Valparaiso
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Historic Quarter Of The Seaport City Of Valparaiso, 2003); Chile'S Great Historic Port, Built Across Dozens Of Steep Hills Above The Bay · Valparaiso, Valparaiso
Valparaiso is a city that climbs: a port on a wide bay on the Pacific, built up dozens of steep hills, the cerros, whose houses of painted corrugated iron and timber cling to the slopes, linked by stairways, alleys and a set of antique funiculars, the ascensores. In the nineteenth century it was the first major port after Cape Horn, rich with British and German merchants, and its historic quarter is a World Heritage Site. Its fortunes collapsed after the Panama Canal opened, which is why so much survives, and today it is the most bohemian city in Chile: every wall seems covered in murals, the cerros Alegre and Concepcion are full of cafes and small hotels, and the poet Pablo Neruda's hillside house, La Sebastiana, looks out over it all. It is also a working port and a poor city, gritty in places and badly hit by fires, and some neighbourhoods are not for wandering at night. Vina del Mar, its beach resort neighbour, is ten minutes away, and Santiago is ninety minutes inland.
Plaza Sotomayor, Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile
The hills and viewpoints are open at all times. The ascensores (funiculars) run through the day, each with its own hours, and some close for repairs. Museums close one day a week. Neruda's house, La Sebastiana, keeps daytime hours and closes on some days. New Year's Eve brings a huge fireworks show over the bay.