiago over the past few years has been transformational.
“The cultural change in Santiago over the past few years is transformational,” agrees Gabriel O’Rorke, owner and founder of South American Rep, which works to build relationships between some of South America’s finest luxury hotels and the travel trade. “It’s like someone has turned the lights on. In summer, the capital now pulses with an abundance of live music, film, theater, eateries, and jazz festivals, enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.”
Along with a recent history of cultural suppression, Chile’s geographical isolation obstructed its visibility within the global art world for some time, but this is changing fast. Each year in May, Santiago now hosts its own Galería Weekend—the same model as Gallery Weekend Chicago—which gives the city’s contemporary artists, galleries, and museums the opportunity to showcase their work and curations to the global art community across the four-day event.
A group of well-traveled artists are introducing Chile’s contemporary art scene to the global stage, including Rodrigo Valenzuela, whose work has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, and visual artist Paula Lopez Droguett, who has exhibited her raw photography and installation work in museums and spaces from France to Mexico.
Major museums such as the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts and the recently renovated Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art display collections of artworks that reflect the diversity of Chile’s contemporary culture, and Centro Gabriela Mistral, named after the famous Chilean poet, celebrates the country’s performing arts and cultural heritage with film screenings and exhibitions.
Undoubtedly the most prominent aspect of Santiago’s cultural awakening is its thriving gastronomic scene. Veteran chefs are returning to their native country armed with international experience, adventurous flavors, and brave concepts, helping to forge a fresh culinary identity for Chile. The same creative vigor on show in the city’s architecture, design, and art imbues the menus of its vibrant restaurants, with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal produce and traditional cooking techniques. Take Rodolfo Guzmán’s Boragó in Vitacura. Number 27 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2018, Boragó showcases the wealth and diversity of native Chilean ingredients (many sourced from remote regions such as Atacama and Patagonia) with gastro wizardry that tests the bandwidth of diners’ imaginations.
Elsewhere, Spanish chef Sergio Barroso, who trained at the legendary El Bullí in Spain, has relocated to Santiago to open Restaurant 040 where he presents his inventive cooking. And Carolina Bazán, who learned her craft at Frenchie in Paris, champions the best of Chile’s produce, teamed with the finest ingredients from around the world. At Bazán’s Ambrosía restaurant, diners will be served culinary delights such as oysters found in crystal-clear Antarctic waters and edible flowers that grow in the grasslands of Patagonia.
The Peumayen restaurant in the fashionable Bellavista neighborhood offers a contemporary take on “ancestral” fare, and the district’s culinary frontrunner Azul Profundo is a restaurant that takes full advantage of Chile’s 2,653 miles (4,270 km) of coastline for inventive seafood dishes. Another seafood favorite is Vitacura’s suave café Mestizo, situated at the edge of the sprawling Parque Bicentenario, and there’s also newcomer Quinoa, which caters to the local hipster crowd.
Santiago’s finest wine bar and restaurant BocaNáriz boasts a list of over 400 Chilean wines and is renowned for its unique approach to wine flights. In fact, wine lists across the city attest to Chile’s rich wine heritage and viticultural innovations, with scores of options from the esteemed wines of the Casablanca, Colchagua, and Maipo valleys (such as Concha y Toro and Cousiño Macul) to the lesser-known, boutique vineyards employing organic methods.
The beauty of Santiago for wine aficionados is its location, in the center of the Maipo Valley, with two of Chile’s oldest wineries (Viña Santa Carolina and Viña Cousiño Macul) just a short taxi ride away.
Not only is Santiago flanked by the epic Andes mountains—a playground for skiing and hiking enthusiasts—but northern Patagonia’s mountains, lakes, and fjords can be reached in under three hours by plane.
Santiago itself is home to a plethora of prestigious clubs that encourage an active lifestyle, such as Vitacura’s refined polo club, Las Condes’ Balthus club where you can enjoy a spa recharge, or Estadio Español de las Condes sports club that has a wide range of sports on offer, from tennis to figure skating.
For luxury shopping, the Avenida Alonso de Córdova (Santiago’s equivalent of Rue Saint-Honoré) in Vitacura is enough to sate the appetite of fashion lovers. Residents often drive down this tree-lined stretch, but a lengthy stroll leads to the district’s crown jewel—Parque Bicentenario, which teems with pink flamingos, lagoons, and locals relishing the lifestyle that this upmarket corner of Santiago offers.
Estate that Blends Old-world Charm with Contemporary Design, Lo Barnechea, Santiago, Chile
Modern Home with Terraces and Pool, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile
