24 Hours @ Valparaiso, Chile
"Valparaiso at Dawn" (Photo by ©ClixYou)
If you go to Chile, plan for a week-end at Valparaiso. You don't have enough time? Take at least one additional day to visit Chile’s most important seaport, to get the flavor of one of the most interesting cities in Chile, and a paradise for photographers. Valparaiso is a place you'll never forget.
During the day you can visit the seaport, climb to the hills, have a good lunch, take a short nap, explore yet another hill, have an excellent meal, and finish your night in "Bar Cinzano", a typical Valparaiso place, before going back to your hotel (exhausted but happy!). The photo above right was taken at 5 am from one of the main suites of the "Ultramar" Hotel. It is just one of many old Valparaiso houses reconverted in small hotels or B&B's. So, make reservations, get up early if you are staying in Santiago and drive to Valparaiso (see map in the left column).
Valparaiso Hills
"Cuchitril" (Photo by ©ClixYou)
Valparaiso is located in the "central valley" of Chile, at 90 minutes driving distance from Santiago, the capital city (see road map in the left column). "Built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Valparaiso boasts a labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways, embodying a rich architectural and cultural legacy" (From Wikipedia).
"The chain of 45 hills surrounding the bay is one of the greatest attractions of the city, since most of the buildings constructed on the slopes have been adapted to the topography of the place with steep steps and narrow alleys. Because it was mainly English, French and German immigrants who settled the area, they created an environment charged with varied shapes and colors" (from www.tourismchile.com). In perticular, Cerro Alegre (Happy Hill) and Cerro Concepcion (Conception Hill) historic districts constitute one of the most stunning and breathtaking cultural heritage sites in the world.
Cerro Alegre: "The English businessman, William Bateman, ... was the first to buy a property on the hill, where he built a house. His idea was quickly copied by his fellow countrymen, who had arrived as immigrants to the city, and soon a residential district was established with houses of a standard of construction which was superior to that usual for the period. The houses also had gardens which helped to beautify this first residential area on the hill. The colors of both the architecture and the gardens gave the hill the name Cerro Alegre."
Cerro Concepción: "In 1822 the English immigrants William Bateman and John Martin came to live here. They were later joined by German and French immigrants, who started to build houses which reminded them of their distant homelands: beautiful, comfortable houses of two floors, with bright, colorful front gardens. In 1856, a gas street-lighting system was inaugurated, and 15 streetlights were installed in Cerro Concepción. On December 1st 1883, the Concepción cable car ("ascensor") was opened. The wooden carriages are worked by counterweight, using a hydraulic system operated with tanks of water located on either side of the run" (From www.turismochile.com).
Pasaje Gálvez (Galvez Alley): is a narrow 4 blocks street that goes up between "Cerro Concepción" and "Cerro Alegre". The walls of many houses are painted with vivid colors or decorated with interesting grafitti or mural paintings (that's where my banner comes from!). For the curious traveller, this is one of the areas that is worth to explore in Valparaiso.
"Bar Cinzano"
"Bar Cinzano" (Photo by ©ClixYou)
Entering "Bar Cinzano" is like traveling in a time machine to go back to the bohemian Valparaiso of the late 1800's. With its traditional decoration, its popular singers that have been there for many years and its old and experienced waiters, you can feel the emotion of living in past eras.
Created by an Italian citizen more than 100 years ago, at first "Cinzano" was a place to sell food, booze, home products and many other things. Today it is a great place to visit for traditional food, drinks and music. A permanent team of musicians and singers play Chilean folk music, tango, boleros and even spanish music. You can even try to dance to that music between the tables.
Tours & Tips
"Ferrari Street" (Photo by ©ClixYou)
TIP #1: The "bicentennial tourist trail" web page (www.senderobicentenario.cl) suggests 15 different routes to explore Valparaiso. Each stage takes between 90 minutes o 3 hours to walk. The site display high level maps indicating the area that your tour will cover (map below) as well as detailed maps of the route and explanations about the more interesting points.
TIP #2: If you have limited time in Valparaiso and you can take only one of the tours, then select the one in the map at the right, that will take you through Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion (see above) including Pasaje Galvez and the ever changing graffiti in its walls. The neighborhoods are well preserved and tourist friendly. Just take care as you would do in any other city in the world.
Dining in Valparaiso
For me, the absolute Number One restaurant in Valparaiso is "Pasta e Vino" (TIP #3). The Frommer's guide to Chile says about this place: "... a warm, intimate ambience, fabulous cuisine, and owner-attended service. Pasta e Vino ... remains the best restaurant in this city -- the reason why you'll need to make reservations days in advance. ... The ambience is exposed brick walls and sophisticated chic, but wooden tables and a lively atmosphere keeps the restaurant down-to-earth".
If you couldn't get a table at the "Pasta...", three very good options are "Gato Tuerto" (with a great view of the Valparaiso bay), "Apolo 77" (excellent food in a typical Valparaiso house) and "Le Filou de Montpellier" (a typical French bistrot hidden in a Valparaiso hill).
See the Valparaiso street map in the left bar and click in the marks to find the addresses for all the places in this note.
¡Thanks for your visit!
You can go now to my Flickr site to see more photos from the streets and hills of Valparaiso.