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Culture
Valparaiso and Viña del Mar
The City of Viña del Mar
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Viña del Mar, commonly called just Viña, was developed in the 1870s as an exclusive residential and summer area for Chile's well-to-do. It is still that, but has evolved into Chile's premiere seaside resort, often called Chile's Riviera. Viña offers all the amenities of a resort city:luxurious estates, including the summer home of the President of Chile, waterfront hotels, parks and gardens, social clubs, a municipal casino and theater, sport facilities, beaches, golf tennis, horse racing, lively nightlife, fine dining, and easy access to the nearby beaches and resort towns of Zapallar, Concon, Cachagua, and the fast-growing and hugely popular town of Reñaca. Location:
Located 74 miles (120km) northwest of Santiago and 5 miles (8km) north of Valparaíso on the Pacific Ocean, Viña is in the central zone of Valparaiso and well connected to the central valleys and locations north and south of the city. Browse this interactive map from Expedia.
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Casino
From its opening on December 31, 1930, the casino, built in a combination of Greek, Roman and Assyrian styles and set in gorgeous landscaped gardens, immediately became the focus of sophisticated and cosmopolitan night life. With all the amenities of the Hotel Del Mar, the casino offers something for the entire family as well as access to Viña del Mar's beaches, shopping, restaurants, nightclubs and tours to nearby locations. Practical Facts:
Description
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La Sebastiana
Neruda loved Valparaíso. He usually travelled from Isla Negra to this port, where he used to stay for some days in the house inhabited by the married couple of Marie Martner and Francisco Velasco. |
The National Congress
| The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811. It is a bicameral legislature comprised by the Chamber of Deputies (lower camera), of 120 members and by the Senate (upper camera), formed by 38 parliamentarians. The organization of Congress and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of the current constitution and by the Constitutional Organic Law No. 18,918. Congress meets in the Chile Congress building, which was built during the last years of the Pinochet regime and stands in the port city of Valparaíso, some 140 km west of the capital, Santiago. This new building replaced the old National Congress, located in downtown Santiago.
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Ascensores Valparaiso
It is fascinating to see so plenty of these ancient Ascensores (Funiculars) all over the city of Valparaiso. They recently became a UNESCO-World-heritage and they are a cheap and easy way to get uphill and enjoy the lovely panorama-view. The price for each direction is mostly just 100 local$, so that is about 20 Euro-cents or a quarter-Dollar in US$. |
La Piedra Feliz
It’s probably, one of the best clubs and meeting point of the city. They are playing different kind of latin musics in different saloons. Chacha, merengue, bachata or rumba and tango.Great ambience. |
San Francisco Church
Located in Baron Hill and it has fantastic shape of architecture. The first stone of the complex was laid in 1845 and completed into use in 1851, and Eduardo Provasoli was the architect. In 1983, fire partially destroyed the church but it was rebuilt and all its characteristics are well preserved, but it is still in a bad condition and needs to a real renovation. It was declared national monument in July 18th, 1983. You can assist to mass (liturgy) from Tuesday to Saturday at 19:30 and Sunday at 10 and 12hrs. The temple is opened from 8:30-13:00hrs and 16:00-20:30hrs. |
The Navy Museum
This museum merits a visit even if you do not particularly fancy naval and maritime-related artifacts and memorabilia. The museum is smartly designed and divided into four salons: the War of Independence, the War against the Peru-Bolivia Confederation, the War against Spain, and the War of the Pacific. Each salon holds antique documents, medals, uniforms, and war trophies. Of special note is the Arturo Prat room, with artifacts salvaged from the Esmeralda, a wooden ship that sank while valiantly defending Valparaíso during the War of the Pacific. The museum is located a “Paseo 21 de Mayo, Artilleria Hill” and it opens its doors from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:00 to 18:00hrs. |
Contact
Contact: silafae2010@usm.cl Secretary: |