Manuel Foster Observatory

The Santiago Metropolitan Park is an urban park located within the city of Santiago, capital of Chile. Consisting of the San Cristóbal, Chacarillas and Los Gemelos hills, and the areas of Tupahue, Lo Saldés, Pirámide and Bosque Santiago, the park is located between four communes of Santiago – Huechuraba, Providencia, Recoleta and Vitacura – and covers around 722 hectares, making it the largest urban park in Chile and one of the largest in the world.The Santiago Metropolitan Park also maintains 16 Urban Parks distributed throughout 13 communes in Santiago, a total area of almost 150.1 hectares. The maintenance work is carried out through “Urban Parks’ Conservation, Maintenance and Safety” projects which involve cleaning, irrigation, replantation and management of vegetal species, maintenance of urban equipment, sanitation control, weed control, fertilization and safety among other activities.The park was created in April 1966, when incorporating the Chilean National Zoo and the services of San Cristóbal Hill, and is managed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. In September, 2012, the Chilean government launched a plan to significantly refurbish and expand the park between 2012 and 2016, a plan which includes building new footpaths, planting 100,000 more trees and expanding the National Zoo.

Cerro San Cristóbal (Tupahue, San Cristóbal Hill) is a hill in northern Santiago, Chile. It rises 850 m AMSL and about 300 m above the rest of Santiago; the peak is the third highest point in the city, after Cerro Manquehue and Cerro Renca. Cerro San Cristóbal was named by the Spanish conquistadors for St Christopher, in recognition of its use as a landmark. Its original indigenous name is Tupahue.

The Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception on San Cristóbal Hill is one of the principal places of worship for the Catholic Church of Chile, as well as being an icon of Santiago, Chile. It is notable in particular for a large statue of the Immaculate Conception, which is located at the summit of San Cristóbal Hill, some 863 meters above sea level.

The Chilean National Zoo (Zoológico Nacional de Chile) is a 4.8-hectare (12-acre) zoo that was founded in 1925 in Santiago, Chile. Located at the foot of San Cristóbal Hill in what is known as the Santiago Metropolitan Park (Parque Metropolitano de Santiago), the zoo is home to thousands of animals representing 158 species. Unique exhibits feature Chilean native animals and birds including rare and endangered species. The Chilean National Zoo has a dual focus: to conserve and research species held at the zoo, and to educate and provide activities for the visiting public.

The Funicular de Santiago is a funicular railway on a slope of the San Cristóbal Hill, in the city of Santiago de Chile. It forms part of the tourist attractions of the Santiago Metropolitan Park.

La Chascona is a house in the Barrio Bellavista of Santiago, Chile, which was owned by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. La Chascona reflects Neruda's quirky style, in particular his love of the sea, and is now a popular destination for tourists. Neruda began work on the house in 1953 for his then secret lover, Matilde Urrutia, whose curly red hair inspired the house’s name; chascona is a Chilean Spanish word of Quechua origin referring to a wild mane of hair. In the house, there is a painting given to Urrutia by Neruda depicting a two-faced Urrutia, one face depicting the Urrutia as the singer the public knew, and the other depicting the lover Neruda knew. The painting also has a hidden image; the profile view of Neruda's face hidden in her hair, showing their continuous secret relationship. Urrutia would become the poet’s third wife and she took on the task of restoring the house following the poet’s death in 1973, when La Chascona suffered damage during the military coup.La Chascona is managed today by the Pablo Neruda Foundation.

Plaza Camilo Mori (Camilo Mori Square) is located in the commune of Providencia, in Santiago, Chile, between the streets of Constitución and Antonia López de Bello, in the heart of Barrio Bellavista. One block away is Pio Nono street, which leads to the Chilean National Zoo and San Cristóbal Hill. Plaza Camilo Mori is also an important meeting place for bohemian culture in Santiago, where important places such as the house-museum of Pablo Neruda (known as La Chascona), the Centro Mori, pubs and restaurants spreading from the plaza south along Constitución street and above all, a great number of workshops, theatres and cultural centers can be found. Nemesio Antúnez, Pablo Neruda, Mario Baeza and Camilo Mori are examples of how artists have given their names to this part of Barrio Bellavista. Access to the square is via station Baquedano of the Santiago Metro.

Barrio Bellavista (Bellavista Neighborhood) is an area that lies between the Mapocho River and San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile. It is known as Santiago's bohemian quarter, with numerous restaurants, boutiques, avant-garde galleries, bars and clubs. Many of the city's intellectuals and artists live in Bellavista, and Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago, La Chascona, is in the district. The area is served by the Baquedano Metro subway station, located across the river to the south.Bellavista is a popular place to purchase craftwork made from lapis lazuli, a semiprecious stone found principally in Chile and Afghanistan. On weekends, there is an evening handicrafts market that runs the length of Pío Nono. Another attraction is the Santa Filomena Parish also known as the Parroquia de Santa Filomena. The National Zoo of Chile is located at the entrance of San Cristóbal Hill.

Salvador is an underground metro station on the Line 1 of the Santiago Metro, in Santiago, Chile. The station is located beneath the Balmaceda Park and close to Salvador Avenue, which is named for the Hospital del Salvador. The station was opened on 31 March 1977 as the eastern terminus of the extension of the line from La Moneda. On 22 August 1980 the line was extended further east to Escuela Militar.

The Iglesia y convento de la Recoleta Dominica is a church and convent in Recoleta, Santiago de Chile. The church and convent were declared as a National Monument in 1974.

Cerro Blanco is an underground metro station on the Line 2 of the Santiago Metro, in Santiago, Chile. The station takes its name from the nearby Cerro Blanco (White Hill). It was opened on 8 September 2004 as the northern terminus of the extension of the line from Puente Cal y Canto. On 25 November 2005 the line was extended further north to Einstein.

Balmaceda Park is an urban park along the Mapocho River in Providencia, Santiago de Chile. It was originally created under the name of Parque Japonés (Japanese Park) in 1930. When Chile joined the Allies during the World War II, its name was changed to Parque Gran Bretaña (Great Britain Park). Afterwards, the name was changed to its current name.The park is adjacent to Plaza Baquedano. Toward the west, the park continues into Santiago as Parque Forestal. On the opposite bank of the river is the Barrio Bellavista.