Best Things to Do in Santiago

• Check out the new Centro Gabriela Mistral, named for the Chilean poet who was the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. There are concerts and performances most days at this breathtaking performing-arts center and rotating art exhibits on the bottom floor.
• Wander poet Pablo Neruda’s hideaway, La Chascona - check out the dining room modeled after a ship’s cabin and the living room reminiscent of a lighthouse.
• Marvel at the pre-Colombian pottery, Mapuche totems and Andean textiles on display at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino.
• Spend a couple hours browsing the stalls at the largest and most entertaining handicraft market in the city, Los Graneros del Abla.
• Listen to the sounds of the city’s popular jazz scene - the most famous venue is Club de Jazz, frequented by legends Louis Armstrong and Wynton Marsalis.
• Shop and dine like a local at Mercado Central - for seafood and fish - and La Vega Central - for fruit and vegetables.
• Picnic at the top of Cerro San Cristobal.
• Beat the heat with a local helado (ice cream). Dairy-free? Look for helados de fruta, fruit flavors but without the cream.
• Ski Valle Nevado or Portillo, convenient to the city and ranked among the world’s top ski areas.
• Sip famous Chilean wines in nearby Maipo Valley, center of the country’s wine production.