48 hours tour in santiago

Chile feels like a city going through a makeover. Huge new office towers crowd out beautiful turn of the century estates. New metro subway lines have cranes all over town busy and under the Mapocho river is a new highway. Welcome to the chaotic urban renewal.

Architecturally, the city is a bit of a hotchpotch, thanks to a succession of earthquakes and a spate of undisciplined rebuilding in the 1960s and 1970s. Ugly office blocks and dingy galerías compete for space with beautifully maintained colonial buildings. It's not a place of excesses, however: homelessness is minimal compared to many other cities of this size, and there's no tension in the air or threat of violence. On the whole it's a good introduction to the country and its people, offering a pleasing choice of museums, markets, restaurants and nightspots, wrapped up in a friendly, if noisy, environment.

Most travellers stay here for just a few days before launching into far-flung trips to the north or south, but if you've time to spare you'd do well to use Santiago as a base while exploring the surrounding region. Some destinations make easy day-trips, while others demand a couple of days or so. With the Andes so close and so accessible, you can be right in the mountains in an hour or two. In winter people go skiing for the day, with special buses laid on to and from the resorts. Finally, there are many excellent beaches about an hour and a half's bus ride away - for more on these, see the Valparaiso and Viña del Mar section.

Among the best activites for a quick visit are

Tour the Homes of Pablo Neruda in Isla Negra, Valparaiso or the poets own beloved Bellavista barrio in Santiago.

Ski the world famous runs at Portillo for a week, or day trips to fantastic runs at Valle Nevado.

Wine tours and tastings are easy to organize and always closeby, making day trips easy.