The natural side

The average tourist, once he overcomes the astonishment of the vivacity of Santiago, is next struck by the number of green areas in town: sheltered around some hills or private properties accessible to very few, Santiago is full of gardens and public parks. 

With Santiago à la Carte, you can visit the wonders of these parks, rich of beautiful fountains, where you find memorials for the glories of the national heroes, often creating a green protection around the most important governmental buildings. From the top of a beautiful hill now arranged as a splendid green shadowy oasis, Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago in 1541. You'll visit a wonderful botanic garden and learn how Santiago developed its idea of gardens and parks in the 1800s utilizing the limited (and sometimes not so limited) spaces in order to create a restful haven with inspiration to the most famous European models. 

With this tour you will understand the artistic and botanical elements which made these parks unique, like the legendary tree araucaria chilensis. We will include gardens which where used in the sad years of the dictatorship as a setting for dramatic events, and now transformed into splendid parks, where the grace of flowers and roses commemorates the beauty of several lives which where sacrificed. Thanks to this tour we will reach eventually a greater understanding of the Chilean culture.