Valparaíso

Why it's worth the trip

Because it is the easiest city escape from Santiago without a car, and because no other Chilean city has this relationship between port, hill and architecture.

Landscape

Valparaíso grew as the main Pacific port of the southern hemisphere before the Panama Canal, and its urban shape shows it: a narrow flat strip by the water, occupied by customs houses, banks and warehouses, and behind it some forty hills where the city organised itself through stairways, passages and funiculars. That structure — the contrast between the commercial plan and the residential hills — is what UNESCO recognised. You cover it on foot and uphill, among painted metal-clad houses, viewpoints that appear without warning and streets that end in a staircase. A university and cultural scene keeps the centre awake out of season.

• Coast

What the trip could look like

A long day or a weekend: the flat centre and port in the morning, the hills in the afternoon, back with the last light.

An idea of how the day would go.

Worth knowing

• The hills mean steep gradients and a lot of stairs: footwear matters more than the map.
• Some funiculars may be out of service for maintenance.
• On long weekends accommodation and buses fill up well in advance.