Santiago Tour: Santa Lucia Hill, Plaza de Armas & Neighborhoods

Six hours across Santiago's colonial past and glass-tower future, on one private route.

A private day tour of Santiago with hotel pickup covers the city's founding story at Santa Lucia Hill, the colonial heart at Plaza de Armas, the working market at La Vega Central, and the modern neighborhoods of Vitacura and Las Condes. Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or another language, and the route adjusts to what you want to see: lunch stops, museums, or the handcraft markets are yours to choose. The tour runs six hours in an air-conditioned vehicle.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Santa Lucia Hill1h
2. Plaza de Armas1h
3. La Vega Central Market1h
4. San Cristobal Hill1h
5. Vitacura1h

Explore Santiago's historic and modern sites

• Depart from hotel to Santa Lucia Hill
• Visit Plaza de Armas and nearby buildings
• Optional lunch or visit La Vega Central Market
• Drive and walk through Barrio Civico
• Stroll through modern Santiago neighborhoods
• End tour in Vitacura area

The experience

Start at Santa Lucia Hill, where your guide explains how Santiago was founded over 400 years ago by Spanish settlers. From there, walk through Plaza de Armas, the city's central square where the Cathedral, City Hall, and Historic & Natural Museum frame the daily life of the capital. The plaza is where everything happens (markets, street musicians, locals on benches), and your guide reads the buildings and the history written into them.

Then you choose: stop for lunch at a restaurant that matches what you want to eat, or head to La Vega Central Market, the largest fruit and vegetable market in the city, where you can buy Chilean empanadas from a local stand and watch how real Santiago shops. Either way, you move through the Barrio Cívico next, passing the Stock Market, La Moneda presidential palace, Central Bank, and Supreme Courthouse: the government and money side of the city laid out in one walk.

The second half of the tour shifts to modern Santiago. You drive through Barrio Manhattan, El Golf, Las Condes and Providencia (neighborhoods of high-rise offices and new architecture), then end in Vitacura, the upscale shopping and dining district sometimes called Santiago's Rodeo Drive. The contrast between the colonial center and these glass-and-steel neighborhoods is the point: you see how the city built itself forward without erasing what came before.

What’s included

• Private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• hotel pickup and drop-off.
• live guide in your choice of language.
• access to Santa Lucia Hill, Plaza de Armas, La Vega Central Market, and the modern districts of Santiago.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:30

AgesAdult (11 and older) · Child (under 11)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by HecTourService

Is this one for you?Book this private tour if you want a guide to shape your route through colonial and modern Santiago in real time. You'll spend six hours moving between neighborhoods at your own pace rather than following a fixed itinerary.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (under 11).

How far back does the history at Santa Lucia Hill go?

Santa Lucia Hill is where Santiago was founded over 400 years ago by Spanish settlers. Your guide explains the founding story and the history that followed at the site itself.

Can I choose to skip lunch and visit the market instead?

Yes, the tour adjusts to what you want. You can stop for lunch at a restaurant, visit La Vega Central Market to see the city's largest fruit and vegetable market and buy local empanadas, or do something else entirely based on your interests.

Does the tour include the modern neighborhoods or just the historic center?

Both: the tour covers the colonial heart at Santa Lucia Hill and Plaza de Armas, then moves through the Barrio Cívico government district, and finishes in the modern neighborhoods of Las Condes, Providencia, and Vitacura.

Is hotel pickup included?

Yes, hotel pickup is included. Your guide will collect you from your accommodation and return you there at the end of the six-hour tour.