Santiago to Valparaiso and Isla Negra Museum House: Day trip

Once the most important port on the Pacific coast of South America, Valparaiso expanded rapidly through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 put a dampener on Valparaiso’s unimpeded expansion, but also left the city with a jumble of narrow streets, endless stairways and funiculars, and a historic seaport all crowded by humble homes and lavish mansions.Your itinerary here could basically be just one point: “Walk around”. Follow one of the paseos (walks), like Paseo Yugoslavo, Paseo Atkinson or Paseo Gervasoni for a sampling of the city’s villas, views, and famous street art. Ride whichever funicular you come across, and scale whatever staircase grabs your eye. The city’s uninhibited atmosphere has been attracting artists for over a century, and lit-lovers won’t want to miss a visit to the home of Nobel-winning author Pablo Neruda. And as Chile’s second-largest city, you’ll have no shortage of cafes, restaurants, art galleries, and museums where you can rest your feet.

Poet Pablo Neruda transformed the Isla Negra Museum House from a stone cabin on a slice of rugged coast into his favorite of his three homes in Chile. Expanding piecemeal over several years, Neruda was an avid collector and filled his home with objects reflecting his love of the sea. There’s everything from bottles (some with ships inside) to figureheads and maps, and, of course, an impressive stockpile of shells in their own "Under the Sea" room. After following an audio tour through the home’s 14 rooms, learning about Neruda and his collection, be sure to take some time to walk around the property. You can pay your respects to the poet and his wife at their burial site.