Valparaíso Travelers Recommend

The Chilean port city of Valparaíso is most famous for its topography; vintage funiculars rattle up and down hills covered in brightly-painted houses. From street art to wine tasting, here’s how to spend 48 hours in Valpo.

Day 1: Soak Up the Sights and Culture

**Morning:**Start your day with a walking or bus tour of the city’s main sights; tours typically cover Plaza Sotomayor, the Chilean Armada, and Valparaíso’s funiculars and hillside neighborhoods, and provide lesser-known information about each. 

**Afternoon:**Pay an afternoon visit to the La Sebastiana, the former home of Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda. Due to its location atop Cerro Bellavista, the museum offers sweeping views of the city and harbor. Buy your admission ticket in advance to skip the line and explore at your own pace. 

**Night:**Experience Valparaiso’s nightlife on a bar-hopping tour that introduces you to typical Chilean tipples and the city’s burgeoning craft beer scene. Afterward, take advantage of your proximity to the ocean by enjoying a seafood dinner; top restaurants include El Perall and Spice Cocina del Mar in Cerro Alegre.

Day 2: Vino and Viña del Mar

**Morning:**Spend your second day on an excursion to the wineries of Casablanca Valley. Most tours visit up to three vineyards for tours and tastings. You’ll get insights into the wine-making process, sample wines, and not have to worry about driving afterward.

**Afternoon:**Spend your afternoon in Viña del Mar, Valparaíso’s breezy neighbor. Tours provide an easy way to explore the must-see sights, which include the Flower Clock (Reloj de Flores) and the Fonck Museum, whose garden is home to an original Moai statue from Easter Island. 

**Night:**Conclude your visit to Valparaíso by gazing at the star-studded night sky in La Campana Ocoa National Park. Tours typically take you directly to the park to view the stars and planets through powerful telescopes. Afterward, return to Cerro Alegre for a bite to eat at the retro Cafe Vinilo.

Three days give you plenty of time to discover Valparaíso’s main attractions and explore the surrounding region. From architecture and street art to wineries and coastal mansions, here’s how to make the most of 72 hours in Valparaiso. 

Day 1: Discover the Historic City

Get acquainted with the history, street art, and culture of Valparaíso on a bus or walking tour. Tours transport you between major sights with ease, and typically include a ride on one of the city’s famed funiculars. Some tours also visit La Sebastiana, the former home of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, which now functions as a museum and is packed full of his personal belongings. If your sightseeing tour doesn’t include a visit, buy your admission ticket online to skip lines on the day.

In the evening, soak up the port city’s lively nightlife scene. Sip a classic pisco sour and sample more brews on a bar-hopping tour.

Day 2: Discover Wine Country

Chilean wine is globally renowned. Sip vintage varietals straight from the source on a day trip to Casablanca Valley or Maipo Valley. Most tours visit up to three vineyards, where you learn about the wine-making process and enjoy a few tastings. Taking a tour lets you avoid the hassle of driving, leaving you free to indulge in great wine. Some guided tours also include lunch for a great-value package. 

If you’d rather stay in the city, take a cooking class. Cooking classes in Valparaíso typically include a visit to a local market and reveal the secrets behind Chilean dishes such as ceviche and charquican. It’s a great way to get a taste of Chile’s culinary heritage.

Day 3: Explore Isla Negra

Having already seen La Sebastiana, check off another of Neruda’s three homes on a trip to Isla Negra. Located on the coast—not an island like its name implies—the house was built to resemble a boat. Inside, admire Neruda’s collection of maritime paraphernalia, which includes ship figureheads, ships inside bottles, and shells. Some tours of Isla Negra also visit the artisans’ village of Pomaire—a great place to shop for souvenirs and gifts—which can be tricky to get to independently.

Afterward, spend your final evening in the bars and restaurants of Valpo, or make the short trip to the neighboring town of Viña del Mar, home to Tierra del Fuego seafood restaurant, which serves large portions of fresh seafood on Playa Acapulco beach.

Poet, diplomat, and politician, Pablo Neruda left a mark on his native Chile that transcends even his Nobel Prize-winning books of poetry. Visitors will quickly discover just how revered its national poet is to this day and can gain deeper insight by following in his footsteps to his three homes. Here’s what you need to know.

