Clyde

3.00 Malta - 05-Mar-24 -

I visited this WHS in 2023 and explored this huge urban sprawl of a seaport city over 3 days. I'm usually not a keen fan of graffiti art but nowadays in Valparaiso it has become part of the city's identity. Whether you like it or not, the graffiti art is constantly changing, so on average every month or two some graffiti you might like or dislike will disappear and change.

The geographic location on steep hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the different nationalities of its inhabitants have led to a distinct and innovative urban landscape. The city centre is by the port where you'll find Plaza Sotomayor consisting of buildings from different periods that merge into one big area, with the monument of the heroes of Iquique, one of the oldest hotels in the city, the pretty Edificio de la Intendencia de Valparaíso, the odd modernised and controversial Edificio CSAV (a leading shipping company with a skycraper-like glass extension), and at the northeastern side of the square there are two similar towers, which create a sort of gate entrance to the port from the city.

The steep hills fully covered with colourful buildings, more or less legally built, reminded me a lot of Guanajuato, Mexico. Although I drove in and out of the city a number of times, the best way to explore this city is on foot or by very cheap public transport. Although the 16 remaining ascensores can literally be translated as elevators, only the Ascensor Polanco is a truly vertical elevator; the rest are slanting funiculars and are very handy shortcuts up and down the different areas of the city.

There used to be clear signposted heritage trails but most have disappeared under layers of graffiti. However, I managed to find a couple of rusty plaques with the UNESCO symbol on the floor close to the Lutheran church and the Cathedral of St. Paul, Paseo Atkinson (nice views from here in the morning), Paseo Yugoslavo with the beautiful eclectic Art Nouveau Palacio Baburizza, Paseo Gervasoni, etc. I always walked around with my camera strapped to my neck and although many locals (taxi drivers, shop owners, locals, police) warned me about pickpockets and to stay away from shady areas, I never felt in danger or at any risk. Perhaps I was lucky or else the friendly locals were being overprotective. The most shady area perhaps was around the Iglesia de la Matriz.

Valparaíso played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century when it served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. It experienced rapid growth during its golden age, as a magnet for European immigrants, when the city was known by international sailors as "Little San Francisco" and as the "Jewel of the Pacific". The golden age of Valparaíso's commerce ended after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Notable buildings from its golden age include Latin America's oldest stock exchange, the continent's first volunteer fire department, Chile's first public library, and the oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world, El Mercurio de Valparaíso. Most of the buildings near the port though are crumbling or mere facades with supports and have never really recovered from the 1906 and 2010 earthquakes.

Apart from exploring the city on my own, I also joined a morning walking tour organized by Tours 4 Tips named Offbeat Lato B de Valparaiso. I really enjoyed the frank and not politically correct tour to places beyond the obvious highlights of Valparaiso mentioned above (they also have another walking tour for that if you prefer). The recurring theme of most graffiti art are figures with staring eyes, an obvious reference to the 2019-2020 Chilean protests characterized by widespread eye injuries, including many globe ruptures ("exploded eyes"), among protesters as result of Chilean riot police's use of rubber bullets and tear gas grenades. Another interesting place to visit was the Parque Cultural de Valparaiso which was the city's former public prison where Pinochet's victims were once tortured.

For the foodies, Valparaiso has great dining options with a variety of good restaurants and street food (don't miss excellent completos (fully loaded hot dogs) and Piscola, Vino Navegao or the local Valpomule). Valparaiso's seaside sister town of Vina del Mar is also worth visiting, if only for a quick peek at the sea lion colonies basking in the sun there and the original Rapa Nui moai in front of the Museum of Archeology and History Francisco Fonck.

Timonator

4.00 Germany - 09-Apr-23 -

The city of Valparaíso is a very ambivalent city that got poorer and poorer over time. I find the UNESCO inscription a bit difficult to evaluate as the site is mainly the old port area which was one of the richest districts of South America from the 1850s till 1914 and is since then declining (heavily). So parts of the inscription are old, chic houses that formerly were home to rich people and now are home to poor people and that are partially quite rotten.  
 
