Metropolitana de Santiago is the central Chilean region built around the capital, Santiago, a city of about seven million set in a valley between the Andes and the Coastal Range. Beyond the capital it holds the Cajon del Maipo canyon, the pottery town of Pomaire, the Maipo Valley vineyards and the Andean ski centres of Farellones, La Parva, El Colorado and Valle Nevado.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Metropolitana de Santiago.
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1
First peoples in the Mapocho valley
Hunter-gatherers settle the central valley between the Andes and the coastal range, drawn by the Mapocho river and the rich basin.
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2
Inca expansion reaches the valley
The Inca Empire extends its road network into the Mapocho and Maipo valleys, building a tambo and an administrative centre and absorbing the local Picunche into the Tawantinsuyu.
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3
Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago
Valdivia founds Santiago del Nuevo Extremo at the foot of Cerro Huelen, laying out a grid of streets around what is now the Plaza de Armas.
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4
Indigenous attack destroys the town
Picunche and Mapuche warriors led by Michimalonco burn Santiago while Valdivia is away; the settlers survive on little food and rebuild.
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5
Great earthquake
A major earthquake on 13 May 1647 destroys most of Santiago, killing about 1,000 people and prompting stronger colonial construction.
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6
La Moneda completed
Joaquin Toesca's mint, the largest building in the colony, is finished after more than two decades of work and later becomes the presidential palace.
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7
First National Government Junta
Creoles in Santiago form a governing junta, the first step toward independence from Spain, now celebrated as Chile's national day.
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8
Battle of Chacabuco
The Army of the Andes under San Martin and O'Higgins defeats the Spanish and enters Santiago, installing Bernardo O'Higgins as Supreme Director.
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9
Battle of Maipu
A decisive victory a few kilometres from the city ends the Spanish threat and secures Chilean independence.
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10
Cementerio General opens
Santiago's first public cemetery is created north of the Mapocho river, replacing church burials.
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11
Vicuna Mackenna's remodelling
Mayor Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna transforms Cerro Santa Lucia into a park, canalises the Mapocho and builds the ring of boulevards that still define the centre.
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12
Estacion Central opens
The railway terminal links Santiago with the south and symbolises the city's industrial modernisation.
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13
Military coup
General Augusto Pinochet seizes power; La Moneda is bombed and President Salvador Allende dies. A 17-year dictatorship follows.
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14
Return to democracy
Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as president, ending the military regime.
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15
Maule earthquake
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake shakes Santiago, causing damage to historic buildings but limited casualties in the capital thanks to modern codes.
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16
Social unrest
Metro fare protests grow into mass demonstrations centred on Plaza Italia, leading to a constitutional process and referendums.
Historical sites
Places where Metropolitana de Santiago's past comes alive.
Plaza de Armas
The founding square of Santiago, laid out by Pedro de Valdivia in 1541 as the centre of a Spanish grid city. The surrounding buildings include the cathedral, the Correo Central and the Museo Historico Nacional, representing four and a half centuries of administrative power.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Free
Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago
The fifth cathedral on its site, built between 1748 and 1800 with Joaquin Toesca completing the facade and interior in neoclassical style. It holds colonial altars, the tomb of Bishop Jose Ignacio Cienfuegos and a museum of religious art.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Free
Palacio de La Moneda
Designed by Italian architect Joaquin Toesca and finished in 1805 as the colonial mint, the palace became the seat of government in 1845. It was bombed on 11 September 1973 and restored in 1981; today it is the Chilean president's workplace.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Free
Cerro Santa Lucia
Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago from the hill in February 1541; the Mapuche and Picunche called it Huelen. Mayor Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna turned the rocky outcrop into a European-style park in 1872-1874, with the Castillo Hidalgo fort, terraces and fountains.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Free
Museo Historico Nacional
Housed in the 1807 Real Audiencia building, the museum tells Chile's story from the 16th century to the 20th through furniture, costumes, weapons and paintings. Its colonial courtyard and period rooms give a vivid sense of life in the colonial and republican city.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Approx CLP 1,000 (~USD 1); free Sundays
Iglesia y Museo de San Francisco
Santiago's oldest surviving building, finished in 1618 and built to withstand earthquakes. The church houses the small Virgen del Socorro statue brought by Valdivia and the museum holds colonial religious art.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Approx CLP 3,500 (~USD 4)
Casa Colorada
A restored 1769 colonial mansion, built for Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, who presided over Chile's first national government in 1810. It now houses the Museo de Santiago, which narrates the city's growth from 1541 using maps, models and dioramas.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Approx CLP 1,000 (~USD 1)
Palacio Cousino
A French-inspired palace finished in 1878 for the wealthy Cousino mining family, designed by French architect Paul Lathoud. Its Murano chandeliers, Carrara marble and Parisian furnishings show Santiago's late 19th-century high society.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Approx CLP 5,000 (~USD 5)
Estacion Central
A railway station opened in 1897 with an iron-and-glass shed designed by French engineer Henri Picq. It remains the terminus for trains to the south and a landmark of 19th-century railway engineering.
Where: Estacion Central
Admission: Free
Teatro Municipal de Santiago
A neoclassical opera house opened in 1857 and rebuilt after a fire in 1870. It hosts opera, ballet and symphony concerts in a hall with velvet seats and gilded balconies, and it is a cornerstone of Santiago's cultural life.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Tours approx CLP 5,000 (~USD 5); performances from approx CLP 10,000 (~USD 11)
Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos
A modern museum opened in 2010 to preserve the testimonies and documents of the 1973-1990 dictatorship. It is the country's principal site for understanding the coup and the human rights record that followed.
Where: Barrio Yungay
Admission: Free
Cementerio General
Opened in 1821 under Bernardo O'Higgins's government, the cemetery holds more than a million burials including presidents, poets and artists. Its monumental mausoleums and the Memorial del Detenido Desaparecido show national memory in stone.
Where: Recoleta
Admission: Free
Estacion Mapocho
Inaugurated in 1913 for the centenary celebrations, the former station of the Santiago-Valparaiso line has a steel-and-glass hall. After a long period of decline it was reopened as a cultural centre in 1994.
Where: Santiago Centro
Admission: Free