The city has a distinctly European flavor, which is evident in its buildings and the Parque Forestal, designed by a French landscaper on the model of Parisian parks. Visitors can walk down tree-lined paths along the Mapocho, past small squares and the Museo de Bellas Artes.

Across the river, the Bellavista neighborhood is home to many restaurants, street vendors and cafes. The Parque Metropolitano is Santiago's playground, with walking trails, picnic areas and a zoo. For stunning views of the city, students should head to the top of Cerro San Cristòbal, accessible by bus, funicular, or by a vigorous hike.

Santiago is the central point of a region filled with attractive sites and activities. Only 60 km away are the main South American ski centers, and the beautiful beaches of the Pacific are only an hour's drive to the northwest. Just south of Santiago lie the rich and beautiful vineyards of the Maipo Valley, one of the world's most esteemed wine producing regions. This is truly a stunning and exciting place to study Spanish!

Our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and customs. Below are some of our recommended highlights. Some tours and packages can be organized when booking your program, please see the program price page for more information.

city tour
Santiago is not famed for its architectural heritage, unlike other Latin American cities. However you will find a city of lively markets, atmospheric old quarters and shady parks with thriving artistic, social and cultural scenes. The city's museums, albeit small, boast impressive collections, while quality cuisine is accessible to those on even the tightest of budgets.

plaza de armas (arms square)
Since colonial times, Santiago's focus has been its main square, the Plaza de Armas, in the heart of the old town. Surrounded by the grandest of the city's surviving Spanish public buildings, it acts as a haven from Santiago's often oppressive traffic. Local artists come here to sell their latest canvasses and although visitors are unlikely to pick up an undiscovered masterpiece, it is a good spot for an atmospheric outdoor drink. The square's western side is taken up entirely by the Metropolitan Cathedral, built in the mid-18th century, with the later addition of its two bell towers in the early 19th century. Near the cathedral, occupying the northwest corner of the square, is the Correos Central (central post office). Another well-attended attraction is the weekly outdoor concert performed by the Santiago police band on Sunday mornings.

palacio de la moneda (moneda palace)
The bombing of Moneda Palace by air force jets during General Augusto Pinochet's coup against Salvador Allende's Socialist government in 1973 is one of the 20th century's most enduring images. It was in this colonial building that Allende finally took his own life, with a gun given to him, according to local legend, by Fidel Castro. Built in 1805, during the last days of Spanish rule, it serves as the official seat of Chilean government and was the residence of choice for a number of heads of state.

casa colorada (coloured house)
This elegant 18th-century colonial mansion just off the Plaza de Armas is an attraction in itself. However it also houses the Museo de Santiago (Santiago Museum), which gives comprehensive coverage of the city's history from pre-Colombian times to the founding of Chile as an independent republic.

museo casa la chascona (la chascona house museum)
Nobel-Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda's Santiago pied à terre, La Chascona, is situated in the lively Bellavista neighbourhood. It has been meticulously restored since it was vandalised by supporters of General Pinochet and now houses a collection of Neruda's possessions.

museo chileno de arte precolombino (chilean museum of pre-colombian art)
The Museum of Pre-Colombian Art houses a collection to rival any in the world. Located in a handsome colonial building, the Palacio de la Real Aduana (Royal Customs House), it treats visitors to an endearing display of artefacts from Latin America's pre-Hispanic civilisations. Tastefully presented and meticulously cared for, the items on show give a unique insight into the lost cultures of the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas and many other groups which once dominated this vast continent.

palacio de bellas artes (palace of fine arts)
This fine arts museum, housed in a turn-of-the-century copy of Paris' Petit Palais, evokes the city's aspirations to lift itself out of the cultural wilderness. It occupies an entire block in the Parque Forestal area, the city's most 'European' neighbourhood, which is rapidly becoming Santiago's main red-light district with its elegance fading fast. Nevertheless, the country's best collection of painting and sculpture is on display here and it regularly hosts exhibitions by contemporary artists from Chile and abroad.

iglesia de san francisco (church of san francisco)
Hemmed in by the hellish traffic along Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, the Church of San Francisco and its adjacent Franciscan Monastery are a welcome island of serenity. The church was originally built in the late 16th century by Chile's conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia, although regular earthquakes ensured little of the original structure remains. What can be seen, however, is still one of Santiago's oldest buildings and the monastery houses an interesting collection of ecclesiastical art from the colonial era.

santiago parks
Santiago's most attractive feature is its four huge parks that offer spectacular views of the Andes, as well as welcome respite from the city's traffic. All the following parks are open from dawn to dusk. The landscaped hill, Cerro Santa Lucia, to the east of the Downtown area was where Araucanian Indians besieged Santiago's original Spanish settlers for two years, before reinforcements arrived from Peru. Now under siege by urban sprawl, it is popular among courting couples by day and a notorious gay pick-up spot by night. From its summit there are uninterrupted views of the Andes, and the tree-lined avenues around its slopes are good for walking or jogging.

cerro san cristobal
Cerro San Cristobal is a pine-forested spur of the Andes that juts into the city's heart, and Santiago's largest open space. At its summit, a 36m-high (120ft) white statue of the Virgin Mary dominates the horizon. This is where, in 1987, Pope John Paul II held mass to celebrate his only visit to Chile (much criticised because of the Pinochet regime's human rights record). Its forested slopes are crisscrossed by hiking trails, and facilities include a public barbecue area, two outdoor swimming pools and a modest zoo. The summit can be reached by road from the bottom of Calle Pedro de Valdivia or by the funicular railway that leaves from the terminal on Calle Pio Nono in the Bellavista area.

mercado central (central market)
A wrought-iron structure - shipped out piece by piece from England in the 19th century - is home to Santiago's Central Market, on the south bank of the Mapocho River. Although this impressive building still has a fish market, it has become an unashamed tourist trap full of overpriced 'rustic' restaurants. It retains much of its atmosphere, however, and is a good spot to buy an empanada or a cheap bottle of wine.

excursions

viña concha y toro (concha y toro winery)
Chile's wines have soared in international reputation and some of the country's best known tipples are produced at the Concha y Toro Winery (tel: (02) 853 0035; website: www.conchaytoro.com) in the village of Pirque, southeast of Santiago.

viña del mar
The swish resort town of Viña del Mar, one-and-a-half-hour's drive from Santiago, is where affluent Chileans and a significant number of Argentines, hit the beach in the summer months. Although technically a suburb of the scruffy port city of Valparaiso, it basks in its status as a playground for the rich. Everyone who is anyone in Chilean society owns a second home here. The main draws are its nightlife, leafy Riviera-style boulevards and white-sand beach, although an icy Antarctic current rules out swimming.

cajon del maipo (maipo valley)
Santiago's closest beauty spot is the Maipo Valley, which begins near Puente Alto, 25km (16 miles) southeast of the city and stretches up to the high-altitude border with Argentina. The road runs alongside the Maipo River to the town of San Jose, a one-time mountain backwater made prosperous by the leisure industry. Along the route are dozens of public pools, campsites and hotels, packed in summer with holidaying Santiaguinos.