Nevertheless I enjoy Valparaíso as a city a lot. The street art is excellent and fascinating and with it comes an alternative scene culture that I missed a bit after travelling through Patagonia. Also as a Hamburger I love cities with a port which Valparaíso has and is famous for and which can be nicely viewed from e.g. La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Nerudas houses. The inscribed hills (which means in Valparaíso neighbourhoods) Alegre and Concepción are full of street art and also today touristy and nice to walk through. However the Barrio Puerto which is also inscribed is now a poor neighbourhood with Calle Serrano and Plaza Echaurren. Locals will warn you as Gringo not to run through here. However we took a tour and the guides said that they will warn you mainly because they're embarassed by the apperance of the borough.  
 
The naval museum is full of history and weapons and is to my opinion way too nationalistic and uncritical but that's probably because it's next to the naval academy 
 
The Prat Street and Plaza Sotomayor are very central and you will come across them. You see some old buildings in good shape here however not super impressive. It's a busy town center. Apparently the first bank and post office of Chile were founded here.  
 
As mentioned I enjoyed Valparaíso however not necessarily the WHS part. It's an exciting city however also full of trash, smell, noise and human and dog waste.  

Read more from Timonator here.

Jay T

3.00 USA - 05-Aug-20 -

The Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso has seen better days, and now seems just an echo reminding visitors of its heady history as an important stop for seafarers en route to and from Cape Horn. The early 20th century was cruel to the city. First, in 1906, a massive earthquake destroyed large parts of the city (it was a cruel year for cities on the Ring of Fire in the Americas; San Francisco, California, had been destroyed four months earlier). Valparaiso rebounded and rebuilt, ready to welcome back visitors, only to be bypassed in trade by the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. After visiting Valparaiso, I can't help but picture it as a suitable setting for Charles Dicken's Miss Havisham.

Perhaps I am not giving Valparaiso its due; I did only have a half day to visit the city, and I took part in a tour from Santiago, trying to take advantage of limited time to see as much as possible. The tour started in the upper part of the historic district, and we walked past fine wooden houses, many covered with murals. For every mural, though, there was just as much graffiti. I'm not sure if the graffiti was new, as part of the consistent protests against the Chilean government found in Santiago and other major cities, or whether it had been there for a while. Wandering down the streets, I enjoyed the overlook near the Lutheran Church of Santa Cruz, which offered views of historic buildings and the Reina Victoria funicular. I also appreciated the colorful historic mansions along the Mirador Paseo Atkinson, overlooking the now modern harbor. If I weren't with a tour, I would have loved to meander through the neighborhoods longer. Still, in the time I had on the way down Cerro Concepcion to Plaza Sotomayor, I felt like I got a glimpse of what the glory days of Valparaiso must have been like. I just wish it felt more alive today.

Logistics: Valparaiso is a mere one and a half hours from Santiago by bus or private transportation. The city is built on a hill, so it may be better to start near the top and work down (or put the funiculars to good use).

Kelly Henry

USA - 10-Jul-19 -

The Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso is both overwhelming (from a traffic perspective) and underwhelming (just looks like a shabby port city) at first - until you go up!  However you choose to get there - drive, walk, bus, funicular - just go up. It is one of the most visually stimulating cities that I have ever visited.

A good way to understand the Historic Quarter is on Cerro Concepcion - especially around the Casa Patrimonial area where you can see tons of historic houses indicative of the historic period of the late 19th century while also looking out onto the historic port.  

Although the murals of "Valpo" are not technically part of the World Heritage site, they are a must to visit and are located throughout the historic area.  There are many tours that focus specifically on the colorful murals but you are guaranteed to stumble upon some of them by simply wandering the hills of Cerro Concepcion and Cerro Alegre. 

It is very easy to get to Valparaiso by bus from Santiago (the city or the airport) in about 90 minutes.  You can also drive - but beware - it's the first city that ever nearly got the best of me.  Google maps doesn't work well because the hills of the city are so vertical that GPS doesn't work well.  Also, the streets are generally not marked. Parking is also a challenge.

Valparaiso is considered to be somewhat unsafe at night and the port area is definitely "seedy".  A good alternative to staying in Valpo is to visit the beach town of Viña del Mar just 10km north.  Viña del Mar has a nice beach, a wide-range of places to stay, great restaurants, including The Waterfront Restaurant and easy access to Valparaiso. 

