Another bus ride (this time just eight hours) got me into Santiago. I made it from the bus terminal to my hostel, left my stuff and started to explore the Bellavista area; Ialso  made it to the funicular to get up Cerro San Cristobal for an overview of town.

On my second day in Santiago I (roughly) followed the Lonely Planet walking tour through downtown Santiago.

The tour passed by the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the former train station (which now hosts the cultural center Estacion Mapocho). Lunch was served in Santiago’s Mercado Central. After lunch I continued to the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral.

I spent some time around this are before continuing the tour towards the Plaza de la Constitucion, the Palacio de la Moneda and the Plaza de la Ciudadania.

I extended the tour a slight bit and did walk up Avenida O’Higgins to get up the other hill in town – Cerro Santa Lucia, which is nicely located in a park with more good views of town and options to sit back and relax (very deserved at this point 😉 )
After that I wandered around downtown aimlessly … just to get in the Santiago vibe.

cathedral.