We spent 3 days in the atmospheric city of Valparaíso. This vibrant port city, with its colourful buildings tumbling down the hills towards the ocean, its murals and historic funicular railways is an excellent place to spent a few days exploring. Here is my pick of the top 10 things to do during a visit to Valparaíso.
How to get to Valparaíso
There are a number of bus companies operating the 75 mile route between Santiago and Valparaíso. We went with pullmanbus, which runs regular services throughout the day (around 60+ services daily). The journey takes approximately 1 hour 40 minutes and an Executive Seat costs CLP 2950 (around £2.50) each way.
Getting Around Valparaíso
Valparaíso is built on the side of a hill (or several hills to be precise), so sightseeing involves a fair amount of climbing. However, one of the fun parts of visiting the city is to ride on the funicular railways which run up and down the various hills.
Where to stay in Valparaíso
We love a quirky hotel. In Valparaíso, we couldn’t resist staying at Hotel Winebox; a hotel manufactured from shipping containers. It is innovatively constructed and beautifully decorated. In addition, it offers great views from the rooms and rooftop bar/restaurant. However, it’s worth noting that shipping containers aren’t very soundproof!
The accommodation is constructed of 25 shipping containers, most of the décor is made from recycled pallets, bottles, barrels etc and it’s covered in murals. It’s very cool.
The hotel sits on a hill overlooking the city with great views both from the room balconies and the rooftop bar where they serve their own wine.
Room prices include breakfast, which is served on the rooftop.
Valparaiso: Top 10 Things to do
| 1 | Visit La Sebastiana, former home of Pablo Neruda |
| 2 | Take a ride on an Ascensor |
| 3 | Admire the street art at the Museo a Cielo Abierto |
| 4 | Check out the Reloj Turri |
| 5 | Soak up some culture at Palacio Baburizza |
| 6 | Stroll round Plaza Sotomayor |
| 7 | Reflect at the Monument to the Heroes |
| 8 | Take a train to Viña del Mar |
| 9 | Visit the Parque Cultural |
| 10 | Check out the graves of the rich and famous at Cementerio No 2 |
No 1 – Visit La Sebastiana, former home of Pablo Neruda
La Sebastiana is the home of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Neruda had this house built on five levels overlooking the city and bay, designed with a nautical theme.
Entry includes an audio tour of the house, which is very interesting.
Valparaíso is a fascinating place; spreading up a series of hills overlooking the ocean; a mixture of industrial port and colonial buildings mixed with slums – and there are murals everywhere. It’s dirty and chaotic, but also alluring. Neruda sums it up in his ode to the city that he loved:
VALPARAÍSO,
what an absurdity
you are,
how crazy:
a crazy port.
What a head
of disheveled
hills,
that you never finish
combing.
La Sebastiana is open daily from 10 am until least 6 pm. Entry costs CLP 9,500 (around £7.80).
No 2 – Take a ride on an Ascensor
Spend the morning in Valparaíso with no specific plan other than a combination of murals and funicular railways (Ascensores in Spanish). There are a total of 16 in Valparaiso, here are two favourites.
Ascensor Espírito Santo
The Ascensor Espírito Santo takes you up Cerro Bellavista to the Museo a Cielo Abierto.
The Ascensor Espírito Santo is open daily from 7 am until 9.30 pm. A ticket costs CLP 100 (around 8 pence).
Ascensor el Peral
The short but steep Ascensor el Peral takes you up Cerro Alegre, home to the Palacio Baburizza.
The Ascensor el Peral runs daily between 7 am and 10 pm and costs CLP 100.
No 3 – Admire the street art at the Museo a Cielo Abierto
The Museo a Cielo Abierto (Museum of the Open Sky) is an area which my guidebook says is adorned with colourful murals.
Unfortunately, the museum and Lonely Planet are both in need of some updating. It’s sad to see how dilapidated the area has become, making it both ugly yet beautiful at the same time.
No 4 – Check out the Reloj Turri
Descend back into town and pass the Reloj Turri, an iconic 1920s clock on the side of a rather narrow building.
No 5 – Soak up some culture at Palacio Baburizza
Palacio Baburizza is an art nouveau chalet built in 1916 for a wealthy businessman. It is now an art gallery.
The Palacio is an interesting building with stained glass, wrought iron and an intriguing marble shower. The building outclasses the art it contains, but there is a great view across the city and port to the neighbouring town of Viña del Mar.
The Palace is open between Tuesday and Sunday from 10 am until 6 pm. Entry for foreigners costs CLP 4,000 (around £3.30) and includes an audio guide.
No 6 – Stroll round Plaza Sotomayor
The bustling Plaza Sotomayor has souvenir stalls, street musicians etc, all watched over by the Naval building.
Naval Building
The imposing blue Naval Building, or Edificio Armada de Chile dominates the Plaza.
No 7 – Reflect at the Monument to the Heroes
The Monument to the Heroes is another imposing edifice. It honours Chile’s naval heroes.
No 8 – Take a train to Viña del Mar
Take a train for the 5 mile journey along the coast to Viña del Mar. The train is clean and modern and runs every 10 minutes or so along the ocean front. The fare costs 600 CLP (around £0.50) each way each way. It is a pleasant journey which passes tree lined beaches packed with people and pelicans.
Castillo Wulff
A walk along the coast of the resort town of Viña del Mar will bring you past the Castillo Wulff, another house of a wealthy businessman. It was built in 1906 to look like a castle with a bridge to a tower overhanging the rocks beneath.
It is not currently possible to visit the Castle.
No 9 – Visit the Parque Cultural
The Parque Cultural; according to Lonely Planet it’s the city’s No 2 attraction and, I quote; “has a little bit of everything the thinking traveler could ask for. There are excellent murals in the old exercise yards, rotating arts exhibits, live theater and dance and… other intellectually stimulating events.”
Meanwhile, back in the real world, after a steep 30 minute walk, we found ourselves in a yard surrounded by concrete and filled with stray dogs. There is some interesting art work spread around the complex.
No 10 – Check out the graves of the rich and famous at Cementerio No 2
On the way back into town, take a detour through Cementerio No 2. The rich and famous of Valparaiso are buried here and in Cementerio No 1.
- Trip taken: February 2019
- Updated: March 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For more top picks from other destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full Top 10 Things To Do list here.
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