Allan & Lucia

2.50 Scotland - 10-Feb-19 -

Valpariso is Chile’s second city, and represents a small snapshot of the glory days of pre-Panama canal Pacific trade. Once one of the wealthiest cities in South America, there’s a real sense of a place who’s best days are behind it. I think that adds to it charm. Visiting Valparaiso is an easy 1½ hour bus ride from Santiago, and the slightly rough-around-the-edges port city makes an interesting contrast with the dull urban sprawl of the capital.

At first glance, it’s hard to get a sense of site. The lower town offers little other than claustrophobic but boring streets and too much traffic. The Plaza Sotomayor is a nice open space, and occasionally plays host to the pop-up markets that are common place in any urban centre in Chile. There are a few decent restaurants in this area serving some quality local seafood. But on first impression I found myself feeling a bit disappointed.

However, the real highlight of the town for was the upper town. A sprawling maze of stairs, twisting street and brightly coloured building, this is the real heart of the city. Maps are only of marginal use here, and it can be easy to get lost. It is quite an experience to wander down an nondescript looking alley only to find yourself at yet another stunning vista of the harbour. The vibrancy and colour is only added to by the graffiti. There’s a fun attitude to Valparaiso that I found so lacking in Santiago, and it's definitely the most accessible of the countries WHS.

While not part of the core zone, I would recommend taking the Ascensor Artilleria up to the Maritime Museum for a good view of the whole harbour. In general, the 15 or so funiculars are all fun in their own unique in their own ways. I really liked Ascensor Cordillera for its central location, and Ascensor Reina Victoria for its views.

Michael Novins

United States - 03-Nov-17 -

In October 2017, I made a day trip by bus (which run every few minutes) from Santiago to Valparaíso, the dilapidated port city. The city’s golden age was from the mid-nineteenth century until 1914, when the Panama Canal opened — after the canal opened, ships from the eastern United States and Europe could transit the isthmus instead of voyaging around Cape Horn, so fewer ships called on Valparaíso. Nowadays, the former “Jewel of the Pacific” is best known for the graffiti that wallpapers nearly every exposed surface of the ramshackle buildings that line its cobbled streets and alleys.

While I generally avoid walking tours, and, in fact, can't recall having taken any other, I did join Tours 4 Tips "free" (tip only) walking tour (https://tours4tips.com/tour/valparaiso-highlights/) that took in the port city's highlights, including Plaza Sotomayor, the funiculars, the hills of Cerro Alegre and Concepcion, and the "best" graffiti. The streets are labyrinthine and the maps terrible, so it would have been much more difficult to have attempted to find all of these sights without a guide, especially because I had only allotted myself a day in Valparaiso.

Michael Turtle

Australia - 14-Nov-16 -

It was once one of the richest metropolises in South America. Its port connected the United States and, to a certain extent, Europe to the natural resources of the southern continent. But an economic crisis with the sale of saltpetre, political changes in the country and, most importantly, the opening of the Panama Canal all took its toll on the financial side of the city.

From those economic ashes, Valparaiso has risen over the decades to become the cultural capital of Chile. The only government department to be based here is the Ministry for Culture, which says something.

Come for the views, stay for the culture. Something like that. Either way, it’s a magical city to get lost in and one you hope you never find your way out of.

Read more from Michael Turtle here.

Nan

3.00 Germany - 07-Nov-16 -

Valparaiso feels like the quirky and cute little sister of grown up and dull Santiago. It’s not as clean, as efficient or as large as Santiago, but it surely makes up in charm and looks. I was wooed within the hour of the city and felt reminded of Porto and Guanajuato with the houses climbing hills and the staircases in the city.

Getting there

If you travel in Chile, plenty of busses will take you to Valparaiso.

For travellers coming in from Santiago, you need to go to metro station Pajaritos. The outbound busses (and the bus for the airport) depart at the South side of the station (inbound North side). Busses for Valparaiso leave frequently (every 15min or so). This is also where you should change if you travel to/from the airport.

You can visit Valparaiso on a layover in Santiago if you have at least 6h to spend (better 7h).

Getting around

Walking is fine. If you are on a tight schedule I would take a bus from the main bus station to Puerto and explore from there.

Notes

• If you want to have a bit of beach vacation, nearby Vina del Mar should be a nice
• Personally, I would skip Santiago and only do Valparaiso.
• If you are returning from Easter Island you can do this on a day trip and then take the next flight out of Santiago in the evening.