La Sebastiana

In Valparaiso, you can explore Neruda’s home, known as La Sebastiana. Set at the top of a steep hill in the Bellavista neighborhood, the house is filled with the many quirky tchotchkes Neruda acquired in his lifetime and offers sweeping views of the colorful streets and busy port below. Guided tours of Valparaiso (private and group) typically include tickets to La Sebastiana and audio tours in English provide even more political and historical context.

Isla Negra

One hour south of Valparaiso, visitors can also check out the Isla Negra Museum House, said to be the favorite of the Chilean poet’s former homes, where he and his third wife, Matilde Urrutia are both buried. Appropriate to its coastal Pacific setting and Neruda’s passion for all things maritime, the house is filled with ship figureheads, maps, shells, and ships in bottles. Guided tours from Valparaiso often combine the museum with visits to small nearby towns such as Pomaire.

La Chascona

Neruda’s third house, which he named for Urrutia’s wild, curly hair, is located in Santiago’s Barrio Bellavista. In keeping with the maritime theme of all his houses, La Chascona’s dining room resembles a ship’s cabin and the living room a lighthouse. The house, which also serves as headquarters of the Pablo Neruda Foundation, contains a painting of Urrutia by the famed Mexican artist Diego Rivera. It is possible to visit all three houses in a single day on a tour that includes admission, audio guides, and all transport.

Thanks to its colorful and cosmopolitan nature, travelers, artists, poets, and bohemians have long been drawn to the Chilean port city of Valparaíso. From unique architecture to lively nightlife, here’s how to make the most of 24 hours in the city.

Morning: Explore the City

Kickstart your time in Valparaíso on a walking or bus tour that reveals the history and culture of the city. Tours are a great way to cover more sights in less time, and also provide the opportunity to ask plenty of questions; plus, many include the quintessential Valpo experience of riding a famed funicular. If you’d prefer to hone in on a particular aspect of the city—such as architecture, food, or fashion—opt for a private, custom tour.  

Afternoon: Discover La Sebastiana

The Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda had a home in Valparaíso. Named La Sebastiana, Neruda’s house-turned-museum sits at the top of Cerro Bellavista and offers panoramic views of the city and harbor below. Buy your admission ticket online in order to skip the line and explore the house at your own pace—it’s filled with memorabilia collected by Neruda on his many travels. The walk up to La Sebastiana is a treat in itself; it takes you through rambling streets and past works by local street artists.

Night: Check Out the Nightlife

Because of its large population of students, artists, and other bohemians, it comes as no surprise that Valparaíso has a vibrant nightlife. While Chile is best-known as the home of pisco sour cocktails, you can sample brews created by local bartenders on a bar-hopping tour that introduces you to the city’s burgeoning craft brew scene. Alternatively, enjoy an entirely different type of evening on an astronomy tour. Tours typically take travelers to La Campana Ocoa National Park to view stars and planets through powerful telescopes.

The colorful town of Valparaiso makes an excellent base for exploring one of Chile’s fastest-growing wine regions, the famed Casablanca Valley, where rolling vineyard-covered hills produce the bold reds and crisp whites the country is known for. Here are some must-try wine varietals and tasting experiences.

Must-Try Varietals

The Casablanca Valley is one of Chile’s cooler wine-growing regions, with a Mediterranean climate resembling that of the celebrated Los Carneros in California. Cool misty nights, hot days, and the local soil work together to create excellent conditions for growing whites like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. While white varietals are the stars in this wine country, red-wine lovers will also find excellent reds—pinot noir, merlot, and syrah are standouts.

Must-Do Experiences

• Taste several cool-climate wines in the cellars of one of the region’s best wineries.

• Fit in a winery tour and guided tasting while your cruise ship calls at Valparaiso.

• Cycle through verdant vineyards and learn about the winemaking process on a bike tour.

• Learn about sustainable agriculture practices during tours of local organic vineyards.

• Tuck into a traditional Chilean barbecue with a glass of wine in hand.

• Venture farther afield to check out the Maipo and Aconcagua Valley wine regions.