Hostels in SANTIAGO, CHILE

City of Santiago, Chile’s Capital with Rich History

Located at an elevation of 520, Santiago is capital, and also, the largest city of Chile. It is located in Chile’s central valley. It is one of the most developed areas of Latin America owing to three decades of uninterrupted growth.

Accommodation Options
Budget hotels, with bed and breakfast options, are available, as also, mid-range hotels, and 5 star hotels, depending upon your budget ultimately. For cost affective accommodation look to guesthouse, youth hostels and motels.

History
Santiago was founded on February 12, 1541, with the name Santiago del Nuevo Extremo by Spain born Pedro de Valdivia. An uprising, which started in August 1541, ended more than three years later causing lot of destruction. After that, on February 12, 1847, after a long colonial rule, Chile, and subsequently Santiago was declared independent. Since then, Chile, and Santiago subsequently, have continued to grow. There was a minor economic crisis in 1981, which was recovered pretty quickly after the policies were corrected.

Popular Places and Attractions
Home to Cerro San Cristóbal is a vast park, Parque Metropolitano. From top of it, on a clear day, you can have a view of the whole city. Plaza De Armas is country’s main plaza, which is of considerable historical importance. La Moneda Palace is the presidential palace, which one may visit. Parque Forestal is a long park that runs parallel to Mapocho River.

Getting Around
Metro Santiago is one of the best Metro networks in the world. Metro rail runs from 6AM to 11PM. You can travel by bus also, which are mostly modern. You can pay your fair only by bip card, which you can also use for metro travel. Contact a metro station to guide you. Buses run round the clock.

Places of Entertainment
Centro Cultural Matucana 100 is home to various exhibitions especially for art lovers. Teatro Municipal stages various historical performances, including Opera and international dances. The city is also famous for its Jazz Clubs. The Club de Jazz de Santiago is arguably the best Jazz Club, and one can check listings on El Mercurio. Also, in the listing on El Mercurio, one can check for performing arts and theatres and dance. They take place mostly on Fridays and Saturdays, and offer discounts with Student ID card, and even to foreigners.

There are lots of malls. Principle malls are:-
•    Mall Plaza Vespucio
•    Mall Plaza Oeste
•    Mall Portal de La Dehesa
•    Mall Parque Arauco
•    Mall Alto Las Condes
•    Mall Florida Center
•    Mall Plaza Norte

Adventure
Skiing and mountain climbing are two adventure sports which are not very expensive, and the equipments can be hired easily.

Currency
Chilean Peso (CLP) is the local currency, which is divided into 100 centavos. 100 CLP are equal to 1/5th dollar nearly (around 0.18 US$). Check news for latest conversion rates.

Group accommodation in Santiago | Cheap Hostels & budget hotels