Frederik Dawson

3.50 Netherlands - 18-Jun-16 -

Valparaiso, the seaport of Chile near the capital, Santiago, is a place that really hard to explain as the city is beautiful but at the same time very ugly. When the bus approached the city area, the whole mountain was full of buildings which locals crazily built on the high cliff with small columns supporting the whole structure. At the city center which built on the ground next to the sea, the city gave me a sense of bygone prosperity with many nice buildings since most of them were not in a good shape of preservation. I walked around the city center and did not find anything that worth to mention, except that the cost of living here is a bit cheaper than in the capital.

Then I went to see the upper area of the city. I used a century old funicular instead of climbing the steep streets and ladders. The funicular itself is really interesting, and there are many in this city, strangely that the price to use them are different and the most popular among the tourists are the most expensive. The upper town are really a different city, full of small houses built in many styles and brightly painted, very lovely to see. Most of the buildings are built from rusting galvanized sheet that really gave a sense of poverty, but actually the livelihood is quite good. There are many small streets and stairs linking each level of the city which are unbelievable for theirs existing and the view from these small paths are really great and provide more opportunity to see locals. When I arrived South America in Quito, I thought that city is crazy for how they built streets on steep hill, but at Valparaiso is even more bizarre, some road is so steep that they have to turn the road into garden as driving on such steep road is too dangerous. Since the city is already packed with many small houses and very vibrant with rainbow of colors, the city also promoted artists to paint graffiti on the wall everywhere they wanted especially in Cerro Concepción, and the result is the chaos of colors which in my opinion too much to be in the level of acceptable and made the city dirty and ugly.

As I said this city is really hard to explain, while many tourists I met love how unpretentious of the city is with unplanned city layout and massive messy electricity wire along the street, I found that this kind of thing can be found in many developing countries especially in Asia. Maybe the most surprised is after saw how well organized of developed country in Santiago, Valparaiso is very different that hardly believe that these two cities are really near less than one hour. I really like the way local adopted unfriendly landscape and bravely built the whole city with harmoniously result that make Valparaiso really is a must see, but for those countless crazy graffiti and murals which in my opinion exceed the tolerant level and already destroy the city charm. The city is really safe but every local I met warned me to be careful from pickpocket. Friendliness and food of Valparaiso are also great to remark and that made Valparaiso to be a really fine World Heritage Site of Chile.

Maria Mercedes A.

Canada - 27-Apr-08 -

Amazing!Great souvenirs, the stairs, 15 lifts, the old port, the hills, the coloured houses, the restaurants behind the ocean and yum,yum seafood including jumbo Hommards from Robinson Crusoe island and, famous wine.

Very exciting City, full of places to discover as the old downtown, the commercial heart of Valparaiso, the Turry Tower Clock, the museum in Cerro Alegre(Happy Hill)with an imprenable Bay view, Victoria Square with lions and fountain, take a bus to sourround the upper City by Alemania avenue; if you like to walk, expend some time in Cordillera, Alegre, Mariposas Hills(+-44). Other interesting place is Playa Ancha and his Quinta de recreo.

At dark, night clubs welcome those with energy to prolong the pleasure with live shows. Next morning dont forget to enjoy a soup at one its public Markets as Cardonal Mercado!

A Magic City

John booth

New Zealand - 01-May-05 -

The only disappointing thing we found in Valparaiso was the large amount of restoration work being undertaken. The whole of Serrano Street, the heart of the WHC site, had been dug up, and workers were painstakingly laying new cobble stones along its full length.

The 15 ascensores(lifts) are an intrinsic part of the scene, groaning their way up and down the hillsides, as they have done for over a century, a tribute to the German engineers that built them.

The maze of narrow streets that make up the Upper Town were a delight; a new vista of the harbour opened up around every corner, as well as brightly coloured houses and small eateries.

Els Slots

2.50 The Netherlands - 05-Mar-02 -

I had heard raving reviews about this city, but it disappointed me at first sight. There is a lot of traffic and smog, and a real town centre is hard to find.

The special thing about this city is the division between its lower and upper parts. Via early 20th century elevators, you can travel between these two worlds. Only about 7 people fit in, and it's quite scary because of the steepness of the hills.

When you arrive in the upper town, a completely different world awaits you: bright colours, artistic buildings, narrow backroads.